Live by Night

"Overlong, overly familiar in places and achingly, misguidedly, earnest in others, Live by Night sees Ben Affleck almost single-handedly try to win the Prohibition-era alcohol trade, the love of two barely-sketched women, and racism. Returning as a director after his promising start (Gone Baby Gone, The Town, Argo), Affleck’s first major misstep as a filmmaker echoes the tone-deaf errors as an actor that seemed consigned to the distant past (Gigli, Jersey Girl et al)."

"It's like seeing the ghost of a terrific movie: All the pieces are in place, yet as you're watching it (or thinking back on it afterwards), there doesn't seem to be quite enough there there."

"Despite various beautifully orchestrated set-pieces, narratively the whole thing feels as oddly empty as a prohibition liquor bottle."

"Chock-full of sturdy fedoras, thick accents and double-crossing mobsters, the resulting film is both remarkably compelling and a bewildering mixed bag."

"Mr. Affleck handles the busy narrative without finding its hook, but his biggest problem is that he's fallen for his leading man."

"Increasingly preposterous and uninvolving."

"Ben Affleck's fourth film as director is also his least successful."

"Neither elegantly concise nor an epic sprawl, but rather something just awkwardly misshapen."

"The ... nagging hole in the thriller is Affleck himself, playing a tough guy with a sense of right and wrong, in a stolid performance that takes up a lot of space without packing the necessary gravitas."