<em>Live by Night</em> Is Too Epic for Its Own Good
Ben Affleck has a Ben Affleck problem. As a filmmaker, he long ago proved himself an interesting, versatile voice in Hollywood, an heir to the gritty crime-thriller directors of the ’70s who excelled at staging small-scale action and getting big, pulpy performances from well-selected ensembles. He keeps making a mistake, though. He keeps casting this stiff, uncomfortable-looking actor in his lead roles, a man who too often seems distracted and unhappy, lacking the movie-star charisma he’s shown in other projects. Sadly, that actor is also Ben Affleck, and his appearances in these, Affleck’s follow-up to his Oscar-winning smash is a fascinating mess of a movie, but it’s undone in part by the charisma vacuum at its center.
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