Live by Night

"Joe was once a good man."

2016 2h 9m EN

😐

6.3

MID

★6.3TMDB · 1,446

CrimeDramaHistory

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“Joe was once a good man.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

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

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Ben Affleck
Writers: Ben Affleck
Languages: English, Spanish
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $90M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 25% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 10 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Ben Affleck, shot by Robert Richardson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Harry Gregson-Williams. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Editor William Goldenberg shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Ben Affleck and Elle Fanning and Remo Girone carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Ben Affleck directs. Robert Richardson behind the camera. Harry Gregson-Williams scores. William Goldenberg cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $90M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
2Earned back only 25% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
3Released 10 years ago.
4Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.
5Directed by Ben Affleck, shot by Robert Richardson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Harry Gregson-Williams. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor William Goldenberg shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Ben Affleck and Elle Fanning and Remo Girone carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Joe was once a good man.".
10IMDB entry: tt2361317 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 9 themes, including "florida", "based on novel or book", "prohibition era", "love".

The technical file

Cinematography: Robert Richardson
Original score: Harry Gregson-Williams
Editing: William Goldenberg
Production design: Jess Gonchor
Costume design: Jacqueline West
Makeup / hair: Deborah Rutherford
Stunt coordinator: Tim Trella
Runtime: 129 min · 2h 9m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $90,000,000
Box office: $22,700,000
Return: 25% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Live by Night (2016)

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Ben Affleck

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Reno2017-09-16
★ 6/10
Fall and rise, a revenge tale. Number four for the director Affleck after his other film won the Oscars four years ago. He has also written the screenplay and produced it. It was based on the book of the same name. The story of a World War I veteran turned notorious gangster. Escaping from the war, falling in love with a gangster's woman, a bank heist, prison time, the son of a police officer and his journey to the top of the criminal world after losing everything at one stage of his life. More like a revenge film, but the intention was not aggressive. Only the time and the life passage give one to him. From all his directional films, probably this could be the worst one. It had everything a gangster film needed like gun fights, car chase, revenge, romance, yet I felt lacked depth in its overall theme. Actors were not bad, the settings looked fine. The length of the film was a bit long, but the film offered nothing new. It looked like someone's biography or made it look like one. I think that's the point. Even the end part of the film extends, only to annoy us after two long hours patiently sat for it. The best part of the film, what I liked was the 1920s. The story about between two the World Wars, that too was about an internal affair like underworld activities looked nice on the screen. The cast and crew were best for the film, yet failed to impress us. Though it was not totally a bad film of the year, only it did not stand and deliver as it was promised. So, still it can be watched once if you prefer, but not guaranteed entertainment. 6/10

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