Live By Night

LIVE BY NIGHT

Director : Ben Affleck
Year : 2017
Genre : Thriller
Rating : **

It's hard to believe that this generic and lifeless gangster thriller came from the same visionary filmmaker who gained critical and commercial praise for 'Gone Baby Gone', 'Argo' and 'The Town'. Fresh from stealing the show in Zack Snyder's dismal superhero mash-up 'Batman v Superman', Ben Affleck directs himself as Joe Coughlin, a prohibition-era bootlegger who makes his way from Boston to the sunnier climes of Tampa to make his fortune in gambling while also seeking revenge for the death of his lover (Sienna Miller) at the hands of a notorious Irish mob boss (Robert Glenister). 

Based on the acclaimed 2012 novel of the same name by Dennis LeHane - whose previous works Mystic River, Shutter Island and the aforementioned Gone Baby Gone have all been successfully adapted for the big screen - 'Live By Night' certainly looks the part. Production designer Jess Conchor (who worked with The Coens on both 'No Country For Old Men' and 'True Grit') utilises woody browns, blacks and greys to encapsulate the fractious time in which the film is set while the sizeable cast which also includes Chris Cooper, Brendan Gleeson, Chris Messina and Elle Fanning all look good in Jacqueline West's period-suitable costumes. But an over-extended running time, a lackluster script and a by-the-numbers story that notably lacks the edge, thrills or inherent nastiness of it's many superior genre counterparts make 'Live By Night' a very disappointing and overwhelmingly dull time at the cinema - playing less like the next 'The Godfather', 'Goodfellas' or 'Scarface' and more like a more mature version of 'Bugsy Malone'. Even Affleck, who is usually so terrific both in front of and behind the camera, seems pre-occupied here, clearly killing a bit of time before he has to don the iconic cowl and cape again in the next inevitable 'Justice League' outing.