First of all, let me explain that I have not read the original work. Fans of Daben are not professionals, so they are slightly biased in the evaluation. Please read it as you see fit.
From Gone baby Gone to The Town to Argo, it can be seen that Daben’s film directing ability has been recognized step by step, and he has also written good scripts such as Good Will Hunting with Matt Damon, so Daben’s expressive ability It is very good. This is also very well reflected in the movie Live by night. Daben's movie is very complete and can tell the story well. The foreshadowing and the direction of each character can be told clearly. For example, his brother Daniel mentioned at the beginning and in the middle of the play also appeared in the ending movie. For example, the sheriff’s daughter mentioned that the sheriff has been repeating the repent and the last act of the sheriff. For example, the photo wall that appeared in the office of his wife and brother at the beginning also played a role in providing key clues behind. On the whole, I can feel that Daben’s storytelling has a beginning and an end, and he has the ability to tell the story clearly. This is very rare. This is why I like Daben’s narrative style. Simple and intuitive, it satisfies the audience's doubts while watching the movie, but the handling is not too stupid. If you have a little understanding of religion and American history, you may be more relaxed when watching this film, but you can still feel the themes that this film wants to express including racial discrimination, immigration, religion, struggle, love, friendship, etc. Moreover, the picture and composition of the film are very beautiful, and the shootout and car chase scenes are also bright spots. Daben's appearance in it is also good, and the selected actresses are very good-looking.
Let me talk about the shortcomings of the film. Although the story is clearly told, it is too much like a running account, and the highlights are not too obvious. I really feel that the film can even be divided into 3 or 2 to start the narration. The first short story can be a good topic for Live by night, but later on, people gradually forget this theme. There are a lot of details to tell and the story line to unfold. If you are a little distracted or don’t remember what happened, it’s easy to fail to understand (this is why I think Daben’s expressive ability is strong, if he can keep up with his narrative Rhythm, you will find that he can tell the story, and I don’t want some directors to be anticlimactic, foreshadowing but not echoing back and forth). Another big disadvantage is that there are too many narrations in the story, and I feel that the protagonist's inner drama depends entirely on the narration.
This film requires a deeper understanding of European and American history and religion in order to better understand this film, and I can feel the hard work of Daben as the director of this film. As an ordinary Chinese who just likes to watch movies to pass the time, he is not qualified to give this film too high or too low evaluation, can only write about your own feelings, I recommend everyone to see it.
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