Ben Affleck wrote it, directed it, starred in it and cast himself opposite Zoe Saldaña. Question the man’s judgment all you like; on that call he was right.
What happens in Live by Night
Affleck adapted Dennis Lehane’s novel about Joe Coughlin, a Boston outlaw who ends up running rum out of Ybor City in Tampa during Prohibition. Saldaña is Graciela Corrales, sister of the Cuban businessman who supplies most of that rum, and before long the two of them are married. Later they move to Miami and spend their money building houses for the poor, which tells you everything about who Graciela is in a film full of men keeping score.
Their love scene arrives around the 53-minute mark. They kiss, tumble onto a sofa and roll onto the floor, Graciela on top, with the camera giving you her bare back and very little else. Mr. Skin sounds faintly let down: “Close to maybe showing some chest but its all quick and close.” Good. Saldaña plays her as the only person in the picture who isn’t performing for anyone.
She was 37 when it shot, from late October 2015 to February 2016. The film cost a reported $65 million net and grossed $22.7 million, which is studio for “the audience stayed home.” Their loss.
It’s eighth on all ten Zoe Saldaña scenes. For a romance critics actually embraced, with a Sicilian chef instead of a gangster, try From Scratch.
Film: Live by Night (2016) · Warner Bros. Pictures · written and directed by Ben Affleck, from Dennis Lehane’s novel · Zoe Saldaña as Graciela Corrales, Ben Affleck as Joe Coughlin
All Zoe Saldaña scenes
1Shower With Dave Annable Lioness S2E2 (2024)- 2Premiere Shower Lioness S3E1 (2026)
- 3Bath and Bedroom Lioness S2E3 (2024)
- 4The Morning After Colombiana (2011)
- 5The Sheer Dress Nina (2016)
- 6Love Scene From Scratch (2022)
- 7Fight Scene With Jeffrey Dean Morgan The Losers (2010)
- 8Now watchingLove Scene With Ben Affleck Live by Night (2016)
- 9With Mila Kunis After Sex (2007)
- 10Underwear With Rachel Nichols Star Trek (2009)
Back to the hub: Zoe Saldaña nude: every scene, ranked.