Is “The Town” (2010) Movie Based on a True Story? The Town Movie Ending Explained – Ben Affleck co-wrote, directed, and starred in The Town, an American crime thriller movie from 2010 based on Chuck Hogan’s 2004 book Prince of Thieves. In it, which also features Rebecca Hall, Jon Hamm, Jeremy Renner, Blake Lively, Titus Welliver, Pete Postlethwaite, Chris Cooper, and Slaine, a Boston bank robber falls in love with a victim of one of his earlier heists as he and his squad prepare to rob Fenway Park.
Before its September 17, 2010, U.S. release, the movie had its Venice Film Festival premiere on September 8, 2010. Based on true events, it earned $154 million worldwide and got accolades from critics for its directing, writing, editing, and performances by the cast, especially Renner. Renner received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, while Postlethwaite received a posthumous BAFTA Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. The movie was named one of the top ten movies of 2010 by the National Board of Review.
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The Town (2010) Movie Storyline
Four longtime friends from Boston’s Charlestown neighborhood, Douglas “Doug” MacRay, James “Jem” Coughlin, Albert “Gloansy” MacGloan, and Desmond “Dez” Elden, heist a bank. Claire Keesey, the bank manager, is taken prisoner by Jem against Doug’s wishes. She doesn’t hurt her as she then releases her.
When Doug learns that Claire resides in their area, he follows her to find out how much information she has given the police and to ensure that Jem’s explosive temper won’t make her unreliable as a witness. They fall in love immediately, which Doug tries to hide from the rest of the crew.
With Gone Baby Gone, Ben Affleck made his feature film directing debut in 2007. The Town, another suspenseful crime thriller, was out in 2010. The actor-director portrays Doug MacRay, the brutal gang’s leader, in the movie.
When he unintentionally falls in love with Claire, a bank employee who is James’ (Jeremy Renner) hostage, his world is abruptly turned upside down (Blake Lively).
The gripping criminal drama “The Town” captures your attention immediately and doesn’t let it go until the end. Because it sacrifices the success of its heists to concentrate on its people and the well-known Charlestown locale, it is not a classic heist movie.
It’s challenging not to question if the story is based on true events given how well-developed the characters are in the story and how well the performers depict them. Charlestown, where the movie is situated, also asks whether “The Town” is based on a true story of crimes that actually happened.
Is “The Town” (2010) Movie Based on a True Story?
The events depicted in the movie “The Town” are not actual. The story is based on Chuck Hogan’s book Prince of Thieves. Ben Affleck, the director, and star of the movie, did tremendous research to make the film seem more authentic rather than relying exclusively on the book’s substance.
Affleck conducted interviews with several Charlestown locals and Aaron Stockard, whom he invited to work with him on the scripts. He even called the FBI’s Boston Violent Crimes Task Force, which warned him that drug addicts typically perpetrate bank robberies.
The movie’s opening scene identifies its setting as Charlestown, Boston. According to the book’s preface, “One blue-collar Boston neighborhood [Charlestown] has generated more bank robbers and armored car thieves than anywhere else on the earth.” If bank robbery in Charlestown became a family business, many people would be interested.
“The Town” Movie Ending Explained
Doug and Jem can pull off the heist of a lifetime thanks to their convincing disguise as Boston police detectives. They steal $3,500,000 in cash, but when Adam threatens Doug’s ex-girlfriend, who is also Jem’s sister, she snaps and spills the beans about their scheme. In the end, the two guys are surrounded by the police, there is a significant gunfight between the two sides, and Jem is shot. Following his narrow escape, Doug phones Claire to persuade her to see him one last time. But even in these moments, he keeps an eye on her apartment and notices that she is surrounded by law enforcement.
This time, Doug gets to sneak out of town by dressing as an MBTA employee, leaving town with the intention of never returning. A few days later, while tending to her garden, Claire finds a bag filled with Doug’s stolen money, a message from him, and a tangerine. According to the letter, she can use the money more effectively than he can. The next few seconds show Claire in a nearby hockey rink, but Doug appears to be far from the spot he previously called home.
What Is the Tangerine Symbolizing?
Doug uses the tangerine that Claire finds in his luggage to let her know where he is right now. Doug once told Claire that he would move to Tangerine, Florida, solely to look for his mother, as was previously reported. Claire offers Doug the courage to give up on his life as an outlaw and start a new life somewhere else, although Doug subsequently learns that his mother passed away when he was a toddler. Claire can choose the tangerine as well. She can choose to leave Charlestown and live the rest of her life with Doug now that she knows his whereabouts.
How Did Claire use the funds?
Although it isn’t stated explicitly, the movie’s last scenes imply that Claire eventually donated the entire proceeds from the robbery to the neighborhood rink where Doug used to play hockey and even gave it all to his mother. And in terms of her ultimate choice, it is likely that she will eventually move to Florida to live with Doug after the police leave her alone.
She always felt he was a decent man, but after learning he had lied to her, she became so furious that she began to doubt him. But in the film’s last scenes, when Doug abandons all the money, he shows her that he is much more than just the outlaw persona that his father only had given him.
Stream “The Town” (2010) on Prime Video.