Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Brutal
- brooding
- stylish
- romantic
- crime movie night
- period drama night
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film visually stylish and well cast but diminished by a familiar, rushed crime saga that does not fully realize its ambitions.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Joe Coughlin rises through organized crime while seeking revenge and attempting to recover a moral identity.
Joe's criminal ascent moves from Boston to Tampa's Latin Quarter and Cuba, connecting distinct vice economies.
Illegal liquor, underground distilleries, speakeasies, corrupt police, and gangster competition define the story's economic system.
The film foregrounds Jazz Age Boston, Tampa nightlife, Cuba, vintage costumes, weapons, and large-scale gangster environments.
Films like Live by Night, and why
The Untouchables
Shares a prohibition-era organized crime setting, gangster ambition, betrayal, romance, and sweeping period production design.
Road to Perdition
Comparable as a stylish American crime saga about organized crime, power struggles, violence, and personal loyalty.
The Public Enemy
Shares a sprawling rise-and-fall gangster narrative, period setting, criminal ambition, and tragic moral consequences.
Miller's Crossing
Combines a historical crime world, romantic entanglements, revenge, and a protagonist navigating competing criminal factions.
Movie Details
- Director
- Ben Affleck
- Release Date
- 2016-12-25
- Runtime
- 129 min
- Rating
- 6.3 / 10 (1444)
Cast
- Ben Affleck
- Elle Fanning
- Remo Girone
- Brendan Gleeson
- Robert Glenister
- Matthew Maher
- Chris Messina
- Sienna Miller
- Miguel
- Zoe Saldaña
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Live by Night about?
- A Boston outlaw climbs the Prohibition underworld from rum-running streets to tropical crime empires while love, revenge, and betrayal threaten his survival.
- What is Live by Night like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Live by Night as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Live by Night violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Live by Night as brutal.
- What did critics think of Live by Night?
- Critics broadly found the film visually stylish and well cast but diminished by a familiar, rushed crime saga that does not fully realize its ambitions.
- Which films are like Live by Night?
- Films with a similar feel include The Untouchables, Road to Perdition, The Public Enemy, and Miller's Crossing.
- How long is Live by Night?
- Live by Night runs 129 minutes.
- Where can I watch Live by Night?
- In United States, Live by Night is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
