IF YOU LOVED Gone Baby Gone, Ben Affleck is just about to unveil his second adaptation of a Dennis Lehane novel, Live By Night, in his fifth film as a director.

Adding to the collection of explosive dramas he’s directed like Argo and The Town, Live By Night traces the story of Joe Coughlin (Ben Affleck), a rum dealer in Prohibition-era Florida who gets entangled with a particularly nasty mob.

As the son of a prominent Boston policeman (Brendan Gleeson), Coughlin goes against his upbringing by ascending a dangerous ladder of organised crime between Boston, Ybor City, Florida, and Havana, Cuba, as the film sticks closely to the crime novel it depicts.

For Affleck, it was a new experience for him trying to unite the lure of a traditional gangster movie with modern viewers, as he shared in an interview with Collider:

This is the first movie I’ve made that was really constructed on purpose. I wanted it to feel classic [...] But also we’re aware of contemporary audiences’ acclimation. The grammar of film is different now. So it was a challenge.

In an interview with RTE.ie, Gleeson revealed a massive respect for Affleck, “He’s an old-style movie star. He just sits well in these films. He has a particular kind of throwback charm.”

The film boasts an impressive cast also featuring Zoe Saldana, Elle Fanning (as a drug addict-turned-devout Christian), Sienna Miller and Chris Cooper.

Brendan Gleeson isn’t the only Irish connection to the film as Hozier’s atmospheric Arsonist’s Lullabye stars as the featured track in the film’s trailer.

Like to see what all the fuss is about? Live By Night is on general release from Warner Brothers from today. Have a look at Live By Night’s official site here.