Gangster films have become something of an a staple in American cinema, perhaps representative of the wider cultural tensions between rival gangs or the more symbolic fight to be the biggest kid on the block with the flashiest weapons.
Ben Affleck has admitted it is a love letter of sorts to the great classics of his childhood-think Scarface, Goodfellas, or even the Godfather. The lavish lifestyle, the swinging speakeasys and the various vices of liquor and beautiful women are all tropes of the genre that paint a picture of excess and debauchery.
Joe Coughlin (Affleck) has an interesting enough premise at the beginning of the film; a disillusioned veteran who returns to his hometown after the Great War having seen good men die unnecessarily. What begins as a thrilling dabble in pettty crime soon becomes a wild escapade into avenging the death of his lover, as well as an exploration into the turf wars between the Italians and the Americans trying to conquer new frontiers by building casinos and bars in the Prohibition era.
What Live By Night does well is explore the prejudices between early American immigrants and so-called God fearing citizens who do not lead very holy lives. In this regard it is ahead of its time. Perhaps where it falls short is that there are a few anachronisms by way of the screenplay, whereby in one instance Coughlin insists he “doesn’t have beef” with one mob boss. We may even see a glock pistol in a few sequences, which surely did not come out until at least the 1980s.
Coughlin himself insists that he is trying to “get out of the game.” He seems unsure of his motives throughout, and his wife (Zoe Saldana) teases that he is not “cruel” enough, only to refrain from mocking his masculinity when she fears for his safety. She feels more like a pretty distraction rather than anything else. Brendan Gleeson plays the morally ambiguous cop father, chastising his son for his behaviour while simultaneously turning a blind eye to his deeds.
Doey Elle Fanning gives good performance as the wannabe Hollywood actress who falls into the wrong hands and is subsequently redeemed by finding God. She too is susceptible to the vices of the era, which is perhaps a comment on the inescapable influence of sex, drugs and rock and roll.
That said, the action sequences are exciting and tense, and the sets have been well researched. If Affleck wasn’t so insistent on being a social justice warrior who has his gripes with capitalism (all the while trying to run his own business), then we might sort of believe it. As it is said in Boardwalk Empire, a similar piece on the era, “you can’t be half a gangster.”
A hit and a miss.
Verdict: 6.5/10
Roadshow Films.
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