Live by Night (2016)

A group of Boston-bred gangsters set up shop in balmy Florida during the Prohibition era, facing off against the competition and the Ku Klux Klan.

Director:

Ben Affleck

Writers:

Ben Affleck (screenplay by), Dennis Lehane (based on the novel by)

Stars:

Ben Affleck, Elle Fanning, Brendan Gleeson

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ben Affleck	...	Joe Coughlin
Elle Fanning	...	Loretta Figgis
Remo Girone	...	Maso Pescatore
Brendan Gleeson	...	Thomas Coughlin
Robert Glenister	...	Albert White
Matthew Maher	...	RD Pruitt
Chris Messina	...	Dion Bartolo
Sienna Miller	...	Emma Gould
Miguel	...	Esteban Suarez (as Miguel J. Pimentel)
Zoe Saldana	...	Graciela
Chris Cooper	...	Chief Figgis
Titus Welliver	...	Tim Hickey
Max Casella	...	Digger Pescatore
Christian Clemenson	...	Ritz Investor
J.D. Evermore	...	Virgil Beauregard (as JD Evermore)

Storyline

Boston, 1926. The '20s are roaring. Liquor is flowing, bullets are flying, and one man sets out to make his mark on the world. Prohibition has given rise to an endless network of underground distilleries, speakeasies, gangsters, and corrupt cops. Joe Coughlin, the youngest son of a prominent Boston police captain, has long since turned his back on his strict and proper upbringing. Now having graduated from a childhood of petty theft to a career in the pay of the city's most fearsome mobsters, Joe enjoys the spoils, thrills, and notoriety of being an outlaw. But life on the dark side carries a heavy price. In a time when ruthless men of ambition, armed with cash, illegal booze, and guns, battle for control, no one-neither family nor friend, enemy nor lover-can be trusted. Beyond money and power, even the threat of prison, one fate seems most likely for men like Joe: an early death. But until that day, he and his friends are determined to live life to the hilt. Joe embarks on a dizzying...

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Plot Keywords:

organized crime | prohibition | love | revenge | kkk | 

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Taglines:

Witness the price of the American Dream.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, language throughout, and some sexuality/nudity

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie took two years to make.

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Goofs

When Chris Cooper's character is sitting in his chair repeating the word "Repent", the camera pans past a picture of Jesus. That picture, called "The Head of Christ", or The Sallman Head", was painted by Warner Sallman in 1940.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Joe Coughlin: [narrating] In 1917, I signed up to fight the Huns in France. Good men died all around me, and I saw no reason for it. The rules we lived by were lies. And they didn't apply to those who made them. I swore If I made it home, I would never follow orders again. I left a soldier, I came home an outlaw.

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Connections

Referenced in Rifftrax: Batman v. Superman (2017)

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Soundtracks

Mi Guajira Tiene Montuno
Written by Jesus 'El Nino' Alejandro (as Jesus A. Perez-Alvarez)
Performed by Ariel Betancourt
Courtesy of LMS Records

User Reviews

"Not enough Tommy guns" - IGN

"Live By Night" sees star Ben Affleck back in the director's chair for the 4th time, his previous directorial offerings being "Gone Baby Gone", "The Town", and best picture winner "Argo", and sadly, it's easily his worst. "Live By Night" boasts a wonderful cast, stunning cinematography, and enthralling action set pieces but lacks any emotional weight or an interesting story, it's your usual by the numbers gangster flick about tough guys in over-sized suits blasting each other with Tommy guns and stabbing each other in the back. "Live By Night" is not a bad film by any means but is a forgettable entry in the gangster film genre and a disappointing directorial effort from Ben Affleck.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Faceboook Official Site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

13 January 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

Live by Night

Filming Locations:

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$108,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$33,336, 25 December 2016

Gross USA:

$10,378,555

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$22,678,555

Company Credits

Production Co:

Appian Way, Pearl Street Films, RatPac-Dune Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

129 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1