Live by Night

Warner Bros. | Release Date: December 25, 2016

7.6	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 274 Ratings

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GreatMartinJan 20, 2017

Ben Affleck wrote, directed and starred in "Live By Night" but forgot to act, to bring any excitement to the screen or make an interesting story!! He gives a very bland performance and with all sorts of car chases, killings, shoot outs, andBen Affleck wrote, directed and starred in "Live By Night" but forgot to act, to bring any excitement to the screen or make an interesting story!! He gives a very bland performance and with all sorts of car chases, killings, shoot outs, and even the KKK burning crosses, the film feels and looks static. The three female leads are flat-chested and rail thin almost being interchangeable while it seems in the 1920s and 1930s all gangsters were ugly looking. Taking place in Tampa and Ybor city, Florida, with Savannah, Brunswick, Riceboro, Tybee Island filming in for those 2 places, for tax credits, it definitely doesn't have a Florida feel.

Affleck as a wanna-be kingpin in the underworld, but seeing himself as an outlaw instead of a gangster, with rum running and trying to introduce casino gambling he first works for the Irish mob boss Albert White, played by Robert Glenister, and then the competing Italian mob boss Maso Pescatore, played by Remo Girone.

There are a couple of twists near the end after 2 hours and 8 minutes but they don't really pay off.

The aforementioned female leads, in order of appearing, Sienna Miller as White's mistress who has a secret relationship with Affleck, Zoe Saldana as a black Cuban who also becomes Affleck's lover, (ah, it is nice to be a director, writer, lead actor and co-producer of a movie) and Elle Fanning as a 'fallen' woman who becomes an evangelical preacher all do fine jobs but are not given enough to fill out their characters and Fanning is given short shrift on what could have been a more interesting part in the film.

Many of the men, and there are many, give strong performances but with Ben Affleck commanding 100% screen time they aren't given that much time. Chris Messina as Affleck's loyal righthand man, Chris Cooper as the sheriff of the Ybor city area and the father of Fanning plus the brother-in-law of a KKK leader Matthew Maher, along with Brendan Gleeson as Affleck's father and Police Deputy not to forget the gangster bosses Robert Glenister and Remo Girone are just a few of the actors.

"Living By Night" is a waste of good actors, a failure as director, writer, actor and producer for Ben Affleck and a waste of your time and money.… Expand

1 of 30 users found this helpful129

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ORIOLEOct 6, 2020

Um filme de mafia aonde tentaram transformar o mafioso no mocinho puritano antiracista. Um monte de romance chato, pouca ação e explicações por coincidências preguiçosas.

0 of 39 users found this helpful039

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saintdeckyFeb 2, 2017

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Live by Night, in a few words, is a bit of a mess. There are multiple, multiple problems with it, many branching from Affleck's ambitious idea to direct, write, and star in it, and not releasing a satisfying result. One problem with doing all three of the above, is that there wouldn't be as many people to say "uhhh Ben, the screenplay for this scene doesn't really work," or "act like this," or "maybe the shot should look more like this," since he made many of the decisions.

Characters/Acting: Despite the all-star cast, there were too many people to keep track of, and most of the characters I just forgot about or didn't care for. A bunch of characters just kind of die; Loretta, a key character in the movie, shows up for about 5 scenes and then dies off-screen. The worst part about the death was the treating of it. The scene addressing her death basically goes, "Hey Joe, that girl who you seemed to care for and gave you some insight on life and was the daughter of the cop you're working with died." "Oh. That's too bad." Aaaand cut, move on to the next scene. Ben Affleck, in my eyes, isn't the most talented actor to go around, but he can deliver when needed. This was not the case, though. His accent's all over the place, as well as Zoe Saldana's, and he fails to make any facial expressions to show how he is feeling at many given points. Many of the actors just exist, and that's it. Brendan Gleeson was in a few scenes (before dying off-screen as well), and didn't really get to do much, along with other performances that were not given justice. Almost every character falls flat and fails to make you care for them too much. There was only one character I liked, since he had an okay sense of humor compared to the rest of the movie, and he was only in a few scenes.

Humor: Almost all the humor falls flat in this movie. Many scenes that were obviously trying to be funny jumped off a cliff and did a belly-flop onto a pool of hot lava. Again, there weren't as many people who could offer advice for Affleck's screenplay.

Plot: The plot of the movie didn't feel consistent, and there were too many scenes that were unnecessary and added to the already too long runtime. Affleck also gets shot halfway through the movie for absolutely no reason, and then heals and goes back to business. The movie doesn't even tell how much time passed, which was a problem for other instances of the movie as well. The motivations of Affleck's character are also unclear and muddy. He doesn't seem to have a clear, solid reason to do what he does, he just does.

Cinematography: The cinematography isn't too bad, but there are a few artsy shots that didn't seem to fit in the rest of movie, and seemed to be an excuse for Affleck to get some recognition.

Action: The trailers promised a good amount of action, but despite the long runtime of the movie, it's not delivered. The few minutes of action there was though, mostly towards the end, was relatively boring and didn't feel exciting or new.

Editing: The editing was boring, and there were a few scenes that were strangely cut. For example, Joe's buddy is telling him about this guy's name, Gary L. Smith. The two are in the underground tunnel things when Joe's buddy begins telling him the name. Suddenly, it cuts to the two at an empty bar, and Joe says something like "wait, is it Gary L. Smith, or Gary Elsmith?" to which Joe's buddy replies with something like "no it's L. Smith, like the letter. He wants to be called that," and then they cut back to another set that I don't remember. The car scene at the beginning was also poorly done. There were 2 cop cars and Affleck's car, but the cars were all black, so it was difficult to determine which car was which, with the shaky-cam and fast paced editing. When one car drove off the road a bit, I wasn't sure if it was Affleck's or a cop's. Music: The music is as bland and boring as I ever thought a high-budget movie could get. It felt like the creators completely forgot music exists and is important for movies, and just said "ah, just get some royalty-free music online, no one will notice" and quickly stuffed it into the movie right before they released it.

Overall, the movie was poorly done, with multiple things wrong with it. There are other specific details I could pick apart, but I've already spoiled much of the movie. But there are plenty of specific realism issues and other things wrong that would make more sense if you saw the movie, which I don't recommend doing.… Expand

0 of 10 users found this helpful010

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amheretojudgeAug 26, 2019

A swing and a miss, maybe the precision should have taken into account rather than power.

Live By Night Affleck's homage to Brian De Palme-isc late '80s gangster genre is admirable. And that is it. Appreciation draws out a nod here andA swing and a miss, maybe the precision should have taken into account rather than power.

Live By Night

Affleck's homage to Brian De Palme-isc late '80s gangster genre is admirable. And that is it. Appreciation draws out a nod here and never anything else. The emotions are bland and too belittled by the hip and happening of the nature it so desperately wants to be. The set rules, that Ben Affleck, the writer, director and starrer, so proudly claims to have, have boundaries visible barely on the horizon and yet we are told repetitively to care for the daily formal business or personal conflicts that is resulting into textbook character arcs.

And what Affleck actually cares about and is actually looking forward for the entire film, which is dodging the generic bullets of shock and awe therapy, is never romanticized enough to create the raw crisp moment when he asks for. In those last moments, where up till now the film was reserved, had to amp up now for a final cathartic punch, finds itself immensely immersed into a tedious procedure to offer you a sigh of relief. That peace after the storm comes with a price. A price too heavy to retract from that point.

On the other hand, the film looks ravishing. Affleck's love for the genre, a wee bit cartoonish, but still utterly understandable, colors each frame with a poised respect in this sensitive world. Which can also be interpreted as his doom. For instance, take the trajectory of Sienna Miller's character in the film. She carries incredible weight, power among these characters, hence she is given a seperate fast and runny first act. Now, Affleck is taking this opportunity to brim his film with stereotypical montages of some street boy or "outlaw"- as he calls himself- making into a big shot as an excuse to value her presence. Scoffing at this particular character and evaluating her into a resonating memory, Live By Night could have easily been a shorter special night.… Expand

0 of 8 users found this helpful08

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ClepsydraApr 17, 2022

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0 of 8 users found this helpful08

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