by Chris Feil
Ben Affleck's Live By Night, his directorial follow-up to Argo, has been long-rumored to pop up as a late entry into the 2016 Oscar race. Could Warner Bros. be out for some Best Director retribution after Affleck famously missed the nomination for that film? Don't be surprised if its January debut is preceded by a quick qualifying run in the hopes of making up for that sting.
Now we have our first look at what Affleck has been working on between Batman gigs. His second Dennis Lehane adaptation, the film finds the director in his crime saga sweet spot before also taking over the Batman directorial duties. Will this be one to savor before he's wrapped up in that studio monster? Take a look at the first trailer:
Let's break down the Yes, No, Maybe So of this first look...
YES
- That sure is some cast! Brendan Gleeson, Elle Fanning, Chris Cooper - When don't they deliver?
- Affleck always does right by his bursting ensembles. Even some of Argo's less recognizable names make up an interesting fabric of that film.
- Fanning looks to be the darkest element here. After being one of the tamer pieces to The Neon Demon's inferno, we're ready to see her get a little haunted. "Repent." - if you insist!
- Those Savannah shooting locations sure are stunning and director of photography Robert Richardson is bringing the beauty to a gloomy genre here.
NO
- Another entry into the "Sienna Miller Is a Supportive Woman In Three Scenes" Cinematic Universe? Give the actress more to do!
- Can we go a single Oscar season without a gangster film, please?
- There's an awful lot of competing (and patchy) dialect work going on. We love you Zoe, but this still sounds Na'vi light.
- For all of the genre staples present, you can't really tell what this damn thing is about and there just isn't much to separate it from the pack.
MAYBE SO
- "Powerful men don't have to be cruel." Another heavy dose of macho proselytiizing or maybe a slight dismantling?
- Affleck's films have never looked this gorgeously crafted. A step up in production value feels like he's flexing some directorial clout.
- This has been a pet project of Affleck's for some time. Never doubt what a little passion can bring to studio fare like this.
- If it does skip the Oscar qualifying route, this could be a welcome respite from the January dumping ground.
So far, I'm unfortunately leaning NO on this until we see it breaking the gangster movie mold. What are your thoughts on another Ben Affleck crime thriller?