Steinesongo Too many fans seem to be blown away

Evengyny Thanks for the memories!

Matrixiole Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

Micah Lloyd Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

Amy Adler Joe Coughlin (Ben Affleck, who also wrote and directed) is Tom the police chief's son (Brendan Gleeson) in 20's Beantown. Nevertheless, he prefers the life of crime himself. He and his co-horts rob banks and poker games, upsetting his papa greatly. Love, however, remains strong between the two. Moreover, Joe is small peanuts in a town run by two mob leaders, one an Irishman and the other Italian. As fate would have it, Joe falls for the Irish mobster's "moll", Emma (Sienna Miller) and begins a clandestine affair, knowing the consequences if Boss Albert finds out. Joe daydreams so much about Emma that on a routine bank heist, his foggy mind upsets the apple cart. This leads to a police chase and fiery crash; Joe escapes, the cops do not. Albert IS looking for Joe, for he knows the score now, but doesn't get there before Tom arrives. Pulling strings, Tom gets Joe a very light sentence of three years. Wow. When he gets out, Joe doesn't know where Emma is, believing her to be dead, and decides to "relocate" to Tampa Florida, working for the Italian Boston Boss. He does this because the Irishman is worming his way into bootlegging and gambling down south, too, in Miami. Once there, Joe does a fabulous job, working with Cubans including lovely Graciela (Zoe Saldana). The straight-laced police chief, Figgis looks the other way and has a beautiful daughter, Loretta (Elle Fanning) who is off the star in Hollywood. But, what happens when the Italian mobster begins to believe Joe is weak and not into "killing" anymore? What about Albert, is he still looking for Joe? This very fine movie has great performances, many twists and turns, gorgeous sets, fabulous costumes, and a style that dazzles. Who can we thank? Why, first, Affleck who stars, writes, and directs and Dennis Lehane, whose novel came first. Purists may want to know that the ending of the film is different from the book while those who detest violence won't want to watch it. Even so, the violence is not pervasive and the story too good too miss. So, movie fan, don't skip it.

thebricks Had very low expectations for this, but it was a lot better than I thought it would be. Definitely one of my favorite gangster films, up there with things like Layer Cake. I kept waiting for it to get bad, wear out its welcome, but it was soundly made. My favorite part was the car chase, well done, with 30's era cars. That was a nice change of pace.

ajhenry-53120 I don't get it. Its great, and nobody knows it, and no one is gunna talk about it. Nothing is wrong with it besides that it is ambitious. The cast is great, writing, directing, the production is great and its stupid that it is hated. This is a sweeping crime epic, it is epic, the story jumps from Boston to Florida and the relationship between the 2 and philiosphy about religion and America. Your compliant is that the characters aren't as well developed?, thats because we're only developing one chrecter and one characters journey, writer director actor Ben Affleck! This is as if Forrest Gump was a gangster, the drama is insane and you feel for the guy! Shut up and watch it or just think I'm stupid.

marcar912 Ben Affleck proves once again that he cannot write, direct, produce and star in a movie. He has failed to create an interesting picture despite the fascinating material he has at hand. First, the novel by Dennis Lehane; second, the territory of gangland Boston and Florida during Prohibition; third and finally, a cast of great actors in the supporting roles from Brendan Gleeson to Elle Fanning, Chris Messina and Chris Cooper. Why isn't this a good movie? It should be, but Affleck once again does not seem to be able to take the helm wearing all those hats and produce a great movie. The stereotypes abound, the women are cardboard cutouts and the Godfather it ain't. I read this movie was originally going to run to three hours, before Warner Bros forced Affleck to cut it. As it is, at a few minutes over 2 hours, I can't imagine sitting through more of this boring, snail-paced and dull gangster film. Don't waste your time on Live By Night: watch the Untouchables, rent the Godfather trilogy or, better yet, go outside and take a long walk instead.