#dion bartolo

Ben Affleck can write a pretty damn good flick, and in my opinion, his film The Town is one of the better Boston-gangster-crime-action films out there. However, Live By Night dwindles through what seems like three separate short films looped together. Paired a tone that hasn’t decided whether it’s gritty or light-hearted, though it’s still hard to not like this film.

Live By Night kicks off with voice over narration which is reminiscent of Goodfellas - we straight away know that our protagonist, Joe Coughlin, is in some trouble and has had enough with taking orders from anyone. Boom. We almost know everything there is know about him there and there, he’s been vulnerable, he hates it, he’s not taking orders anymore. The next natural step of course, before we even see him take it, is that he becomes his own boss. No spoilers there.

The main question of the film would be along the lines of “what would you die for, what would you kill for and how far will you go to get what you want?” Not only do we see Affleck’s character question himself, but others around him too. We see characters with a moral compass that points north, and others with compasses that went missing before the film even started. The prohibition era is the perfect time for this kind of theme and question.

Although the film is set in the late 1920s and ends roughly in the mid 1930s, Affleck has very specifically made sure that certain lines feature in his film which are almost a clear reflection of modern times. One that particularly stood out was when Affleck pointed out that it was only a matter of time before Cubans, blacks, Italians, Spanish and other minorities who did all the work during the prohibition era realised what they were owed and fought for it.

There are so many outstanding characteristics that bring this film together

the can do attitude of Affleck’s sidekick Chris Messina

the amazing set design, costumes, props, old cars AND a steam train

the soundtrack and music featured is fun (and maybe a bit cheeky)

Chris Cooper and Elle Fanning’s father-daughter relationship 

the unapologetic nature of Zoe Saldana’s biracial relationship with Affleck in a time where, although common, such relationships were frowned upon

Sienna Miller looking nothing like herself makes her character more mysterious and exciting to watch

Though Affleck’s Couglin is the protagonist, Messina’s Dion Bartolo is the hero of this story. It’s his ‘muscle’ and need to do right by Coughlin that truly shines. Although Messina’s physical transformation into this character is somewhat distracting (I didn’t realise it was Messina until the credits rolled); without Bartolo, Coughlin would have been dead by the start of the second act. 

Speaking of acts, there is no clear act structure in this film that I could see. There are minor plot points which suddenly become major. The film could be broken and sold as three separate short films. I guess that is the problem when adapting from novel to screen - in a novel, the tiniest details can be so important. In a film, things need to make sense, but the details can’t be so fine that you get distracted from the main story at hand.

I would recommend seeing it if you enjoyed Boardwalk Empire, The Town or Public Enemies.