Öö seadus (2016) Online

Ben Affleck's new movie could best be described as "sprawling". In both directing and writing the screenplay (based on a novel by Dennis Lehane), Affleck has aimed for a "Godfather" style gangster epic and missed: not missed by a country mile, but missed nonetheless.

Morally bankrupted by his experiences in the trenches, Joe Coughlin (Affleck) returns to Boston to pick and choose which social rules he wants to follow. Not sociopathic per se, as he has a strong personal code of conduct, but Coughlin turns to robbery walking a delicate path between the warring mob factions of the Irish community, led by Albert White (the excellent Robert Glenister from TV's "Hustle"), and the Italian community, led by Maso Pescatore (Remo Girone). Trying to keep him out of jail is his father ("Harry Potter"'s Brendan Gleeson) who – usefully – is the Deputy Police Chief. Life gets complicated when he falls in love with White's moll, Emma Gould (Sienna Miller). The scene is set for a drama stretching from Boston to the hot and steamy Everglades over a period of the next twenty years.

Although a watchable popcorn film, the choppy episodic nature of the movie is hugely frustrating, with no compelling story arc to glue all of the disparate parts together. The (often very violent) action scenes are very well done and exciting but as a viewer you don't feel invested in a 'journey' from the beginning of the film to the (unsatisfactory) ending. In my experience it's never a good sign when the writer considers it necessary to add a voice-over to the soundtrack, and here Affleck mutters truisms about his thoughts and motives that irritate more than illuminate.

The sheer volume of players in the piece (there are about three film's worth in here) and the resulting minimal screen time given to each allows no time for character development. Unfortunately the result is that you really care very little about whether people live or die and big plot developments land as rather an "oh" than an "OH!".

Affleck puts in a great turn as the autistic central character whose condition results in a cold, calculating demeanor and a complete lack of emotion reflecting on his face. Oh, hang on… no, wait a minute… sorry… I've got the wrong film…. I'm thinking about "The Accountant". I don't know whether he filmed these films in parallel. I generally enjoy Ben Affleck's work (he was excellent in "The Town") but for 95% of this film his part could have been completed by a burly extra with an Affleck mask on. In terms of acting range, his facial muscles barely get to a "2" on the scale. Given the double problem that he is barely credible as the "young man" returning mentally wounded from the trenches, then in my opinion he would have been better to have focused on the writing and directing and found a lead of the likes of an Andrew Garfield to fill Coughlin's shoes.

That's not to say there is not some good acting present in their all but brief supporting roles. Elle Fanning ("Trumbo", "Maleficent") in particular shines as the Southern belle Loretta Figgis: a religious zealot driving her police chief father (Chris Cooper, "The Bourne Identity") to distraction. Cooper also delivers a star turn as the moral but pragmatic law-man.

Sienna Miller ("Foxcatcher") delivers a passable Cork accent and does her best to develop some believable chemistry with the rock-like Affleck. Zoe Saldana ("Star Trek") is equally effective as a Cuban humanitarian.

In summary, it's sprawlingly watchable… but overall a disappointment, with Affleck over-reaching. One day we surely will get a gangster film the likes of another "Godfather", "Goodfellas" or "Untouchables". Although this has its moments, unfortunately it's more towards the "Public Enemies" end of the genre spectrum.

(For the graphical version of this review please visit bob-the-movie-man.com. Thanks.)

Producer, director, writer and lead actor: Ben Affleck.

Let's look at those contributions one by one.

Producer. The film looks good. There's an expert team on both sides of the camera. But there's a problem with length. Also, it feels as though the adaptation from Dennis Lehane's novel has not sufficiently transformed what was on the page into cinematic story-telling.

Director. There are excellent action sequences, such as an exciting car-chase and a final shoot-out. As a director of actors Mr Affleck is strong: he elicits particularly striking work from Chris Messina, Elle Fanning, Remo Girone and Sienna Miller. Within scenes there's a reassuring sense of control of pace. But overall, there is a sense of the director being in thrall to the screenplay.

Writer. This is the weakest link. It feels in awe of its source material. I read that an entire strand of the book was removed for the purposes of the film, but this was not enough. The producer and/or the director needed to tell the writer to put it through another draft. Or put it in its current form on Netflix as a two-part drama.

Lead actor. A matter of taste, I guess. Mr Affleck's persona is always of a handsome man who knows he's handsome, and who is very pleased with himself about it. I find this insufferable in large doses. And there is a very large dose of it here. Mr Affleck's performances lack depth -- compare and contrast those of this amazing brother Casey. As far as I'm concerned, Mr B. Affleck is more a male model than an actor: in James Bond terms, he's a George Lazenby rather than a Daniel Craig. His best film performance is his self-parodying turn in 'SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE'. In LIVE BY NIGHT he is serviceable, nothing more. His director clearly couldn't get anything else out of him.

It's instructive to compare Ben Affleck to Clint Eastwood, who also has a limited -- maybe even more limited -- range as an actor. But Eastwood the director usually casts Eastwood the actor brilliantly. DIRTY HARRY, UNFORGIVEN,GRAN TORINO etc: who could be better? By contrast, there are many young actors who could have played the lead in LIVE BY NIGHT, and many writers who could have delivered a better screenplay, especially when guided by a strong producer and director. Time will tell whether Ben Affleck is as good in those last two departments as ARGO suggested he might be. The promise he showed in those areas in that film is not in evidence here.

"Live By Night" sees star Ben Affleck back in the director's chair for the 4th time, his previous directorial offerings being "Gone Baby Gone", "The Town", and best picture winner "Argo", and sadly, it's easily his worst. "Live By Night" boasts a wonderful cast, stunning cinematography, and enthralling action set pieces but lacks any emotional weight or an interesting story, it's your usual by the numbers gangster flick about tough guys in over-sized suits blasting each other with Tommy guns and stabbing each other in the back. "Live By Night" is not a bad film by any means but is a forgettable entry in the gangster film genre and a disappointing directorial effort from Ben Affleck.

"Maybe it's true. We all find ourselves in lives we didn't expect. But what I learned was powerful men don't have to be cruel."Joe Coughlin (Ben Affleck)

Yet in the best of gangster, powerful men like Michael Corleone and Henry Hill are cruel, no matter how gentle their exteriors. So it seems with Joe Coughlin, a prohibition "bandit," as he calls himself, who doesn't think of himself as a gangster ("I don't wanna be a gangster. Stopped kissing rings a long time ago."). Yet he kills or has others killed in the name of moving toward heaven.

Although beautifully appointed and set in Florida and Cuba, writer/director Affleck's crime story misses the weight of crime films, which casually juxtapose the serious with the not so. It lacks the sass of Pulp Fiction and the gravitas of The Godfather with not much of their verbal gymnastics or irony.

Joe wanting to be a saint while being a sinner requires an actor of considerable resources, which Affleck showed a modicum of recently in the Accountant because it required him to be affectless. He brings that same stolid mien to this film and endangers the edge necessary for the success of actors like Al Pacino. Like Affleck, the film is listless except when Tommy Guns take charge.

As Joe navigates from a low-rent lover, Emma (Sienna Miller), to a classy love, Graciella (Zoe Saldana), director Affleck spends too much time on their embraces and too little on what makes him love them so passionately. He does love his own image as his abundance of self close-ups testifies. Maybe there is no passion, just old affectless Affleck.

It's dumping time in Hollywood, and Live by the Night is a classic example of why smart studios dump dull movies in January. It's not all that bad the way Joe is not all that bad. However, it just doesn't have the firepower to go against the big guns in the Oscar race. Remember the wild surprises and rich characters of the long-form Sopranos?

Maybe that's why the film gangster genre feels troubled here: The arch enemy, TV!

I've been a fan of Ben Affleck's directional efforts ever since I saw Gone Baby Gone way back in 2007 in theaters. I also loved The Town and think its his best film to date. Live by Night sort of came out of nowhere but I'm always down for Prohibition era crime films. The film seemed to get lukewarm reviews but there was no way I wasn't going to see this for myself. Overall, I'd say I enjoyed it and its better than what other critics are saying.

The film is set in Boston (and then Tampa) and is the story of the son of a police captain, who becomes a bootlegger and gangster. Be forewarned that there isn't much that separates this from gangster films we've seen before, however Affleck knows what he's doing and I think he does it well. The thing that pops out to me is the dialogue. Its quite clever and witty. There's funny moments and the film isn't always super serious, which is refreshing. Not everything in the script has to be explained as the viewers are expected to follow the message. The suits, cars, glamour, of the 20s and 30s is captured quite well (not that I lived in that era to really know if it was accurate). Some of the dialogue was hard to hear in theaters (the accents probably contributed to this). I think this film will one day warrant a second view anyways.

While I really enjoyed the film, it isn't without faults. It really depends on whether you can forgive the film for that or really see it as a detriment. Some of the characters felt loose and suddenly disappear. This includes Siena Miller, Elle Fanning and Brendan Gleeson. Fates of characters are explained and such but they feel unfulfilled. I thought Fanning's character was just becoming great, but as I said unfulfilled. Miller's character arc was just so odd as well (maybe rushed to fit the story). Well, at least my boy Miguel was in this. The film seems to want to tackle a few foes/events in different parts of the film and doesn't always do it seamlessly, which makes the film seem unfocused. The events of the third act felt rushed together just to come to a resolution. Without going into spoiling there's a head scratching moment near the end that seemed out of left field. I didn't have too many problems with all this and maybe its because I'm partial to Affleck and gangster films.

I enjoyed the car chase and gun battles. I think the comic element of the film kind of swept into the action scenes which made it enjoyable. I liked that the film takes place in Tampa and mixes with the Black and Cuban community as well. Its nice to see a sort of different locality in a gangster film. I'm sure there's much more I want to ramble about but nothings coming to me. Overall, this probably won't be something that'll be a the top of year end lists but its thoroughly enjoyable even through its flaws. Its not Affleck's best but I applaud him for directing and writing films in a time where he's busy being in blockbusters.

8/10

Live By Night tells the story of gangster Joe Coughlin (Ben Affleck) as he rises, falls then rises again through the criminal underworlds of Boston and Miami. Chronicling his life throughout the prohibition era in America, Joe becomes involved in the most nefarious of situations. He survives a bank heist gone wrong in which a police officers winds up dead, he survives a long stint in prison caused by the betrayal of his femme fatale Emma (Sienne Miller), he goes through so much in the film that you start to wonder less about what is going to happen than as to why it is happening. This is a film that feels incomplete, rushed and all together shallow. Ben Affleck, who has given us some pretty incredible films up until now, shows his weaknesses as a screenwriter but continues to give us more than enough to chew when it comes to his direction.

While I did want more out of this film, there is no denying that Affleck can most certainly stage some breathtaking action sequences. He knows when to get close, he knows what to show and when to show it. Live By Night is no exception to that standard in regards to how everything is shown. Some major highlights of the film include a vicious car chase through a country back road, copious amounts of bloody shootouts and brutal fights throughout yet we feel disengaged by what is going on. We don't know enough about anyone in the film outside of Joe to be connected to them, let alone feel bad when someone dies. To be quite honest, the film is 128 minutes and has about 100 characters in it...none of which you end up caring about. This comes down on the shoulders of Affleck as a screenwriter. In many ways, the film plays out like a highlight reel to a HBO mini-series such as Boardwalk Empire. It never really lets us simmer in slow burn human drama and instead gives us an action packed gangster film that is more on the level of Gangster Squad than White Heat.

If there is one thing that I've grown to expect going into a Ben Affleck film, it is that I'm bound to be blown away by the cast if all else fails. While the performances in this film are good, some of them even excellent, it really doesn't translate well when you just don't care about them. Ironically, in a film that is geared towards male characters and dominated by such, the women in this film give tremendous performances. Sienna Miller and Zoe Saldana stand out as two performances that were truly powerhouse even if their screen time collectively added up to maybe twenty minutes all together.

Then there is Chris Messina, who was a bit hard to judge here, considering he is playing a character from the 1930s underworld, but it was extremely hard to take him seriously during times when you wanted nothing more than to be able to take him seriously. At first, I figured he was the comic relief but then I was left waiting for him to drop the act and be serious for a moment. While I know Messina is a phenomenal actor, I just could not take him seriously in this role. Unfortunately, I thought he was too over the top. No matter what my thoughts on Messina were, he still did not compare to how I felt about Ben Affleck's performance as Joe.

While I am a big fan of Ben Affleck, I was severely let down by his performance in this film. I've read about the differences between the film and the novel regarding the age and honestly, I don't really care about that. The film is the film and the book is the book. That isn't my issue here. My issue is how wooden Affleck went to portray Joe. There was nothing new, nothing deep about this character which is pretty disappointing considering both The Town and Gone Baby Gone had tremendous lead characters that made us care about what happens to them. Unfortunately, this isn't the case here. This film does very little to make us care about any character, let alone our lead. Many will argue that watching a criminal empire get built is fascinating no matter how many times we see it, and I agree with that. But when you have someone as uninteresting as Joe Coughlin, something that is supposed to be fun to watch turns into a chore. That is probably the most frustrating thing about this film.

Overall, Live by Night is a throwback to classical gangster films that serves as Ben Affleck's worst directorial effort. With that being said, the film still features some truly thrilling action sequences that are bound to satisfy many even if the film is a bloated mess that should have been larger than what is or nothing at all.

We were flipping through channels & just happened upon this movie on HBO. We'd never even heard of it, but it was one of the best movies we've seen in a long time.

I went to the theater to watch a Gangster/Mafia movie, and I got one. Mafia movies are by far my favorite type of movie. Live by Night delivered that 1920's gangster look. Ben Affleck does an amazing Irish Mafia member persona. The story was very moving and the characters were likable. There was just enough action in the movie. The tommy gun fight scenes felt like a real 1920's gang shoot out. Live by Night shows a true gangster movie look. Most Mafia movies rely on the story to make their movie good. Live by Night uses action and an amazing story. I had a little trouble with keeping up with the names of the characters but later on I started memorizing their names. Defiantly go see this movie if your a gangster/mafia movie fan. Live by Night will not disappoint you.

Gangster movies have been a major component to American cinema for quite some time. With established films like The Godfather series, Scarface, among other films, sometimes it can be hard to produce a quality modern day crime film. But Ben Affleck has made an attempt this weekend with the movie Live by Night. Can Affleck's recent resurgence revitalize the gang movie, or does his operation go belly up before it gets started? Robbie K here with another review and as always appreciate the read.

LIKES: • Solid acting • Incredible Setting and Costumes • Very Detailed Description of a mob rising

Summary: Affleck's stoic, monotone, performances continue to find footholds in a variety of parts, and his portrayal of a gangster with a conscience is spot on. Although not the most emotionally dynamic character, Affleck's tactics work in portraying a man struggling with the trials at hand. Chris Messina as his sidekick has more of an edge that helps offset the monotone delivery of the lead role. Other actors do their job of crafting the seedy mob family, being cunning, ruthless, or strong to accomplish their goals. If the acting doesn't sell the gangster setting than the costumes and scenery will do the trick. Live by Night uses the big budget of the film industry to recreate the roaring 20s, complete with old fashioned zoot suits, classic car models, and the nostalgic traditional models of high-end restaurants. I felt I had traveled back in time in this flick, with only the high definition cameras and a recognition of modern day fabric to shatter the illusion. Finally, the other component that sells the crime theme is the attention to detail of starting a crime syndicate. Most other crime movies often have our character in an established family, but Live By Night twists this concept and casts Affleck into raising a satellite family in Florida. Much of the film is focuses on how he establishes business contracts, allies, love, occasionally throwing in some conflict resolution that brings a little excitement to the film.

DISLIKES: • Slow pace • Awkward Summaries • Boring At times • Rushed over ending

Summary: Although some of my favorite mafia movies don't have action, they at least have an engaging plot that is suspenseful. Not the case for this movie. Live by Night is slow, often paying a little too much attention to monotonous details for building the empire. The film tried to build the suspense with their overdone explanations that promised some heart crushing moments... only to wrap things up with a monologue from Affleck describing what happened. These mundane, overlapping comments did little for me other than decrease the run time of the movie and I was disappointed at the lack of effort for drama. The result for me was a very boring film not only in terms of action, but in emotional suspense as well. If you look at the classics, the storytellers built up tension that climaxed at those gut-wrenching moments as a character was killed. However in this film, they seldom came close to matching that suspense, the only exception being two moments near the end of the film. And speaking of the ending… it felt out of place for me. Live By nights "exciting" climax has a heated battle that fits well into the theme of the movie, but finally relieves the boring moments. Had they ended with the monologue after that it would have been perfect. Yet, the movie didn't stop and added an extra twenty minutes that summed things up, but in a manner that to me was very simplistic, rushed, and lackluster.

The VERDICT:

Live by Night is a gangster movie that felt more like a video guide to starting a bootlegging operation. It certainly has the look and feel of a gangster movie, complete with family drama, but it lacks that edge the mobster classics had. Outside of a few moments, this movie was a little toned down for my tastes, and I didn't like the monologue summaries as they robbed us of some exciting conclusions. Therefore, this reviewer can't recommend this movie for the theater outside of the look of the movie.

My scores are:

Crime Drama: 6.5 Movie Overall: 5.0

Prohibition era Boston. Small-time Irish crook Ben Affleck doesn't want to get caught up in the territorial war between Irish gangster Robert Glenister and Italian gangster Remo Girone. But when he falls for Sienna Miller, an inside woman for one of his jobs, it's too late as she's also Glenister's mistress. When a robbery goes wrong and some cops end up dead, and Glenister gets the word about Miller and Affleck, it's only because of Affleck's dad, a police captain who knows everything about everyone in Boston, that Affleck ends up doing some hard time in prison rather than go to the chair or get killed by Glenister. But Miller's dead and when Affleck gets out again, he wants revenge and turns to Girone. Girone sets Affleck up in Florida where Glenister's been moving in on his liquor business. Affleck does well there and manages to take over most of Glenister's business. But Florida isn't just run by gangsters, it's also run by the KKK...

Bloody awesome! If you enjoy the 30s and 40s gangster movies starring James Cagney and Lawrence Tierney (Affleck looks so much like him at times, I am convinced he based his physical demeanor in this movie on him), this movie will bring a smile to your face. While Affleck's character is never quite as ruthless or cold as Cagney's and Tierney's trademark roles, he definitely embodies that same kinda spirit. The movie also touches upon the more political/racial/religious aspects of the era, such as where police captain Chris Cooper tells Affleck he will turn a blind eye as long as he keeps his business to the bad (read: non-white) part of town (and of course there's the KKK as already mentioned above).

While Affleck is far from the greatest actor ever, he seems very aware of his limitations and makes them work to his advantage here. It also helps that he's supported by an excellent cast. And the movie looks absolutely stunning with some great sets and set pieces, and tons of beautiful 20s/30s cars (including a great car chase in and around Boston). Affleck, who also directed this movie, and DoP Richard Richardson, as well as the set & art directors, give this movie a great and authentic look, which by itself is worth the price of admission.

If there's a negative to this movie, it's that Affleck (also the screenplay writer!) wants to bring too much of Dennis Lehane's source novel to the table. Because of the sheer amount of plot lines some get a bit lost in the shuffle and not given too much attention (I also left out some rather important ones in this review, hah). I assume that similar to his 2010 movie 'The Town' his original cut is way longer than the current 2h9m runtime tho, so hopefully at some point a 'director's cut' of 'Live By Night' sees the light of day. For me however, the 2 hours flew by, and I was on the edge of my seat from the first second to the last. I can't recommend this movie enough, and I am even considering seeing it again in the cinema. Let me say it again: Blood awesome!

Ben Affleck returns to Dennis Lehane's work with this adaptation of Live By Night, the second novel in a trilogy (starting with The Given Day and finishing with World Gone By). Live By Night is a gangster epic which follows the rise to power of Joe Coughlin, a young Boston criminal who ends up running an empire in Florida for the Italian mob. As with The Town and Argo, Affleck casts himself in the leading role and is joined by an impressive supporting cast including Sienna Miller, Zoe Saldana, Elle Fanning, Robert Glenister, Chris Cooper and Brendan Gleeson.

The film begins with Coughlin, as the narrator, introducing himself as a veteran who has returned disillusioned from WW1 to the extent that he refuses to follow rules or take orders from anybody. As such, he now considers himself an outlaw. We see him and his crew embark on daring robberies, including a poker game ran by one of Boston's major gangsters, Albert White (played with menacing vigour by Glenister) whose moll is having an affair with Coughlin. As repercussions ensue, Coughlin reluctantly takes on a job for White's mob rivals who send him to Ybor City, Florida, in order to take over their rum import enterprise during the prohibition era. Despite initial protestations that he is not a gangster, does not want to be wedded to the mob or have to take orders from anyone, he eventually concedes to his circumstances and his need for revenge against White, and so quickly sets about establishing his presence, authority and power across Southern Florida. In doing so, he finds love, friendship and enemies as he encounters the wrath of various strands of the Florida populous, ranging from the devoutly religious to the KKK, who take umbrage with his diverse business and personal relations. Naturally, events head toward a bloody and violent showdown.

As an addition to the gangster genre, Live By Night certainly has a uniqueness to it. Thanks to the Florida setting, there is a notable feel and style to the film. Whereas the typical gangster movie might be set in dark and claustrophobic city locations such as Chicago, New York, Detroit or Boston, the story here is told against sun-soaked, colourful and expansive scenery which provides a sense of heat so stifling that it can almost be felt coming through the screen. The film also boasts some sumptuous scenery, particularly of the Florida glades, whilst the early 20th Century town-life of Ybor City really comes to life thanks to excellent design, costumes and vibrant music. It was interesting, too, to see a gangster film based during the prohibition era which told its story from the perspective of the suppliers of the alcohol, rather than the city-based recipients. Additionally, the ethnic diversity of the characters form a foundation for the depiction of the racism that was so prevalent in the southern United States during this period, and this gives Live By Night a distinctiveness within the genre.

Unfortunately, whilst Affleck has proved himself to be a superb director, this is by far his weakest effort. Hastily cut and edited, the first act in particular chops and changes scenes with such frenetic pace and frequency one could be forgiven for feeling queasy with motion sickness. This may very well be a conscious decision by Affleck, as Coughlin's voice-over thankfully helps provide some degree of constructive narrative, but as a result any provision of context, plot or character development feels completely overlooked; an issue that lingers throughout the film. Too much feels glossed over and rushed, with relationships suddenly formed and underdeveloped, whilst character motivations and intentions are under-explored and largely ignored.

Lehane's novel does not suffer from the same issues and therefore the source material cannot be blamed here. Indeed, we are introduced to Coughlin in the first novel, The Given Day, and his character, relationships, background, grievances and drive are detailed thoroughly. With Affleck's film, he introduces us to Coughlin midway through the character's reality and doesn't bother to lay a foundation for him. As a result, Coughlin's relationship with his high-ranking police officer father is barely covered, whereas Lehane uses this as one of the core influences behind his intention to live a life of crime. In the film, Coughlin says how he mourns for a lost love, but this is not something we actually get to see. Again, Lehane uses this as a key impetus for his character. Affleck's Coughlin, a petty criminal, insists on not becoming a gangster, yet hits the ground running the second he arrives in Florida setting up the empire. There are various other examples which all highlight how the events within Affleck's film are mostly conceived out of pure convenience.

Compounding this sense of underdevelopment and hastiness is an infuriating lack of any indication of how much time is passing throughout the story. At one point towards the end of the film, Coughlin refers to a girl who died in 1927, and this just highlighted the fact that, aside from references to US Presidents and the end of prohibition, there is nothing to suggest when these events are taking place or indeed how long they are taking.

It's frustratingly poor storytelling, especially when considering the strength and quality of the source material. Combined with Affleck being so prominent in his leading role, his decision as the director to use so many facial close-ups and lingering shots of Coughlin means that Live By Night essentially feels like a self indulgence piece. Ironically, his brother Casey would arguably have made a better Coughlin and perhaps Affleck would benefit from staying behind the camera next time.

Ultimately, Live By Night is a missed opportunity. It looks fantastic, and there are some excellent action sequences including car chases and shoot-outs, but as a drama it is severely lacking in impact and finesse.

His previous gangster movie "The Town" wasn't bad, so with experience already making a gangster flick, and this time in the 30s, I was very excited to watch Live by Night. Well, the only positive thing I can say are the beautiful set pieces. Everything else totally stunk. Its definitely no classic, and doesn't even come remotely close to The Town.

It seems like Ben is in love with himself, as he's in almost every scene, mumbling his lines. He gives Steven Seagal a run for his money for most soft spoken. Affleck is boring, the pace moves at the speed of a turtle, all the other actors only gets a few scenes and none of them are memorable. The love scenes lack passion and worst of all, the violence lacks excitement. It has the most dullest shootouts of any gangster movie I can recall. I couldn't wait for this movie to end.

I don't know what happened with Ben, as he wrote, directed, produced, and starred in it, but he didn't bring his A game, he brought his P (pathetic) game instead.

This movie was produced, written, played and directed by the same man, an actor who believes he should become a genius of cinema if he wants to respect himself. It is a bundle of stereotypes, anachronisms, bad acting and excess of dialogue and "ideas". I wanted to walk out one hour into the film, but I was with someone. If the above said were not enough, the crap lasts 130 minutes of unbearable boredom. By the way, I loved the Cuban music played in that Florida party; the movie makers imply this is about 1930 but the orchestra sounds like Gloria Stefan's songs, those guys were 70 years ahead of their time! *Wonderful*! And this gross inaccuracy is a strong characteristic of the film, as every possible approach to all possible events of the late twenties/early thirties (they only forgot to cleverly link the plot to Lindbergh's kidnapping) is seen through the lens of the nice opinions of today. This is therefore probably the fakest thirties you can see on a screen. I also want to underline the utterly stupid and worthless "morals" of the story, as it is plain from start that the badass played by Affleck is not better than the guys he fights & kills, and some of his actions are particularly disgusting and vicious. You want a proof? There's no way you can feel you care a speck of dust about any character in the film, save for maybe some of the victims of the tough guy. A recital of viciousness which tries to lecture us on morals. Unpalatable. I agree with almost all user reviews between 4 and 1. What you read in those reviews is the best that can be said about this film.

I went to friend's to watch and from the trailers it seemed like a nice little gangster movie. It starts building up as a crime/revenge story and then out of nowhere it's like the movie ignores what it was originally going for. I'm gonna explain this... So Benn Affleck's character is head over heels for this marilyn monroe look alike and then she betrays him. So this mob boss beats him up and lets him go. Ben Affleck swears revenge and then he starts by going to the Florida and then tries to find the guy who betrays. At that point, the movie just totally forgets all of that. So Ben Affleck befriends a bunch of Cubans and agrees to start smuggling rum. So then out of nowhere the KKK shows up (I'm not making this up) and start harassing him. So he tries to make deals with them and then they back down. So then he like finds the sheriffs daughter is strung out on heroin and then black mails him into letting him meet one of the KKK heads (they even gave the dude a hair lip so we know he's in the KKK and LITERALLY Hitler)so he can kill them. We're already like an hour into this movie and it's already forgotten about the whole revenge story. So they try to tie it in by saying the main villain paid the KKK to shoot up the Ben Affleck's clubs. So the KKK guys get shot and then they explain over a quick montage that they ended up running the KKK out of Tampa. So then in the next part of the movie Ben Affleck tries to open a Casino but the Sheriff's daughter is back in town going on tour speaking against gambling, sex, drugs, and all kinds of sins (this movie is all over the place). So that's like 20 minutes of the movie wasted. The plot around her is dumb, she kills herself after contributing nothing to the plot, and then Ben Affleck goes and gets his revenge. This movie looked like it'd be a cool gangster movie but it is not a gangster movie. There is nothing more absurd than a movie placed in the 20s trying to tackle "social issues" facing society today. It was trying to send a "message" that didn't really go anywhere and it's a shame they tried to sell this as a crime drama. Terrible movie. Leonardo Retardo and Ben Assfleck should retire.

Ben Affleck proves once again that he cannot write, direct, produce and star in a movie. He has failed to create an interesting picture despite the fascinating material he has at hand. First, the novel by Dennis Lehane; second, the territory of gangland Boston and Florida during Prohibition; third and finally, a cast of great actors in the supporting roles from Brendan Gleeson to Elle Fanning, Chris Messina and Chris Cooper. Why isn't this a good movie? It should be, but Affleck once again does not seem to be able to take the helm wearing all those hats and produce a great movie. The stereotypes abound, the women are cardboard cutouts and the Godfather it ain't. I read this movie was originally going to run to three hours, before Warner Bros forced Affleck to cut it. As it is, at a few minutes over 2 hours, I can't imagine sitting through more of this boring, snail-paced and dull gangster film. Don't waste your time on Live By Night: watch the Untouchables, rent the Godfather trilogy or, better yet, go outside and take a long walk instead.

My thought process going into this was: "It's got mixed reviews, but at least it will have cool cars and clothes and plenty of action, so how bad can it be?"

I ended up walking out 45 minutes before the end, not because it was bad, but because I just did not care what happened next. The film is empty; utterly soulless. It's like watching over somebody's shoulder while they play a computer game (especially in the CGI-heavy car- chase scene, but in the CGI-heavy rest of the film too.)

The acting is terrible. The main character has one single facial expression, and that's it. The dialogue is awful. The only good lines in the movie are lifted from "Miller's Crossing" and the only actor who seems to have any emotions at all is Messina.

Scene follows scene, but there's no reason to care. Things happen, but completely at random, as though the screenwriter is playing a dadaist game with cut-up Boardwalk Empire scripts. Characters are introduced, and then blown off the screen a couple of scenes later, never to be seen again.

Historical accuracy does not seem to be a priority, but the filmmakers don't seem to be going for all-out historical inaccuracy (in the style of Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby) either; they just seem to be incompetent. Salsa dancing in the 1920s? Really? 1970s pantsuits? I suppose I can't blame them for not caring.

I don't care either. I don't care if you see this film or not. I just wanted to warn you how utterly meaningless it is. To paraphrase Dr. Narcisse (a memorable gangster character with cool dialogue played by a great actor): Go and see it. Or don't. Your choice.

There have been a lot of times in my life where, by the end of a film, I have shook my head in dismay, at the thought of wasting my time watching garbage. Yes, this was another one of those occasions. This was one of the worst films I have ever seen; I say that with absolute clarity, without so much of a hint of over-exaggeration. To give you an idea of what the experience of watching this movie is like, I would like you to play out a certain iconic scene in your head. This scene is from the classic "GoodFellas" where Joe Pesci's character Tommy has been sent for. To be "Made". Imagine Tommy's surprise when that isn't the case and instead he has a grave marking his impending doom awaiting him. That (although slightly more intense..) is the feeling your left with by the time the credits roll. The trailer promises action, and car chases and cool deaths. By the end you feel like Tommy, wondering what would've happened if you hadn't been duped.

All i can remember from this film, is Ben Affleck sitting across from someone at a desk or cuddling a female. Action scenes are that of extreme rarity and any "shocking" moments are so recklessly placed, that they lose all impact. 45 minutes, boring the viewer to tears, followed by 1 minute of intensity doesn't cut it. It's simply not good enough. The countless trailers leading up to the release, the positive reviews, the cast and this is what we get? Walking out, I felt really bad for anyone who paid around £10 to see it. In a script that includes the Irish and Italian mob and the KKK all intertwined, I find it unacceptable that this is the best they could come up with. At some points I felt this whole film was made, just so Affleck could do his Boston accent again. It is drab, and I can't help but feel extremely disappointed. Everything about the film screams desperation. Each scene, outfit, the dialogue. Trying its very best to convince you that you're watching a genuine gangsters life. And yes that is the whole point of acting and films, but it supposed to flow, to be natural. This is anything but natural. It's...well...Fugazzi. I can only hope that this is a small bump in the road in relation to Affleck and his work as a director, as a mountain of a project awaits him and this is one he cannot afford to mess up. If Bruce Wayne is suddenly from Boston i'll lose my ....

Bloody knew I should have opted for La La Land instead...

This movie checked off several boxes for me. I really enjoy gangster stories and this was a 1920s-1930s period piece (I think it's a really interesting era), so I was intrigued. Add in that Ben Affleck has been killing it as a director lately and I was in. The trailer was pretty great too, I was so jacked up for this I went and read Dennis Lehane's book (which was pretty great, I'll be reading more of his stuff in the future). It was one of those movies that was a must-see in the theatre for me. The bad reviews didn't deter me and I'm glad they didn't, expectations might have been too high for this and this movie accomplished what it wanted to.

*Minor Spoilers Ahead* Joe Coughlin (Ben Affleck) is back from WW1 and feels pretty dejected. The war had almost been pointless for him, he saw a lot of death and destruction and he's ready to enjoy his freedom and the good life even if it means dying for it. He gets back to his hometown of Boston and he begins his life as an outlaw.

His situation is more complicated than most, it's not a good time to be running his own operation. The city is in the midst of a war between the Irish mob run by Albert White (Rob Glenister) and the Italian mafia run by Maso Pescatore (Remo Girone). Add in that his dad Thomas Coughlin (Brendan Gleeson) is a high ranking official in the Boston PD, so it's a volatile combination. One fateful day, he robs a backroom poker game with several high ranking officials in the Albert White mob in attendance with his 2 friends Dion (Chris Messina) and his brother. The waitress covering the game is Emma Gould (Sienna Miller) who was more than a little sly during the robbery. It's for good reason we find out, she's Joe's lover. But the events of that day turn the course of Joe's life toward a darker path that he can't escape.

It's kind of cool to be writing this review from the point of view of knowing the source material pretty well. I'm happy to report that this movie is pretty faithful to the source material. A lot of the dialogue is ripped right out of the book. It changes certain parts of the story, mostly in the beginning and in the end but otherwise I was very impressed that Affleck and his team went so close to the book. There was a part of the story that I was disappointed they didn't include (robbing a U.S. naval vessel) but if one of my biggest criticisms is that they couldn't include every part of the awesome original narrative, that should show how stuffed the movie is with good bits. Some of the critics have complained about the pacing of the movie but I was never bored. There was always some new enemy or new problem Joe had to deal with and I wanted to know how Joe would figure out how to deal with them.

The accurate translation of the book carries over into things like the cinematography, set-design, costumes and other visual parts. This is a beautiful movie. You would think I'm exaggerating because it's a gangster movie but the movie knows it, especially when they're in Florida. The movie has several absolutely beautiful shots of the Florida landscape and instead of distracting me from the central story, it actually enriched it. The last point I want to make about the visuals and directing is that Affleck really knows how to shoot the $#!& out of an action scene. The action is great in this movie in a gritty and fairly believable way. It's easy to see how Affleck's turned himself into one of the best directors out there in present time.

Ben Affleck also put together a hell of a cast and minus one or two people, they all did good work. I actually didn't like Affleck as much as I thought I would in the first 1/3 of the movie, the character in the book is much younger and Affleck didn't quite seem to gel. But as the movie went along, the character grew and Affleck seemed to fit better. I was blown away by Sienna Miller, she was not only pitch-perfect as Emma but she nailed the Irish accent. Chris Messina brought some nice levity to the movie, he and Affleck played off each other very well. Veteran character actors like Brendan Gleeson and Chris Cooper were pretty solid. I liked Elle Fanning a lot better in this than the Neon Demon. I felt bad for Zoe Saldana as Graciela, she was pretty good but her character had a lot more depth in the book.

The only other complaint I have about Live By Night is that the characterization was kind of uneven. I think that was mainly because they couldn't include everything from the book but it was still a small disappointment. Some of the characters didn't get their arcs, the biggest omissions were Graciela, Dion Bartolo and Esteban Suarez. I don't think this was neglectful by Affleck but there was a hatchet taken to the book and some of the parts that were cleaved were little parts that could have made the movie better.

I think the critics have been too hard on this movie. It's not as good as the Godfather, Goodfellas or The Town but it's a well put together gangster movie. I would compare it in quality to Black Mass, the 2015 Johnny Depp movie. That movie had a better central performance but I think this had better production values, a story with better flow and better action scenes. If you like gangster movies or Dennis Lehane's novel, check this out. In terms of Affleck's output, The Town was better but this is still well above your typical January release.

Batfleck's latest directorial flop is the biggest Oscar-bait fail of Batfleck's inconsistent career. The film features an impressive cast and exquisite period sets, yet pretty much messes everything else up. In a nutshell, this movie sucked!!!

Ben Affleck is an assured director with a some good films under his belt such as "Gone Baby Gone," "The Town," and the academy award winner "Argo." "Live By Night" had great potential but squandered it with an uninvolved, overstuffed, boring, rushed, lackluster and turd-infested flop. Ben Affleck's character had the same monotonous inflection and static demeanor as his character in "The Accountant." But at least in "The Accountant" he was autistic. In this film he played some guy named Joe. And that's really all you can say about his character. The story was so unoriginal and boring you could take a nap for half the movie and not miss anything important. Everything was told to us through narration which felt like it was cramming in as much crap as possible from Dennis Lehane's book. This would of worked better as a TV show with all the stuff they threw in this movie, AND if they had followed through with their original plans of casting Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead role. Let's be real, add Leo to anything and it will be much better.

"Live By Night" might be one of the most disappointing movies of the year as well as the biggest waste of talent. The potential was there with this cast, source material of Dennis Lehane's book, and the thrills of Prohibition mob violence, yet still somehow failed in delivering characters worth caring about, a story worth being engaged in, and anything worth remembering. Ben, please learn from your mistakes and make a better picture next time. There's only so much disappointment we can take in a year.

Actor/writer/director Ben Affleck tries his hand at a period piece in this ambitious crime saga beginning in the 1920s Prohibition Era. Joe Coughlin—the son of a renowned Boston police officer—is a small-time crook looking to make a name for himself in the ruthless underworld of organized crime. After a series of tragic circumstances, he relocates to the South to become the frontman/muscle for an Italian mafia bootlegging operation, but quickly gets plunged into the seedy, seductive world of money, power, greed, and corruption. Intriguing at first, with tense moments of action and character interactions, but goes on too long by following too many unrelated story threads, features ineffective casting in key roles, has too many familiar elements, and concludes in pat, sanctimonious fashion. Despite some flavorful ingredients, Affleck's attempt to create a potent, moralizing amalgam of The Town and The Godfather doesn't quite succeed. **½

In the end, I think is a good movie. The resolution is great at every level.

But the truth is the first act is quite boring. A lot of characters are presented with (boring) care.

After the work is done (and it feels like work, which is quite awful, probably), the movie starts to pick up in tension

The third act is really great and makes the movie what it is.

The performances are just fine in my opinion. Professional might be the right word.

So... If you like Ben Afflect, you have to see this If you DISlike Ben Afflect, you better not see it If you are indiferent to him, I recommend it

Joe Coughlin (Ben Affleck, who also wrote and directed) is Tom the police chief's son (Brendan Gleeson) in 20's Beantown. Nevertheless, he prefers the life of crime himself. He and his co-horts rob banks and poker games, upsetting his papa greatly. Love, however, remains strong between the two. Moreover, Joe is small peanuts in a town run by two mob leaders, one an Irishman and the other Italian. As fate would have it, Joe falls for the Irish mobster's "moll", Emma (Sienna Miller) and begins a clandestine affair, knowing the consequences if Boss Albert finds out. Joe daydreams so much about Emma that on a routine bank heist, his foggy mind upsets the apple cart. This leads to a police chase and fiery crash; Joe escapes, the cops do not. Albert IS looking for Joe, for he knows the score now, but doesn't get there before Tom arrives. Pulling strings, Tom gets Joe a very light sentence of three years. Wow. When he gets out, Joe doesn't know where Emma is, believing her to be dead, and decides to "relocate" to Tampa Florida, working for the Italian Boston Boss. He does this because the Irishman is worming his way into bootlegging and gambling down south, too, in Miami. Once there, Joe does a fabulous job, working with Cubans including lovely Graciela (Zoe Saldana). The straight-laced police chief, Figgis looks the other way and has a beautiful daughter, Loretta (Elle Fanning) who is off the star in Hollywood. But, what happens when the Italian mobster begins to believe Joe is weak and not into "killing" anymore? What about Albert, is he still looking for Joe? This very fine movie has great performances, many twists and turns, gorgeous sets, fabulous costumes, and a style that dazzles. Who can we thank? Why, first, Affleck who stars, writes, and directs and Dennis Lehane, whose novel came first. Purists may want to know that the ending of the film is different from the book while those who detest violence won't want to watch it. Even so, the violence is not pervasive and the story too good too miss. So, movie fan, don't skip it.

In 1972, director Francis Ford Coppola brought to the big screen a novel called "The Godfather", about a fictional Italian-American crime family. The title character's son, Michael Corleone (played by Al Pacino in the Best Picture Oscar-winning film), was a war veteran who wanted nothing to do with his father's business, but ends up running that business and becoming even more ruthless than his father had been. 2016's "Live by Night" (R, 2:09) is based on the 2012 novel of the same name by Dennis Lehane (whose earlier books "Gone, Baby, Gone", "Mystic River" and "Shutter Island" also made it to the big screen) features a main character similar to that of Michael Corleone in "The Godfather", but isn't as interesting.

Joe Coughlin (Ben Affleck, who also adapted Lehane's novel and directs) is the son of a Boston police captain (Brendan Gleeson) and a veteran of World War I, an experience which definitively shaped Joe's outlook on life. He returns from the war disillusioned and with no respect for rules or authority. Joe embarks on a life of crime, but is content with an armed robbery here and there and doesn't want to become a murderous monster like rival Boston crime bosses Albert White (Robert Glenister) and Maso Pescatore (Remo Girone). Unwisely, Joe is involved in an affair with White's girlfriend, Emma Gould (Sienna Miller), which makes Joe a pawn in the contest of wills between the two gangsters. With help from his friend and partner, Dion Bartolo (Chris Messina), Joe robs a bank so he can get enough money to run to California with Emma. When the robbery goes wrong, Joe ends up in prison for his crimes.

After doing his time, Joe reunites with Dion and goes to work for Pescatore, who puts Joe in charge of his rum-running activities in Florida. That's where Joe meets and falls in love with a fiery Cuban woman named Garciela Corrales (Zoe Saldana). Garciela wonders aloud if Joe is tough enough to succeed on the path that he has chosen. Joe rises to the challenge as he has to battle the local Ku Klux Klan (embodied by Matthew Maher and Anthony Michael Hall) for business and personal reasons, but also shows his underlying humanity as he helps free a young woman named Loretta (Elle Fanning), the daughter of local Sheriff Irving Figgis (Chris Cooper), from being exploited while trying to become an actress in L.A. Joe has to confront a new set of challenges when Loretta emerges from her personal turmoil as a popular revivalist and preaches loudly about the evils of gambling, just as Joe is building a casino.

"Live by Night" is a half-way decent but forgettable gangster movie. Although Joe Coughlin may follow a path similar to Michael Corleone, he's really more like Sean Penn's character in 2015's mediocre "The Gunman", while this film more closely matches the quality of the latter than the former. Like Penn's character, Joe is portrayed as a sympathetic murderer who clings to his humanity and tries to atone for his sins by doing some good, but the message is practically lost in uninspired twists and half-hearted attempts to be clever and deep. "Live by Night" is a passable morality play and action flick, but its contrived plot and dull characters disappoint. "C"

Spoilers aplenty below.

Live By Night is a gangster film set in early 20th century Boston and Florida. Ben Affleck, who also directs and wrote the screenplay by adapting a Dennis Lehane novel, stars as Joe Coughlin, the son of a Boston-based Police Chief of Irish descent.

Coughlin returns from the Great War in Europe in 1918 disillusioned by the killing of so many of his compatriots, while the people higher up in society remained largely unscathed or even profited from the war. He vows never to let anyone tell him what to do again and becomes a small-time 'outlaw' in Boston. He and two accomplices commit bank robberies and other crimes. They do this outside of the major Irish and Italian crime organisations operating in Boston who are fighting each other for control. Inevitably he gets caught up in the Boston gangster scene. In no small part due to the fact he is having a relationship with Emma Gould, the Moll of the head of the Irish faction Albert White. After a bank raid goes wrong, Coughlin and Gould plan to go to California, but White and his accomplices capture him with the help of Emma who betrays him to save herself. Coughlin seems doomed, but the police arrive to arrest him for the bank job, and therefore stop his murder. He only gets three years in prison largely due to the influence of his father who has damaging information about the prosecutor of the case.

Coughlin's father tells him that Emma was killed by White, and when he gets out of prison he goes to the head of the Italian faction, Maso Pescatore, so he can get a chance to kill Albert White for killing Emma. Pescatore tells him that in the three years he's been in prison White and his gang have been driven out of Boston. He gives Coughlin the job of running the Italian prohibition busting rum smuggling operation from Florida to Boston.

Coughlin takes over and runs the rum smuggling operation very successfully for years in combination with the Cuban's and other immigrants. He falls for and marries Graciela, the sister of the head of the Cuban smuggling business. Everything is operating fine until prohibition repeal starts to be discussed. Coughlin attempts to build a large casino to switch the business from smuggling to gambling, but his plans are derailed by a young girl preacher who turns the town against the idea. At the same time, the local KKK faction is trying to muscle in on the speakeasy and future casino businesses. They also don't like the fact that Coughlin and others are living with Cuban's and other non-white people. Coughlin sorts out the KKK, but he later gets double-crossed by Pescatore. Fortunately, he see's this coming and has a plan in place…

The acting in Live By Night is great. Sienna Miller as fantastic as the Moll Emma Gould. Her Cork accent is fantastic. Elle Fanning isn't in the film much, but her portrayal of the young preacher Loretta Figgis is fantastic. Fanning was in my favourite film from 2016 (The Neon Demon). She is turning into an excellent actor. The rest of the cast are good, but Miller and Fanning stand out. The script is good, and the cinematography is first class, and the film looks gorgeous. The sets and costumes all fit into the 1920's to 1940's vibe. Perhaps a bit to clean and sharp for depression period America, but I wasn't there so can't say. It didn't detract from the feel.

I liked Live By Night. It had all the tropes you would expect in a north-east American based gangster film. And you need those tropes in a film of this type or you might feel short-changed. It is done well and has a few twists you might not expect. I rated it 8/10. Close to a 9, but not quite. I would recommend seeing it.

There are some very poor films being made nowadays that resort to silly or gratuitous violence (if there is such a thing) with stories that are pure fancy and do not reflect the times or anything close to it. Overlay that with patently fake explosions and special effects that just cheapen the film and you are left with something that it is easy to walk out of at half time. I had just had enough of the rattling machine guns and stupid macho posturing.

It becomes very annoying when you see how much money is spend on this tripe when they could make more films like Robert Redford's "The Company you Keep", for example that has no special effects just clever and thought provoking dialogue.