Live By Night (2016), R, ★★

Ben Affleck as a 1920s gangster.

Ben Affleck could be defined as resurgence or redemption when he directed three great movies: Gone Baby Gone, The Town and his Oscar-winning movie: Argo. He had a period in which he was unstoppable where many studios and people were recognizing him as a filmmaker and not just as an actor who has had a slump. Yikes, now, thinking of that slump: Reindeer Games, Pearl Harbor, Gigli (YUCK!), Jersey Girl, etc. But, he has had a difficult year surrounding the tabloids regarding his marriage, movies and also the divisiveness with the Batman v. Superman movie, which was not good. Well, this is his fourth outing as a director and even though I was excited that he was going to direct a gangster film, this is a rarity saying that this is a snooze-fest of a gangster film.

Joe Coughlin (Ben Affleck) is a prodigal son of a police chief who has returned from his duty in service in WWI and based on his narration, he witnessed many good men dying for nothing. When he comes back to Boston, he and his two partners are con men with the help of a person that Joe has a crush on whose named Emma Gould (Sienna Miller), but she is the girlfriend of Irish gangster boss, Albert White (Robert Glenister). Also, Joe's father, Thomas (Brendan Gleeson) disapproves of her because of her knowledge of the criminal world and also her family.

After Joe and his partner, Dion Bartolo (Chris Messina) rob a bank and flee, Joe goes to Emma in a casino and making out in an elevator. However, it was a trap that Albert and his goons beat Joe up constantly until the cops arrive and arrest Joe. Later, Joe is sentenced three years instead of life, however, when Joe is set to be released two weeks prior, Thomas dies. When he is released, Joe works with an Italian mob boss named Maso (Remo Girone), Albert's rival to take Albert out. Maso has Joe relocated to Florida to work the rum business. He meets a Cuban businessman named Esteban Suarez (Miguel) who has a sister named Graciella (Zoe Saldana).

This looks like the 1920s version of Good Will Hunting.

It's unfortunate to say that Ben Affleck's fourth movie as a director is a disappointment. There is not much wit or not as many interesting, developed characters in this movie because there are not many to root for. And, also, there are so many set-ups to certain characters that does not seem to take off that it is hard to grasp on a character that you care about in the end. Also, there is so much exposition as to how characters want to be: Joe wants to do some good but ends up in the wrong place but will it cost him his life? He helps a fellow gangster to take out his competition. So, it is a redemption tale crossed with a revenge tale crossed with a romance and crossed with a story involving a girl who wants to chase her dream to become an actress. There are too many threads in one story and it becomes a bit convoluted, not as focused and also not as intriguing.

Ben Affleck seems lost in this movie as he tackles a character trying to redeem himself in the 1920s. He looks like he is pretending to be a tough guy playing dress-up instead of embodying to be a tough guy because he does not have as much chemistry with certain actors. He has no chemistry with Sienna Miller, which the character felt like as a throwaway character. He does not have as much chemistry with Zoe Saldana, who gives an impossibly bad performance pulling out a confusing accent and becomes forgettable because the subplot involving her and Miami was boring. The only interesting elements involve his scenes in Boston and with a few characters played by Chris Cooper and Elle Fanning and if they focused on that aspect and maybe put the gangster angle as a sub-plot, I think it would have been properly executed and very interesting.

I give it points for its production design, art direction and style of the 1920s era and also there is a great car chase in the first act but it falls part in its character development, narrative, some performances and also a botched conclusion that felt an alternative ending than a final ending to a movie. Rarely, does a gangster movie keep my interest unaware or being bored because it was a bit confusing and a bit routine in some areas of the screenplay. Affleck covers too much ground on too many characters that the movie becomes overblown, produced right and underwritten. This gangster flick is all over the map for me.

**