Ben Affleck names cinema’s seminal crime thriller: “It feels so real”
As well as winning hearts as a chiselled leading man, Ben Affleck is also a creative force behind the scenes. As well as writing the script for Good Will Hunting, his breakout film, he’s also stepped behind the camera to direct a number of features. He made his debut with the 2007 thriller Gone Baby Gone, but is perhaps best known for his work on Argo. A tense spy movie about the improbable rescue of American hostages in Iran, the movie was a hit amongst fans and critics alike. It also won ‘Best Picture’ at the Oscars. No bad from the guy who was Gigli.
The former Mr. Garner/Lopez also directed 2010’s The Town. Once again starring himself (what a humble guy), the film is about a bank robber who unexpectedly begins a relationship with a hostage he had taken during a previous job. Claire (Rebecca Hall) doesn’t know that Doug (Affleck) is one of her past tormentors, and the rest of his gang isn’t aware that she hasn’t been taken out of the picture. What a palaver, eh?
Given that he was taking his first steps into the world of crime thrillers, Affleck was asked by Daily Beast to give some of his favourite examples from the sub-genre. He named a number of movies that he drew inspiration from whilst making The Town, including Kathryn Bigelow’s wave-breaking Point Break and The Friends of Eddie Coyle, a Robert Mitchum-led flick also set in Boston. However, when it comes to the cream of the crop, the actor-director saved his praise for one picture in particular.
“Heat is the seminal, modern heist/robbery movie,” he said with regard to the Michael Mann-directed classic. “It was made in ‘95. Still, a movie hasn’t been made since that has a deeper feel of authenticity. It feels so real that bank robbers then copied Heat. And when I was interviewing people in prison they referenced Heat. And when I was interviewing the FBI, they referenced Heat. So, aside from feeling bummed out that I’d always be in the shadow of Heat, I can certainly tell you, for sure, with great authority, that Heat is the one movie that’s cited as the real thing by people who really do that stuff.”
Starring Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, and the late Val Kimer, Heat pits a master thief (De Niro) against the police officer determined to bring him down (Pacino). The movie was a massive success, thanks in no small part to the dynamite pairing of its two lead actors. Not only did it clean up at the box office and set critics’ hearts alight, it also had a number of real-world ramifications.
Mann tells the story of a French gangster who came up to him at a film festival. He thanked the director for instructing him on how to perform better bank robberies, crediting him as his ‘technical advisor’. In less incriminating examples, the film also inspired the setting for Grand Theft Auto III, Christopher Nolan’s version of Gotham in ‘The Dark Knight’ trilogy, and a number of other subsequent crime movies, including The Town.
As for Affleck’s next directorial project, he’s set to make and star in Animals. It’s being advertised as another crime thriller and will star Affleck as a mayoral candidate whose son is kidnapped. It will also star Gillian Anderson and Steven Yeun and is set to premiere on Netflix, although no release date has been set.
