I’m Not Mad, ‘Live By Night’, I’m Disappointed (FILM REVIEW)

[rating=4.00]

If you squint your eyes and turn your head, you can almost kind of see the movie Ben Affleck wanted to make with Live By Night. Almost, but not quite. All of the elements of a great film are certainly there, but the gears to this machine are just askew enough to turn its potential brilliance into a muddled mess.

To say that’s disappointing is an understatement. Affleck has had a lot of luck with adapting Dennis Lehane novels in the past. Gone Baby Gone, Affleck’s directorial debut, convinced the world that Affleck was more than just a pretty face. The prospect of another AffLehane collaboration was too delicious to ignore, as the author’s sensibilities as a writer seem to match Affleck’s directorial vision, and gangster period pieces are always a great time.

Except, of course, when they’re not. Live By Night proves that to the best (worst?) of its abilities in a film that plods, meanders, and trips its way across a Depression Era landscape without ever seeming to make its point. That’s especially grievous because there are moments when the film proudly displays its chops, offering you brief glimpses at both its potential as a film and Affleck’s as a filmmaker.

Affleck pulls double duty in Live By Night, playing the Joe Coughlin, a sort of ronin gangster who thieves and robs and connives for his own gain, not for the gain of any boss. Though resistant to the idea of joining up with any official crew, Joe is forced to pledge loyalty to Italian family leader, Boss Pescatore, after running afoul with the Irish Albert White over a girl. , Joe becomes Pescatore boss of prohibition era Tampa, where he leads the rise of the family in the rum market, while dealing with competition from the White family, the KKK, and local law enforcement. As Joe pushes the family toward more legitimate money making operations, he’s forced to defend his position and maintain his personal code of integrity.

At its heart, this is a story about the slow corruption of choices over a long period of time. There are hints of The Godfather or even Breaking Bad as we see Joe evolve from an unwilling participant to biggest money maker in the organization. Joe never sees himself as the bad guy, of course, though as the narrative progresses it gets harder and harder to defend that position.

With a little editing and a willingness to leave a few subplots on the cutting room floor, Live By Night could have been a taut, deftly plotted musing on the nature of corruption. Too often, however, the film veers off into laborious territories, wandering too far from the main plot while, at the same time, wrapping up too many side stories with an overbearing narration that removes any nuance or subtlety that might have otherwise been present in the film.

Still, it’s hard to deny that when the film hits, it knocks it out of the park. There are some brilliantly filmed and beautifully choreographed moments of action woven throughout the film—some of which should give those who doubt Affleck’s ability to helm a Batman film a bit more to chew on—and even a few some great acting here and there.

Chris Messina is fabulous as Joe’s right hand man Dion, completely disappearing into the role and quickly becoming one of the film’s highlights. Elle Fanning delivers a stellar turn as Loretta Figgis, the troubled daughter of a local police chief turned tent revival preacher who puts a damper on Joe’s ultimate plans. Both of these roles serve as wonderful balances to Affleck’s Joe and add a bit of depth to the film’s thematic explorations.

But the highs are too few and far between the ever gain momentum, and too often does the film lose itself in the quagmire. Instead of the great film it could’ve been, we got a ham-fisted facsimile that can’t ever gain the traction it needs to fully take off. It’s not quite a dud, but boy, could that explosion have been something special. Better luck next time, Ben. I’ll be rooting for you.

Live By Night is now playing in theaters everywhere.

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