Live by Night

film by Affleck [2016]

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June 17, 2026

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Live by Night is a 2016 American crime drama film directed by and starring Ben Affleck. Affleck also wrote the screenplay, adapting it from the 2012 novel of the same name by Dennis Lehane. The film is set in the Prohibition era and follows Joe Coughlin, the son of a prominent Boston police captain, who becomes a notorious gangster. The story explores themes of loyalty, betrayal, and the corrupting influence of power as Coughlin navigates the criminal underworld. The film received mixed reviews and was not a commercial success.1

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Ben Affleck
Film directing
…to the director’s chair for Live by Night (2016), a Prohibition-era drama that he adapted from a Lehane novel. Affleck also starred in the film, playing a gangster. In 2023 he received widespread praise for Air, a sports drama bout how Nike signed Michael Jordan to a historic endorsement deal.…
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…to the director’s chair for Live by Night (2016), a Prohibition-era drama that he adapted from a Lehane novel. Affleck also starred in the film, playing a gangster. In 2023 he received widespread praise for Air, a sports drama bout how Nike signed Michael Jordan to a historic endorsement deal.…
Read More

Zoe Saldaña
Diverse roles in later works
…this time include the thrillers Live by Night (2016) and I Kill Giants (2017) and the horror comedy Vampires vs. the Bronx (2020).
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…this time include the thrillers Live by Night (2016) and I Kill Giants (2017) and the horror comedy Vampires vs. the Bronx (2020).
Read More