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!
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!