Affleck directed this wonderfully tense thriller, but as note-worthy as his scintillating helming is a great performance at the center, as the leader of a Boston bank-heist crew, entirely believable, somewhat unlikeable and begrudgingly sympathetic as a man trying to escape the harsh miasma that is Boston's gangland. It's in many ways a typical "one last job" mission, but Affleck makes it feel positively fresh, driven to go further by the exceptional performers he surrounds himself with - Jeremy Renner received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination - imbuing Doug with the human flourishes that make him, in light of his flaws, a thoroughly compelling character. Furthermore, his romantic entanglement with Rebecca Hall's beleaguered bank clerk again allows the film, and indeed, Doug, to break free from the crime film convention, painting him as a tough man with an (eventual) heart of gold. After directing but not starring in Gone Baby Gone, The Town made it clear that Affleck could handle double duty sure with aplomb, and in this stead also delivered one of his finest turns to date.