LIVE BY NIGHT: Ben Affleck’s Next Great Effort As Writer/Director/Star

Ben Affleck has long been an inspirational figure for me. I vividly remember how I felt when I first learned of people like Affleck, Edward Burns, and Jon Favreau – who wrote, directed, and starred in their own films. I had early on toyed with the idea of that being my own career goal, and felt immense validation when seeing that not only had it been done, but it had been done well. Affleck in particular has found immense commercial success and critical acclaim for his first efforts as writer/director/star.

His directorial debut was Gone Baby Gone, which he also co-wrote. Affleck followed that up with two films as director/star, those being the heart-stopping Boston-set bank robber tale, The Town (co-written by Affleck), and the Iran Hostage Crisis picture, Argo (produced by Affleck as well). Each film received at least one Academy Award nomination, but it was Argo that took home Best Picture, as well as Adapted Screenplay for Chris Terrio, and Film Editing for William Goldenberg.

Affleck’s Trusted Collaborators

Not only has Affleck demonstrated immense skill for wearing many creative hats at once, but his films have been acclaimed and well recognized as well. Naturally, I’ve been watching his career with great interest, and waiting with baited breath for his next film as director, since Argo.

Live by Night sees Affleck back in Argo mode. He’s not a just triple threat, he’s a quadruple threat on this one – writing, directing, starring, and producing. Affleck adapts Dennis Lehane’s novel by the same name (Lehane also wrote the book made into Gone Baby Gone). Affleck is joined by a packed and formidable roster of familiar faces co-starring in the film, including Sienna Miller, Zoe Saldana, Chris Messina, Chris Cooper, Brendan Gleeson, Elle Fanning, Clark Gregg, and Titus Welliver.

He leans on the impressive talents of DP Robert Richardson (an Oliver Stone, Tarantino, Scorsese, and Redford collaborator), composer Harry Gregson-Williams (a favorite of mine), production designer Jess Gonchor (too many great works to list), and costume designer Jacqueline West (again, too many great films) to transport viewers to the novel’s Prohibition Era 1920’s world of gangs, shootouts, and, shall we say, dangerous liaisons.

There is no way that Affleck would be able to handle all four creative hats in Live by Night without both capable and trustworthy people around him, and it is this union of collaborators which allows Affleck to thrive. The film is in one instance a family drama, in another an action thriller, in another a romance picture –it weaves in many genres, but maintains a serious tone. This is not to say the film is without lighter moments. In fact, bits of humor injected primarily by Affleck and co-star Chris Messina are one of the film’s greatest strengths.

There is no doubt that Affleck recognizes he can play to his strengths as an actor when writing for, and directing, himself – here he does that in his stride. In scenes shared with Messina (an Argo vet), the two actors bounce off each other effortlessly, making the men’s friendship believable. Both bring a lot of humor to the proceedings, and Affleck looks to be having so much fun with it.

The Characters Who Sleep By Day, Live By Night

Affleck is Joe Coughlin, a WWI vet who doesn’t want any part of the mobs, seeing in his hometown of Boston only more of the violence he’d just escaped in the war. Invariably, he’s pulled into conflict, and becomes heavily invested in it for personal reasons. Affleck brings the three sides of Coughlin to life in an impressively natural manner – whether the hardened loner looking to stay out of the fight, or the charismatic, budding speakeasy entrepreneur, or the man who’s willing to risk it all for love (at one point for Sienna Miller, at another for Zoe Saldana). I’d rate this among his most enjoyable and effective performances – you laugh with him, you hurt with him, and you feel his rage.

Miller is a favorite actor of mine; in Live by Night she is essentially unrecognizable, with an Irish accent, and hair, makeup and costuming that transformers her (the film’s costumes are original pieces from the period, something Miller in particular appreciated). She’s the lover of a mob man with a lot of sway (Brendan Gleeson). She catches the eye of Joe, and the attraction is mutual. He sees a way out of his current life that would enable him to bring her along, and she expresses a desire to escape too – however, things don’t go as planned, and deception breeds consequences.

Saldana plays another love interest for Joe in the film, who comes into the picture later on. Elle Fanning and Chris Cooper seem to have smaller roles initially, but both play rather prominently into the overall plot, once its wide-reaching and saddening implications become clear. With this and 20th Century Women out recently, Fanning is making serious headway, and has proven herself as a talent that is here to stay.

Another Effective Gregson-Williams Score

The score, composed by Gregson-Williams, both works with musical elements that are period-appropriate, and more contemporary stylizations. I could recognize his musical signature anywhere, as he composed one of my all-time favorite scores, for the late-great Tony Scott’s Unstoppable. What’s impressive is the score’s versatility. Even though some more modern orchestrations are found within, it never jars the viewer out of the period; rather it keeps the proceedings emotionally engaging. It also adapts to accompany the film’s setting, once the film heads south later on. Whether in tender moments between characters, during car chases and shootouts, or in the film’s many moments of tragedy, Gregson-Williams effectively contributes with his compositions.

The makeup, hair, and costuming are transportive, as are all other aspects of production design. Affleck knows Boston well, and found some great locations that have been standing since the film’s period. This, paired with some excellent period cars, makes for sequences that are authentic, believable, and again, transportive. The dialogue is very strong as well, and while Affleck would no doubt credit this to Lehane’s novel, I definitely attribute a good deal of credit to him.

Conclusion

It’s unfortunate that this film was received in the way it has been – I think a vocal group of reviewers and the January release window, both a dumping ground for films like Monster Trucks and a time for many to partake in awards season catch-up, led to Live by Night being overlooked.

Had more seen it, I anticipate the reactions would have been more receptive. It’s a far better film than it’s been given credit for, and does nothing to change my enthusiasm for Affleck’s talent – I continue to look forward to films in which he serves as director and star, or writer/director/star. Live by Night is definitely a film that’s worth a look!

What has been your favorite directorial effort from Ben Affleck?

Live by Night is in theaters now, will be available digitally on March 7th, and comes to Blu-ray and DVD on March 21st.