While Live By Night is a bit flawed, I don’t think it’s nearly as bad as some of the reviews have suggested. Admittedly I was a bit excited to see the film when trailers began rolling out but I was a bit surprised as its release date got closer it wasn’t receiving any awards buzz and the early reviews were lackluster, to say the least. Ben Affleck’s first three films as a director hit a sweet spot with critics so I suppose expectations were a bit high for his new project. I guess the big problem is when compared to those films, the movie is merely good and not great. It’s entertaining enough but you feel like more could’ve been done to achieve greatness. It’s still worthy of a look but it is the weakest of Affleck’s directorial efforts so far.
Live by Night begins in Boston during the intra-war years of the late 1920s. Joe Coughlin (Affleck), a WWI veteran, has turned into a two-bit criminal, robbing people and places at gunpoint while riling up Irish mob boss Albert White (Robert Glenister) and Italian mafia kingpin Maso Pescatore (Remo Girone). Joe is protected by his police captain father, Thomas (Brendan Gleeson), who has no illusions about what his son is. However, when Joe’s affair with White’s girlfriend, Emma (Sienna Miller), is discovered, Joe escapes death only to serve a prison term. After emerging from behind bars, he offers his services to Pescatore, who ships him to Florida to establish a foothold in Tampa. As a bonus, he gets to cut into White’s business. He brings his old gangster buddy, Dion Bartolo (Chris Messina), with him.
In Ybor City, Florida, Joe carves out his own empire, recruiting loyalists and running rum. He pursues gambling but refuses to distribute drugs. He falls in love with Cuban Graciella Corrales (Zoe Saldana) but his affair with a dark-skinned woman earns him the ire of the KKK. Meanwhile, in order to ensure the cooperation of strait laced police chief Irving Figgis (Chris Cooper), he uses compromising photographs of Irving’s daughter, Loretta (Elle Fanning), for blackmail. Back in Boston, although Pescatore appreciates the constant influx of cash, he becomes concerned that Joe is too soft and he’s leaving too much on the table so he sends his son (Max Casella) to Florida as an overseer. That’s when the cracks in the foundation of the Coughlin/Pescatore partnership begin to widen.
Affleck’s affinity for the material is noticeable throughout the film. Even when the movie has moments when it falters, his love for the material is clearly evident. This is the second time Affleck has adapted from the works of author Dennis Lehane (the first being his directorial debut Gone Baby Gone) and it’s clear that he connects with the author’s work. His biggest achievement is that he creates a world that is visually stunning. There are moments in Live By Night that are great on its own simply because of how palpable the visuals are. He truly captures the era and it’s a prime example is how style can elevate a film, even when the substance isn’t completely there. This is particularly on display during The film’s climax which is tautly executed and plays out in a wonderful visual depiction of brutal, violent beauty. Although it’s possible to predict the ultimate resolution, some of the details are surprising and Affleck is able to maintain a constant level of suspense from the moment it begins until it’s over,
If the film has one major flaw, it’s that the narrative tends to stall at times. As exciting as some of it is, particularly the climax, the movie has too many moments when things begin to drag. The beautiful look of the film can only get you so far when there isn’t much going on within that beauty and unfortunately the film has a few of these moments. After the exciting climax, the film does sink bit due the film slowing to a bit of a snail’s pace. There is a bit of a tonal imbalance as the film reaches its end and a lot of it feels anti-climatic and a bit rushed. I haven’t read the book on which this film is based but I hear from those who have read it that it’s an issue in the book as well. Affleck does what he can to overcome it but he’s not entirely successful.
Despite wearing many hats here, Affleck is still a capable actor and he seems to be getting better with age. He’s the anchor holding it together from a performance standpoint and he brings out the best from his supporting actors. Sienna Miller, Zoe Saldana and Chris Messina put in strong work here and even better than them is Elle Fanning, Chris Cooper and Brendan Gleeson who stand out in a few key scenes.
I really hope Live By Night finds the audience it deserves. It’s not a great film but it’s still a solid piece of work from a directorial standpoint from Affleck. If anything it shows how diverse he is as a director because it’s so visually different from what he has done before. The narrative needed a bit of work but the film is still entertaining enough to be worthy of your time.
Reel Talk gives Live By Night 2.5 Reels
