{"id":4311,"date":"2018-08-10T08:31:10","date_gmt":"2018-08-10T12:31:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/?p=4311"},"modified":"2022-10-25T09:52:59","modified_gmt":"2022-10-25T13:52:59","slug":"exhaustively-exhausted-live-by-night","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/exhaustively-exhausted-live-by-night\/","title":{"rendered":"Exhaustively exhausted: Ben Affleck&#8217;s Live by Night"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Has any topic been more exhaustively dramatized than Prohibition-era gangsters?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Live by Night<\/em> seems especially redundant so soon after HBO&#8217;s <em>Boardwalk Empire<\/em>, which covers a lot of the same ground: the Florida\/Cuba liquor pipeline, the Irish\/Italian mob conflict, the pivot to legal gambling, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The explanation being pretty simple: original novelist Denis Lehane also contributed to <em>Boardwalk Empire<\/em>. The few elements not already done to death by the gangster genre, including additional conflicts with evangelicals and the Klan, are in this case simultaneously not enough and too much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also, did <a href=\"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/tag\/ben-affleck\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"1132\">Ben Affleck<\/a> always play every role as a man in a deep depression, or is this a recent development?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Has any topic been more exhaustively dramatized than Prohibition-era gangsters? Live by Night seems especially redundant so soon after HBO&#8217;s Boardwalk Empire, which covers a lot of the same ground: the Florida\/Cuba liquor pipeline, the Irish\/Italian mob conflict, the pivot to legal gambling, etc. The explanation being pretty simple: original novelist Denis Lehane also contributed [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5094,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[22,2],"tags":[1712,1132,1715,1713,1714,1125,1716],"class_list":["post-4311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2-stars","category-movies","tag-1712","tag-ben-affleck","tag-brendan-gleeson","tag-dennis-lehane","tag-elle-fanning","tag-gangster","tag-prohibition"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/live-by-night.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa9lhB-17x","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":642,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/gone-baby-gone\/","url_meta":{"origin":4311,"position":0},"title":"Ben Affleck&#8217;s pervasively grim Gone Baby Gone","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"February 16, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Good ol' Bahstuhn Cahtholick Ben Affleck is an all grown-up, big-boy director now, and lookit, he made himself a pretty decent movie. That said, Gone Baby Gone is a big plate of grim, with side order of depressing. Affleck makes excellent use of location footage and local color. And not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;4 Stars&quot;","block_context":{"text":"4 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/4-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/gone-baby-gone-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/gone-baby-gone-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/gone-baby-gone-feature.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/gone-baby-gone-feature.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/gone-baby-gone-feature.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5865,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/john-woos-paycheck-isnt-fun-weird-or-subversive-enough-for-a-philip-k-dick-tale\/","url_meta":{"origin":4311,"position":1},"title":"John Woo&#8217;s Paycheck isn&#8217;t fun, weird, or subversive enough for a Philip K. Dick tale","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"June 23, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"When it comes to action cinema maestros like John Woo -- I can enjoy the the hyped-up action and weirdness of something like Face\/Off, but find that the extreme violence and gunplay can sometimes cross the line from escapism into being inhumane. Paycheck, scoring a mere PG-13 from the MPAA,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;2 Stars&quot;","block_context":{"text":"2 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/2-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ben Affleck and Uma Thurman in Paycheck","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/paycheck.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/paycheck.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/paycheck.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/paycheck.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/paycheck.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5756,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/the-accountant-is-a-brilliant-mind-meets-death-wish\/","url_meta":{"origin":4311,"position":2},"title":"The Accountant is A Brilliant Mind meets Death Wish","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"October 14, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"You can imagine the elevator pitch: \"A Brilliant Mind meets Death Wish! Ben Affleck! Anna Kendrick!\" Director Gavin O\u2019Connor's The Accountant flirts with righteous anger at big business financial corruption, but wimps out by ultimately fingering a single venal individual with a hired army of faceless mercenaries. There\u2019s nothing engaging\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;3 Stars&quot;","block_context":{"text":"3 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/3-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Ben Affleck in The Accountant","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/accountant-jigsaw.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/accountant-jigsaw.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/accountant-jigsaw.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/accountant-jigsaw.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/accountant-jigsaw.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":681,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/chasing-amy\/","url_meta":{"origin":4311,"position":3},"title":"Kevin Smith&#8217;s Chasing Amy is his best film","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"March 7, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Chasing Amy is far and away Kevin Smith's best film, and not coincidentally his most heartfelt. It's not nothing to tell a universal guy's story while still featuring significant and sympathetic female characters. Yes, Chasing Amy is spectacularly profane and the characters are prone to giving extended on-the-nose speeches perfectly\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;4 Stars&quot;","block_context":{"text":"4 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/4-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Chasing Amy","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/03\/chasing-amy-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/03\/chasing-amy-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/03\/chasing-amy-feature.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/03\/chasing-amy-feature.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/03\/chasing-amy-feature.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":665,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/you-kill-me\/","url_meta":{"origin":4311,"position":4},"title":"T\u00e9a Leoni clings to the menacing Ben Kingsley in You Kill Me","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"February 25, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"The first thing to say about You Kill Me is to give props to Ben Kingsley, if for no other reason than my fear that he will break my kneecaps if I don't. Even after his terrifying turn in Sexy Beast, it's still a surprise to see how perfectly natural\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;3 Stars&quot;","block_context":{"text":"3 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/3-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"You Kill Me","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/you-kill-me-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/you-kill-me-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/you-kill-me-feature.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/you-kill-me-feature.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/you-kill-me-feature.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5287,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/netflix-triple-frontier-2019-movie-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":4311,"position":5},"title":"Netflix&#8217;s Triple Frontier is aggro, macho horseshit","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"March 23, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"J.C. Chandor's Triple Frontier, Netflix's latest high-profile exclusive, aspires to be a serious Expendables. It draws surface-level inspiration from the likes of Heat and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, but forgets that you need more than square jaws and gun porn. There's some dramatic potential in the premise of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;2 Stars&quot;","block_context":{"text":"2 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/2-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Triple Frontier","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/triple-frontier.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/triple-frontier.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/triple-frontier.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/triple-frontier.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/triple-frontier.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4311"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4311\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7352,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4311\/revisions\/7352"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}