Live by Night writer/director Ben Affleck describes his character Joe Coughlin as a man who returns from WWI disillusioned, and turns to life as an outlaw. He defines the term “living by night” as living by your own rules and morals, and says that the film explores the price of living life in that way. Ben reveals that the shootout after the car chase scene was about putting the audience in the shoes of the characters, and making them feel just as frightened as the characters did.