The Boston Film Phenomenon
Last month I moved back to New York after a 2 year long stint in Massachusetts and while there I was amazed at the number of films based on, and set in the surrounding Boston area to be released in the coming days. It got me thinking of the recent phenomenon that is Boston based films, and while many other cities have been beautifully represented and have played an important role in shaping their respective pictures, Boston has always had the ability to pull an audience into a seemingly foreign, yet domestic land. Maybe it’s the thick accent that sets them apart from their surrounding neighbors, or perhaps the obsessive pride in their absurdly faithful fans, but whatever it is that culturally separates Bean Town from the rest of the country it definitely has the ability to garner Hollywood gold. With Oscar contending powerhouses such as The Departed, Good Will Hunting, Gone Baby Gone, and Mystic River it begs the question as to what these films have in common to be able to turn a city into a genre; something other cities have been unable to accomplish. Now don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of films set in New York or Los Angeles that I can’t think of taking place anywhere else because the setting played so well into the tone of the film. However, when a film maker is considering where to set their project the numbers always blur the big picture and 90% of the time if a setting can be changed to fit the production into a lower tax bracket, than the first sacrifice the artist will choose to make is the location. This allows them to preserve the budget for casting, special effects, or simply a bottle of Cristal in every trailer. Many films are shot in Canada for this reason alone, along with it being home to several big effects houses, so why would Boston be so special when cost crunching film makers obviously know it by its more popular name, “tax-a-chusettsâ€? The answer to that lies in it’s ability to surround a script in the eclectic culture of its inhabitants and history. Between the athletic pride, massive influence of the ivy leagues, and hefty historical reference to steal from it becomes clear that a native Boston screen writer has the advantage of being born into a genre that not many other film makers can understand from the outside looking in. This year there are many familiar faces returning to the hub as well as some new comers who are taking advantage of this specialized knowledge and breaking into the industry by sharing their life experiences with us in a land the country begs to better understand.
Art of the Heist
Synopsis:
Art of the Heist is the true story of one of the greatest art thieves in history. Based on the book, The Art of the Heist: Confessions of a Master Art Thief, Rock-and-Roller, and Prodigal Son written by his son Myles Connor Jr., the story follows Myles Connor through the streets of Boston as he eludes police and jumps from museum to museum on the East Coast looking for his next big score. Even after being caught, he was still a suspect in the Gardener Museum robbery which is known today as the greatest and most costly art robbery in history. The police questioned his involvement in the crime and the mystery still remains. Connor even once negotiated the return of a priceless Rembrandt in return for a shortened prison sentence to which the Boston police agreed to. A literal genius con man, Connor grew up in Boston the son of a police man and decided to go down another path. The film will focus around his life story and how he used disguises and many other facades to steal the un-stealable. Though Connor is known as a meticulous and intelligent criminal, his risky life style will be what pushes this fascinating story to the next level. Connor’s known for many outlandish tales such as carving a gun out of a bar of soap and using it to escape his first prison sentence along with successfully stealing a priceless piece of art off a museum wall in broad daylight and running like the wind!
Why Watch:
Courtesy of Firstshowing.net we’ve learned that William Monahan will be at the helm of this forthcoming Boston based project. Monahan is more well known for his writing work on other Boston related projects such as The Departed and Edge of Darkness (which I’ll be getting to shortly). Though Monahan has yet to prove his directing abilities I’m confident that he’ll be able to take this project to the next level. He’s already proven how well he knows the nature of Boston with his Oscar winning script for The Departed, and if his words were enough to inspire Mel Gibson to enter the acting spotlight again than his knowledge of developing characters which fit into the Boston culture must be spot on. I’m very excited to see what Monahan can do with such a notorious Boston bred criminal as he grew up seeing Connor on the news as both a thief and a rock star opening for bands such as Roy Orbison. I don’t think they could have found anyone better suited to bring this real life character to the big screen, and hopefully after seeing his directing debut, London Boulevard, people will give this project the support it deserves.
Prisoners
Synopsis:
When a 6 year old girl and her best friend are kidnapped the young girl’s father (Wahlberg) hunts down the suspected kidnapper when his impatience with the local police leads him into an irrational, but extremely focused state. The father than becomes the kidnapper himself as he eludes the police in an attempt to extract information from his illegally acquired captive without being sent to prison for his vigilante venture to find the truth. The question is though, does he have the right man?
Why Watch:
The film is stated as being a combination of Seven and Silence of the Lambs, two huge names that are more for the marketing side of production, but peak my interest nonetheless. It was penned by Hollywood newcomer Aaron Guzikowski who is a Brooklyn native, but since he garnered the respect of Wahlberg, a Bostonite, there must be a sense of authenticity to the script that people in Hollywood weren’t expecting from such a rookie writer. Guzikowski and his wife have been working together as struggling film makers for years; Aaron, a struggling screenwriter, and his wife Alison, an aspiring editor. Since the latest buzz in Hollywood is primarily remakes and adaptations it’s quite refreshing to see a couple with fresh ideas get noticed by such talented people in the industry. If you like indie ideas which are given a blockbuster budget than this is a must see even though we know so little about the project so far. For such an obscure project with a debut screenwriter this has been the talk of the studios for quite sometime now, and the project’s popularity directly stems from the cash making dream team of an original idea based in Boston and supported by an A list Boston native.
Update:
According to Entertainment Weekly, Director Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects, Valkyrie, Superman Returns) is the front runner to direct this after giving high praise to the rookie script. In regards to taking on the directing responsibilities he’s quoted as saying, “”I don’t know yet. But I’m definitely intrigued. It’s a great script. And I’d love to work with Mark.”
What Doesn’t Kill You
Synopsis:
What Doesn’t Kill You is the true story which revolves around Boston best friends Paulie McDougan and Brian Reilly as they try to make ends meet in South Boston by any means necessary. The story focuses on family ties and the importance of responsibility and discipline when it comes to truly being a man in the eyes of the ones you care about. The mistakes made by both Paulie and Brian are life lessons, but will they learn from their past mistakes and change their ways, or allow the pressures of society to let them fall back into their old ways?
Why Watch:
I was privileged to catch an early screening of this film in New York earlier this month and I can say that it’s the perfect portrayal of the change Boston has seen over the past couple decades. As we watch the two protagonists grow throughout the story we also see the setting changing around them making it harder and harder to afford to stay in the city they grew up in. Paulie and Brian are two contrasting characters united by one common trait, pride. Both treat each other as brothers as they stretch the line of morality to avoid the prison of a nine to five job. Paul Murray and Brian Goodman (playing the character of Pat Kelly in the film in addition to writing), both Boston natives, brought this true tale to life in a thrilling and suspenseful manner by partnering true stories with a lesson that anyone can relate to. The talent of both Mark Ruffalo, and Ethan Hawke partnered with the dedication of Murray and Goodman to bring this to project to life has given us a very successful look into the life of a man struggling to provide for his family, while his surrogate brother helps him fight his addiction to the life of crime and drugs by showing him he has more to live for.
The Town
Synopsis:
The Town is an adaptation of the romance/heist novel “Prince of Thieves” written by Chuck Hogan. The novel is described as similarly toned to Gone Baby Gone and involves a high-tension love triangle between a female bank manager, a longtime thief who stole more than her heart, and an equally smitten FBI agent trying to bust the crook and his gang before they can pull another big job. The story takes place in a blue collar suburb of Boston called Charlestown.
Why Watch:
With Ben Affleck’s career hitting new levels after his directorial debut in Gone Baby Gone, it wasn’t a surprise when he announced his next project also set in the Boston area. According to Firstshowing.net, Affleck is slated to produce, direct, re-write, and star in this future project. Personally I’d rather him stay behind the camera after seeing the magic he can work to bring such a surreal yet familiar setting to life, but I’m sure he enjoys acting and can’t see the character he created done justice by anyone else; which I can respect because it shows true passion. As I mentioned, Wahlberg being a part of the Boston dream team previously, Affleck is definitely on that team too after his Oscar worthy work on Good Will Hunting and his proven ability to create original stories using familiar experiences. Say what you will about Ben Affleck, but the man has a lot of drive for his work and always follows through with thought provoking life lessons and intriguing heroes. Since this project is so early in the making the casting details aren’t finalized yet, but personally I’d rather see Ben not spread himself so thin by acting, directing, producing, and writing and instead give the lead role to one of his bean town buddies like Matt Damon or his brother Casey. Either way though, this will be a major project to watch in the future as more details are revealed and we discover the casting involved in the love triangle scenario. I’m sure the Boston-ized humor coupled with a cleverly written heist story will garner box office gold.
Edge of Darkness
Synopsis:
Mel Gibson stars as Thomas Craven, a straitlaced homicide detective for the Boston Police Dept. and single father, whose 24-year old daughter is murdered on the steps of his home. The cop assumes he was the target, but his investigation leads in another direction and uncovers his daughter’s secret life, a corporate cover-up and government collusion.
Why Watch:
With Boston native William Monahan writing yet another project based in his hometown in addition to the aforementioned, The Art of the Heist, we are in for another treat from the Oscar winning screenwriter. Add in two big names like Mel Gibson and Bobby Deniro and this definitely becomes one of the most high profile projects currently floating around Hollywood. I was lucky enough to catch some of the filming of this in Northampton, MA while living there and as I was waiting in line for a chance at being an extra in the picture I caught a few scenes being filmed which definitely peaked my interest. I watched as Gibson gave what seemed like a climatic speech on the stairs of the court house, most likely regarding the abduction of his daughter and the incompetence of the local police. With the trifecta of Gibson, DeNiro, and Monahan this project is already at the top of my list, but add in director Martin Campbell (Goldeneye, Casino Royale, The Mask of Zorro) and I have a film geekgasm. Another good indication that this project has potential (if you weren’t yet convinced) is that Campbell recently got contracted to take control of The Green Lantern project which, following all the latest buzz around in demand comic book films, says quite a bit about the studio’s confidence in Campbell’s abilities following his most recent work in addition to the rest of his resume. I can’t wait to see the 80s miniseries come to life by so many Hollywood powerhouses and it’ll be a great step forward for the future of Boston based film.
Let us know what you think of this recent trend of popular Boston based films in the comments below. Or if you’d like to bring up some other trends you’ve noticed in different cities around the world I’d be more than interested to hear your thoughts.
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Author: Matt Peloquin (21 Articles)
Since I was a boy I've been completely obsessed with the world of film. My first viewing of Toy Story led me into the area of animation particularly, but since than I've branched out to become more of a cinephile than just an effects artist. I attended Rochester Institute of Technology for Network Security with a minor in creative writing where I elected to take mostly film related courses. I also attended Gnomon School of Visual Effects where I developed my passion for the illusion of effects in relation to films. Some of my favorite films include Children of Men, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Back to the Future, The Big Lebowski, The Fountain, Pitch Black, The Wackness, The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Wizard of Oz, Clerks, The Abyss, and Into the Wild. I am a true fanatic of film and would like to use my involvement in Iconocritic.com to be introduced to others as passionate as I am about my pursuit. To name just a few of the people I've followed throughout my life that I've extracted so much aspired value from would have to be Stan Winston, James Cameron, Darren Aronofsky, Kevin Smith, Charlie Kaufmann, John Lasseter, and Joel and Ethan Coen because each and every one of them worked their way from the bottom to the top without relying on their family inherited connections to the industry; something I greatly admire.
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