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 some 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 action scenes and character interactions, but follows too many unrelated story threads, has ineffective casting in key roles, too many familiar elements, and concludes in pat, sanctimonious fashion. Despite flavorful ingredients, Affleck's attempt to create a potent, moralizing amalgam of The Town and The Godfather doesn't quite succeed. **½
Review of Live by Night
