Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
From Ben Affleck-directed detective sagas to serial killers and kidnappings, it seems as if every few years or so Hollywood offers up another installment in the ever-expanding subgenre of the Boston crime drama. Over the weekend, the Johnny Depp-starring Black Mass, while receiving mixed reviews, put Beantown back in the spotlight nearly five years after Affleck’s Oscar-nominated The Town had non-New Englanders captivated by Boston’s mythologized bank-robbing capital in Charlestown. But how did Boston — home to tourist-friendly Fenway Park, Faneuil Hall, Harvard, and Cheers — become the crime capital of modern cinema? Perhaps it’s the city’s gritty, dangerous underbelly that causes moviegoers (and Academy voters) to become so obsessive: in part because the themes and visuals presented in these films directly contradict Boston’s illustrious reputation for being the smaller, safer, cleaner version of New York City.
In light of the hype surrounding the release of Black Mass and its potential for Oscar gold in Depp’s performance, here we dissect which films got the ball rolling for this New England-centric category of crime thrillers, starting in 1973 all the way through the 2010’s.
'The Thomas Crown Affair' (1968)
Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway star in this ultra-stylish crime thriller about well-to-do businessman Thomas Crown, who masterfully pulls off the perfect crime by robbing one of Boston’s richest banking institutions — but not without insurance investigator Viki Anderson taking notice. [Where to stream The Thomas Crown Affair]
'The Boston Strangler' (1968)
Based on the grizzly events of the serial murders that took the lives of 13 woman in Boston back in the ’60s, The Boston Strangler depicts the investigation and tireless tracking down of Albert DeSalvo. Though DeSalvo, both onscreen and off, admitted to the killings, area law enforcement later uncovered evidence that suggests more than one murder. [Where to stream The Boston Strangler]
'The Friends of Eddie Coyle' (1973)
Robert Mitchum and Peter Boyle star in this nail-biting novel adaptation following double-crosser crook Eddie Coyle, who decides to become a government informant in order to avoid a life sentence. The agent he’s confided in, however, isn’t necessarily as straight and narrow as Coyle once thought, shedding light on Boston’s cyclical web of cop and robber corruption. [Where to stream The Friends of Eddie Coyle]
'Southie' (1998)
Donnie Wahlberg and Rose McGowan star in this cinema vérité-style gangster flick about South Boston native Danny Quinn, who returns home from New York City to find his two worlds of family and friends have been split between the area’s two reigning gangs. [Where to stream Southie]
'The Boondock Saints' (1999)
Norman Reedus and Sean Patrick Flanery star as Bostonian brothers in arms after killing two made members of the Russian mob. The fraternal twin vigilantes, along with the idiosyncratic detective (Willem Dafoe) attempting to track them down, use the city as their playground in trying to deliver their own versions of justice. [Where to stream The Boondock Saints]
'Mystic River' (2003)
Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, and Kevin Bacon star in Clint Eastwood’s wrenching drama about three childhood friends — Jimmy (Penn), Sean (Bacon), and Dave (Robbins) — who witness one of their own kidnapped and sexually abused by a stranger posed as a cop. Flash forward almost thirty years later and the former friends, though estranged, are brought back into each other’s lives to try and solve the murder of Jimmy’s daughter. [Where to stream Mystic River]
'The Departed' (2006)
When remaking Hong Kong hit Infernal Affairs, Martin Scorsese set his film in Boston, cast it with A-list talent, and had it follow the story of Boston’s own Whitey Bulger and the web of corruption that surrounded his tipping off the FBI. Bulger is dramatized by Jack Nicholson’s trigger-happy Frank Costello, whose manic ways scarred us all through awards season that year. [Where to stream The Departed]
'Gone Baby Gone' (2007)
Ben Affleck directs his brother Casey in this downer drama following the unraveling of two Boston-based detectives tasked with solving a young girl’s kidnapping. Also starring Michelle Monaghan, Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, and Amy Ryan in her Oscar-nominated role, Gone Baby Gone, like Mystic River, is a Boston-based crime film whose location and themes are transcended by its performances. [Where to stream Gone Baby Gone]
'21' (2008)
Jim Sturgess stars in the dramatic reimagining of the famed MIT card-counters who took Las Vegas casinos for millions of dollars. Based on the best-seller Bringing Down the House, director Robert Luketic loosely based his film on the since-debunked account, but if you suspend your disbelief as to what factually went down between one money-hungry professor and six-deeply indebted Ivy Leaguers, 21 is a wholly watchable crime romp. [Where to stream 21]
'The Town' (2010)
Ben Affleck co-writes, directs, and stars in this thriller taking place in Charlestown, the Irish-American neighborhood and bank-robbing capital of the world. Though there was some dispute about those harsh statistics from residents following the release of Affleck’s dramatic action-thriller, The Town aimed to depict the influence the Irish community has over the area and how bank robbing isn’t necessarily just a means for survival but a familial tradition. [Where to stream The Town]
