Joe Coughlin (Ben Affleck) returns from the Great War and leads a robbery crew in Boston. His girlfriend Emma Gould is the inside man who is also the mistress to Irish gangster Albert White. A gang war between White and Italian mob boss Maso Pescatore blows up. He gets set up by White, beaten, and imprisoned. After his release, Pescatore recruits him to chase after White who has escaped to set up an operation in Tampa, Florida. With his best friend Dion Bartolo by his side, he builds a rum operation in Tampa. He befriends Sheriff Irving Figgis (Chris Cooper) and his daughter Loretta (Elle Fanning) who is heading to Hollywood. He marries local Graciela Corrales (Zoe Saldana). He battles the KKK and then tries to build a casino.
This story seems to be too big for Affleck's writing skills. He's proved his directing skills but this is a long meandering criminal life. He's trying to make Godfather but he doesn't have the vision. It also doesn't help that he plays Joe in a cold and distant manner. He is so cold that none of his relationships are appealing. I don't care about Emma and only slightly more about Graciela. The saving grace is that he doesn't get romantic with Loretta as I feared. That may be why her character is more compelling than almost everybody else. This movie pushes Affleck to his limits and he shows his limitations.
This story seems to be too big for Affleck's writing skills. He's proved his directing skills but this is a long meandering criminal life. He's trying to make Godfather but he doesn't have the vision. It also doesn't help that he plays Joe in a cold and distant manner. He is so cold that none of his relationships are appealing. I don't care about Emma and only slightly more about Graciela. The saving grace is that he doesn't get romantic with Loretta as I feared. That may be why her character is more compelling than almost everybody else. This movie pushes Affleck to his limits and he shows his limitations.