LIVE BY NIGHT
Directed by Ben Affleck
Screenplay by Ben Affleck
Based on the book by Dennis Lehane
Starring Ben Affleck; Elle Fanning; Brendan Gleeson; Chris Messina; Chris Cooper; and Zoe Saldana
I am not much of a mob film person. They do nothing for me. I feel they are all the same, mob guys kill or threaten someone to get control of something. There is not much else you can do with the script.
Well I come to Live By Night, and like my last review, Patriots Day which is a great review and you should check it out, if I must say so, this film is a 2016 film that went wide in 2017.
Critics were harsh on this film. I liked it, and like noted I am not a mob film guy. It worked because I liked that it went to Florida. Before Florida was Florida. Which made the film a little different.
Affleck can sure tell a story. He makes beautiful looking films. Here he does not fail.
He hired wonderful actors:
Elle Fanning as Lorretta steals the screen every time she is on camera. Love her.
Chris Messina becomes us. He is Joe's (Affleck) partner and we kind of see things through his eyes as Joe becomes bigger.
Chris Cooper gives an out standing performance here as Chief Figgis. He plays Lorretta's father. I think some times Cooper gets over looked often. I think because he is so ....relaxed as an actor. He just quietly is excellent constantly.
There are problems with this film:
-Waaaaay too much going on. Too many story lines. Mobs in Florida. Religious push back. KKK. Mobs up north. Casino. Police officers. He does a fine job editing all these stories into the film, however some story lines should have been edited out.
-The ending. I felt like he had trouble closing. The ending felt....thrown together. No spoilers here.
I give Live By Night 3 1/2 stars out of 5...again noting I am not a mob movie guy.
From the shadows as always thanks for your time.
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