It’s Boston, 1926, and prohibition is in full swing. It’s a time of drinking and dancing, night clubs and gangsters. But times are also hard and WWI veteran and Irishman Joe Coughlin (Ben Affleck) is living the life of an outlaw, committing small robberies alongside his two Italian friends. He soon finds himself caught in the middle as the Irish mob wants him on one side while the Italian mob wants him on theirs. Joe chooses to stay solo and leave town after one more job. This fateful decision sets our story into motion.
Live by Night is Ben Affleck’s fourth feature film as a director, following on the successes of Argo, The Town and Gone Baby Gone. And ever the overachiever, he also wrote the screenplay, produced it (alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, amongst others) and headlines the cast. However, Live by Night appears to be his first stumble in the director’s chair. I found his directing effective but the script is uneven and Affleck should have spent more time working on adapting the Dennis Lehane novel or, better yet, turn the writing over to someone more accomplished who could have strengthened its’ weaker moments.
Live by Night suffers from being a little too long. Clocking in at just over two hours, it felt longer and could have been helped by some editing, if not a tighter storyline. The opening scenes in Boston are good but the story begins to drag once it shifts to Florida. Another oddity is the uneven accents. Affleck is attempting some type of Boston/Irish hybrid that is all over the place. Sienna Miller plays his mob girlfriend Emma Gould and she too suffers from an Irish accent that comes and goes. Yet, the Cuban accents and atmospheric performances from Zoe Saldana (Star Trek), as Joe’s wife Graciela, and Miguel J. Pimental as nightclub owner Esteban Saurez help the Florida story move along when it so often feels stuck in the swampy marsh.
The cinematography from Robert Richardson (Django Unchained, Kill Bill: Vol. 1) is one of the highlights of the film. His expertise shines in numerous amazing shots. The soundtrack in Florida is full of southern charm and up tempo Cuban beats that help bring you into the time period. Affleck is very effective at pulling you into the time of the 20s, which is also one of the strong points of the film. Great detail went into creating these worlds and it pays off.
You’ll find a lot of familiar faces in Live by Night. Elle Fanning stars as Loretta Figgis, the wayward Hollywood girl turned evangelist. Joe’s father, Thomas Coughlin, is played by veteran Irish character actor Brendan Gleeson (Gangs of New York, Braveheart). His performance is actually one of the best in the movie. Chief Figgis, Loretta’s father, is portrayed by Chris Cooper (The Bourne Identity, Breach), while Anthony Michael Hall (The Dead Zone) stars as the somewhat sleazy Gary L. Smith. Even Clark Gregg takes a break from the Marvel universe (Agent Phil Coulson) for a quick but funny appearance as attorney Calvin Bondurant. All of these performances enhance the film and, unintentionally, outshine the sometimes lackluster and uneven performance from Ben Affleck.
Ultimately, I actually did enjoy elements of Live by Night but I also see that the film could have been much more. I think another actor in the lead role might have made the film feel a little grittier. Working with the script a little longer and spending some more time in the editing room could also have resulted in a much improved film. As it stands, Live by Night is not bad but should have been better and is the least effective of Affleck’s films as a director so far.
