When "Good Will Hunting" was released in 1997, boyhood companions Matt Damon and Ben Affleck did not simply establish themselves as Academy Award-winning screenwriters and veritable leading men. The duo also popularized a now ubiquitous film in current American cinema: setting movies against the backdrop of Boston.
"Hunting" featured a young Damon as the title character — a math genius with sandy blond locks and a nonconformist attitude — as he wanders the halls of MIT looking for a purpose. Damon eventually departs from his South Boston neighborhood, leaving his thuggish friends behind for the sunny skies of California. Well, now Hollywood is retracing Damon's steps back to Beantown.
Boston provides the perfect context for varying genres of film because of its ethnic amalgam, varied landscape and concentration of universities. This past weekend, Affleck returned to his Cambridge roots with his sophomore directorial effort, "The Town," a thriller about four childhood pals-turned-felons from the Irish-American neighborhood of Charlestown. The film garnered first place for box office returns and raised the question: What makes Boston such a prime location for the silver screen?
Boston: A Melting Pot
Demographically, Boston and its surrounding neighborhoods are brimming with distinct cultures. Throughout Boston's history, this assortment of racial groups has brewed with intense ethnic conflict. Ever since Troy Duffy's cult hit "The Boondock Saints" (1999), Hollywood executives have been salivating over scripts about violence in Boston. The "Saints" plot follows the fictional MacManus brothers as they set out on a mission to exterminate the corrupt filth of Boston's underbelly, and the film has inspired many similar ones.
Though the crime rate in Boston has steadily declined in recent years, the media continue to portray the city as an epicenter of thugs, hoodlums and gangsters, kept in check by a "tough as nails" Boston police corps.
"Mystic River" (2003) acts as a microcosm of the Boston crime genre. The film has the notable distinction of featuring Sean Penn and Tim Robbins, who won the Academy Awards for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, respectively, for their roles in the film. Three childhood friends follow divergent paths in the Boston crime scene: Penn becomes a convict, Robbins becomes a victim of abduction and Kevin Bacon becomes a detective in the Massachusetts State Police. Penn and Bacon are similarly sympathetic and captivating as roughnecks on opposite sides of the law, and the motif of Boston cops versus crooks is clearly evident throughout the film.
Boston: Or Should I Say, "Bahston?"
Not only does Boston provide a realistic landscape for brutality and bloodshed, it also facilitates the archetypal anti-hero. In many movies about Boston's crime scene, viewers find themselves rooting for the so-called "bad guy." Yet a bristly,cleft chin and a muscular build alone do not inevitably evoke compassion from an audience. Rather, the character must have a certain depth and likeability. The Boston accent provides a simple solution: By endowing a character with a New England accent, directors shirk the responsibility of recounting a personal history. Rather, viewers immediately infer that the character was born and raised in a Boston neighborhood, is intensely loyal to his friends and family and has a certain endearing edginess.
Just ask Martin Scorsese. The wicked smaht pissah coaxed a flawless Boston accent from Leonardo DiCaprio in his roles in "The Departed" (2006) and this year's "Shutter Island." In both roles, DiCaprio plays a hard-nosed cop with a tendency to prioritize solving a case above all else. Scorsese made a mint with both films and took home Best Picture and Best Director Oscars for "The Departed."
Nonetheless, simply setting a film with an accented protagonist patrolling any of the diverse neighborhoods of Boston does not guarantee cinematic excellence. Mel Gibson learned this the hard way with this year's mediocre "Edge of Darkness."
Boston: A Unique City
Aside from being home to great ethnic diversity, Boston sports a diverse architectural landscape. Though many popular films return continually to the poorer, urban neighborhoods, Boston is more versatile than Hollywood depicts. After exhausting the stereotypical impoverished Boston neighborhood, directors are expanding their reach. For example, Boston also has a wealthy, suburban area, a commercial harbor and a thriving cityscape, all of which provide viable options for a film's setting. "Little Children" (2006) employs the Boston suburbs as a prison for upper-middle-class housewife Kate Winslet and stay-at-home father Patrick Wilson, two depressed souls who vow to elope. Contrarily, Scorsese set his mysterious insane asylum from "Shutter Island" on a fictional island off of the Boston Harbor.
Perhaps most appealing Boston locale to studio executives is the city itself; the Boston skyline has been featured all over the silver screen. Matt Damon's character in "The Departed" resides in a flat with a gorgeous view of the gilded dome of the Massachusetts State House, and "Edge of Darkness" opens with Mel Gibson picking up his daughter from South Station. Yet the most attractive part of the city of Boston seems to be an unlikely spot: Fenway Park.
Yes, the oldest baseball stadium in the Major Leagues happens to be a cultural icon, especially in film. In fact, an autobiographical book about a Brit in love with Arsenal Football Club was transformed into a cinematic showcase of Fenway. That film, "Fever Pitch" (2005), based on the eponymous book by Nick Hornby, stars Jimmy Fallon as a die-hard Red Sox fan who falls in love with Drew Barrymore through his love of the game. Apparently, Ben Affleck is as passionate about the Red Sox as Jimmy Fallon is, as he demonstrates in "The Town." The climax of "The Town" also happens at Fenway, in a daring heist that pits criminals Affleck and Jeremy Renner against FBI agent Jon Hamm.
Boston: A Youth Hub
Boston's true claims to fame are its clusters of universities and young people. These scholarly Bostonians are highlighted on film with almost as much frequency as their gruffer counterparts. One upcoming film, "The Social Network," chronicles the rise of Mark Zuckerberg, the inventor of Facebook. While unveiling the unknown details behind Zuckerberg's billion dollar endeavor, "Social Network" follows Jesse Eisenberg (who portrays Zuckerberg) around the Harvard University campus. Other films, like "Mona Lisa Smile" (2003) and "21" (2008), take place at Wellesley College and MIT, respectively. Boston's concentration of universities provides excellent material for college-genre films, an omnipresent theme in Hollywood.
Jumbos should not feel left out, though; Jessica Biel proudly displayed a stuffed Jumbo on her desk in this year's "Valentine's Day," immortalizing our own alma mater on the silver screen.
Boston: The Hollywood Go-To?
The multifaceted nature of Boston, from the patrician prep schools to the destitute slums, and from the new-age spirit to the timeless American history, has not only inspired films, but has also provided the setting for some of the best movies of the past decade. Boston-based films breed reality and uniqueness in an industry that constantly strives for innovation. Affleck and Damon have succeeded in popularizing and perpetuating a trend with "Hunting," "Gone Baby Gone" (2007) and "The Town," but the movie-going public will have to wait and see if Boston can overtake the likes of Los Angeles and New York as the most prominent filming city.
So next time you are out picnicking in the Boston Common, do not be surprised if you run into a Hollywood star, because everybody wants to come to Boston these days.
