Live by Night (2016)
Directed by Ben Affleck
A group of Boston-bred gangsters set up shop in balmy Florida during the Prohibition era, facing off against the competition and the Ku Klux Klan.
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6 films that influenced Live by Night
What critics say influenced Live by Night
This gangster movie may not be on par with the caliber of “The Godfather,” but "Live by Night," remains a solid drama with a great pedigree that will be worth seeing for fans of the genre.
"Live By Night" works a bit like Affleck's directorial crime drama debut "The Town," filtered through Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather," with Lehane's adapted story coming off worse for the compassion.
That’s a lot of plot real estate to cover, but with a leaner, smarter screenplay than Affleck himself has delivered, the sprawl could have remained just as epic, the intentions just as ambitious and noble, the impact just as incisive and intimate as, oh, say, The Godfather.
Affleck’s love of The Godfather is evident throughout Live by Night, to the extent that it’s almost impossible to discuss the latter without mentioning the former.
"Live by Night" wants it both ways and while the first "Godfather" picture, among others, managed to have it both ways, well, "The Godfather" is "The Godfather."
An outright catastrophe as historical drama, it gets halfway to redeeming itself as camp: reaching for the operatic heights of Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather (1972), Affleck’s belly-flop lands nearer to the terrain of lounge act Duke Mitchell’s infamous Massacre Mafia Style (1974)—though Affleck’s antiseptic money pit is nowhere near so lovably, eccentrically handmade.
His work in front of the camera isn’t unlike Kevin Costner’s contributions to films like The Untouchables and Dances with Wolves .
Affleck’s effort bests classic prohibition-set movies like “The Untouchables” and “Miller’s Crossing” by only its volume of bloodshed.
Adult male audiences with an appetite for old-school gangster action might be intrigued, but anyone hoping this would join the ranks of distinctive Prohibition thrillers like The Untouchables, Miller's Crossing or Once Upon a Time in America will find it lacks the teeth of those films, even though it doesn't stint on bloodshed.
It doesn’t help matters that it’s a Prohibition-era film that takes place mostly in Florida, inviting comparisons to “The Untouchables” and “Scarface” whether Affleck wants them or not.
It’s a genre that seems hard-wired into our sense of what’s cool and stylish about movies, whether it’s classics like The Godfather and GoodFellas or also-rans like The Untouchables and Public Enemies.
Worse, the narrative point of view lacks the old school pulp thrills of the Coen brothers’ classic “Miller’s Crossing,” which was up-to-the-minute and wonderfully antique at once.
Off the top of my head, I consider “The Godfather” trilogy, “Goodfellas,” “Bonnie and Clyde,” “The Road to Perdition” and “Miller’s Crossing” to be among the best of the genre.
But Zoe Saldana, as a slinky Florida local, is little more than set dressing in a story that can’t help but invoke memories of “Miller’s Crossing” and “The Godfather Part II,” with touches of “Boardwalk Empire” thrown in for good measure.
Affleck’s effort bests classic prohibition-set movies like “The Untouchables” and “Miller’s Crossing” by only its volume of bloodshed.
Over-dependent on tell-rather-than show voiceover, it attempts a sickbed-reflection starting point, then flashes back to a Miller’s Crossing-style tale of love triangles and double crosses.
Adult male audiences with an appetite for old-school gangster action might be intrigued, but anyone hoping this would join the ranks of distinctive Prohibition thrillers like The Untouchables, Miller's Crossing or Once Upon a Time in America will find it lacks the teeth of those films, even though it doesn't stint on bloodshed.
That classic line is uttered by Al Pacino as Michael Corleone in 1990's The Godfather: Part III, but truthfully, it can easily be muttered by any audience member who happens to catch Live by Night, Ben Affleck's warmed-over plate of gangland goulash.
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This assemblage includes cinematographer Robert Richardson, who frames the saga in expansive and immaculate ways that seek to enhance the mythmaking (Richardson won a trio of Oscars for similar approaches on Hugo, The Aviator and JFK).
The cinematography is by Robert Richardson, who shot The Aviator, Hugo, and Django Unchained among other films, and always delivers in movies with period settings.
There is a final shock in the end credits: the film’s prosaic cinematography is by Robert Richardson (“JFK,” “Hugo,” “Kill Bill”); Affleck adapted the 2012 novel by Dennis Lehane (“Gone Baby Gone,” “Mystic River”).
As a feature-length director, Ben Affleck hit home runs in his first three trips to the plate with “Gone Baby Gone,” “The Town” and “Argo.”
Live by Night never reaches the heights of Affleck’s best movies — the Oscar-winning Argo and excellent The Town — but it’s definitely his most ambitious, both thematically and in production value.
All of which is too bad and a bit surprising considering Affleck previous being behind the camera has resulted in the likes of "Argo," "The Town" and "Gone Baby Gone."
"Live By Night" works a bit like Affleck's directorial crime drama debut "The Town," filtered through Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather," with Lehane's adapted story coming off worse for the compassion.
This moment stands out because he spends so much of the movie either glowering or suppressing a glower with a thin smile, even as the story conforms to the aw-shucks Affleck persona from The Town and Argo.