This week’s episode of our podcast WE ARE MOVIE GEEKS The Show is up! Hear WAMG’s Jim Batts and Tom Stockman talk movies. Our guest in the studio this week is Jim Tudor, film critic for Film Anarchy and ZekeFilm. We’ll discuss the weekend box office and review PATRIOTS DAY, SILENCE, MONSTER TRUCKS, TOWER, 20th CENTURY WOMEN, PATERSON, and LIVE BY NIGHT. Ron Stevens will stop by and discuss his new documentary on KSHE. We’ll discuss all of the local movie events, then Michelle McCue will call in to talk about the top twelve at the box office and we’ll all choose our least favorite movies of 2016.
In a film about starting over and new beginnings, Ben Affleck struggles to breathe life in front of and behind the camera. Written, directed, and starring Affleck, LIVE BY NIGHT is a stylish gangster film that’s so languid and dull that even Affleck’s unnecessary narration throughout the film sounds like he’s falling asleep telling his own tale.
World War I has left Joe Coughlin (Affleck) jaded and emotionally wounded. The son of a lawman (Brendan Gleeson) follows down a crime-ridden path of robbery and corruption. Things get dicey when he gets involved with the girl (Sienna Miller) of one of the two big crime bosses in Boston. It’s a tug of war between the Irish and Italian mobs, which eventually extends down to Florida when Joe goes to work for the Italian mob. However, Joe runs into more issues with some locals when he partners with the Cubans to build a casino.
LIVE BY NIGHT leaves out everything that makes gangster films so entertaining. A lack of suspense or action is just one of the film’s crimes. So much time is spent showing negotiations and back deals but with little consequence or anything at stake. It’s lot of words that don’t lead to any sparks.
At about the halfway point is when the film shifts from being a sub-standard gangster film to a message-heavy, one man ego show for Affleck. The new “Dark Knight” suddenly becomes a white knight (literally dressed in white suits, as well), heavily insinuating that you can find new life without religion while attempting to protect the minorities that are being attacked by the KKK in Tampa. The whole affair reeks of Affleck pushing his own self-righteous agenda, instead of being naturally interwoven into the story.
Affleck uses his movie star status to take center stage. The problem with this is that he’s the least interesting character in this whole costume drama. Elle Fanning and Chris Cooper deliver characters with depth, effectively portraying their internal conflicts and past regrets. But the supporting cast feels exactly that when so much time is spent showing the lead driving around in vintage cars across the Florida glades (albeit gorgeous cinematography from Robert Richardson) and strutting his stuff in three piece suits.
In the end, it’s not so much guilty of being a pulpy pastiche as much as just being a boring and lifeless journey through a criminal underworld that we’ve seen before. Saying so much while not saying much at all is a combination that will make you say “goodnight.”
Overall score: 2 out of 5
LIVE BY NIGHT opens in theaters everywhere Friday, January 13th
Opening in cinemas on January 13, 2017 is the new film LIVE BY NIGHT. Oscar winner Ben Affleck (“Argo”) directed, produced and stars in Warner Bros. Pictures’ dramatic crime thriller. The screenplay is by Ben Affleck, based on the novel by Dennis Lehane.
Starring with Affleck are Elle Fanning, Brendan Gleeson, Chris Messina, Sienna Miller, Zoe Saldana, and Oscar winner Chris Cooper (“Adaptation”).
Behind the scenes, Affleck collaborated with three-time Oscar-winning director of photography Robert Richardson (“JFK,” “The Aviator,” “Hugo”), Oscar-nominated production designer Jess Gonchor (“True Grit,” “Foxcatcher”), Oscar-winning editor William Goldenberg (“Argo”), and Oscar-nominated costume designer Jacqueline West (“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Argo”). The score was composed by Harry Gregson-Williams.
LIVE BY NIGHT was produced by Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson under the Appian Way banner; and Ben Affleck and Jennifer Todd for Pearl Street Films. Chris Brigham, Dennis Lehane and Chay Carter served as executive producers.
What you put out into this world will always come back to you, but it never comes back how you predict. Taking fatherly advice is not in Joe Coughlin’s nature. Instead, the WWI vet is a self-proclaimed anti-establishment outlaw, despite being the son of the Boston Police Deputy Superintendent. Joe’s not all bad, though; in fact, he’s not really bad enough for the life he’s chosen. Unlike the gangsters he refuses to work for, he has a sense of justice and an open heart, and both work against him, leaving him vulnerable time and again—in business and in love.
Driven by a need to right the wrongs committed against him and those close to him, Joe heads down a risky path that goes against his upbringing and his own moral code. Leaving the cold Boston winter behind, he and his reckless crew turn up the heat in Tampa. And while revenge may taste sweeter than the molasses that infuses every drop of illegal rum he runs, Joe will learn that it comes at a price.
WAMG invites you to enter for the chance to win TWO (2) seats to the advance screening of LIVE BY NIGHT on TUESDAY, JANUARY 10 at 7PM in the St. Louis area.
Answer the following:
Ben Affleck made his directorial debut with what crime thriller?
TO ENTER, ADD YOUR NAME, ANSWER AND EMAIL IN OUR COMMENTS SECTION BELOW.
OFFICIAL RULES:
1. YOU MUST BE IN THE ST. LOUIS AREA THE DAY OF THE SCREENING.
2. No purchase necessary. A pass does not guarantee a seat at a screening. Seating is on a first-come, first served basis. The theater is overbooked to assure a full house. The theater is not responsible for overbooking.
This film has been rated R for strong violence, language throughout, and some sexuality/nudity.
