If period film organized crime films were indicative of the violence back in the day, that had to be one decadent, violent-ridden time of our history. We've seen many gangster films representing our past, "Gangs of New York" '02, based in 1863, "Road to Perdition" '02, based in 1931, so now we have "Live by Night", based in 1926. Even though these films, and ones like them, are as violent as they are, they are definitely colorful and rich in character development.
Boston, 1926. The '20s are roaring. Liquor is flowing, bullets are flying and one man sets out to make his mark on the world. Prohibition has given rise to an endless network of underground distilleries, speakeasies, gangsters and corrupt cops. Joe Coughlin (Ben Affleck), the youngest son of a prominent Boston police captain, Thomas Coughlin (Brendan Gleeson), has long since turned his back on his strict and proper upbringing. Now having graduated from a childhood of petty theft to a career in the ray of the city's most fearsome mobsters, including Albert White (Robert Glenister) and Maso Pescatore (Remo Girone), Joe enjoys the spoils, thrills and notoriety of being an outlaw. But life on the dark side carries a heavy price. In a time when ruthless men of ambition, armed with cash, illegal booze, battle for guns and guns, no one--neither family nor friend, enemy nor lover--can be trusted. Beyond money and power, even the threat of prison, one fate seems most likely for men like Joe: an early death, as his cohort, Dion Bartolo (Chris Messina) mentions. But Joe embarks on a dizzying trek up the ladder of organized crime which involves an eclectic array of characters including tough rumrunners, sultry femmes fatales, Emma Gould (Sienna Miller), Bible-quoting evangelists, Loretta Figgis (Elle Fanning) and cruel Klansmen, R.D. Pruitt (Matthew Maher), all battling for survival and their piece of the American dream.
Others to round out the cast are Zoe Saldana as Graciela, Chris Cooper as Chief Figgis, father to Loretta, Miguel J. Pimentel as Esteban Suarez, Titus Welliver as Tim Hickey, and Max Casella as Digger Pescatore, son of Maso.
This was grittily and intensely directed by Ben Affleck ("Gone Baby Gone" '07, "The Town" '10, "Argo" '12). Being an actor himself, he obviously has walked in the same moccasins as the actors he directs, so he knows what emotion to extract out of his actors and how to deal with those emotions. I see Affleck, after enough years, slowly gravitating toward directing more than his acting since I feel that is where his passion truly lies. He will continue to convey his films to us, as with his next project in pre-production titled "The Batman" which he will also write. This is equally well written by Affleck ("Good Will Hunting" '97, "Gone Baby Gone" '07, "The Town" '10). This film was riddled with adrenaline, explosives, high adventure, murder and mayhem, which made for a riveting storyline. Really, other than a couple of places of missed continuity, the script was taught, entertaining and enthralling. Affleck was certainly effective in this as Joe, but where this filmmaker actually excels is in the directing. He delineates his projects to the point where his eye for detail is consummate. One my favorite films of his is "The Town" in which he brings the adrenaline, suspense and grit to a film that has been done time and again, but his treatment of the directing and writing on that film was second to none. It will be interesting to see how he pulls off "The Batman" when released.
Affleck's fare of filmmaking certainly isn't for everybody, but that's OK, because it can allow him to make his films the way he wants without the fear or concern to attempt to even cater to a mass audience appeal. While the storyline is well developed, this is certainly more intriguing watching the way this film was crafted, and, at times, this can be all we need to enjoy any film.
Out of 4 Stars: 3 Rated: R 129mins.
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