MovieChat Forums > Live by Night (2017) Discussion > Shooting at the end (SPOILER)

Shooting at the end (SPOILER)


When the chief shoots up Coughlin’s home at the end, killing his wife, what is chief still pissed about? His daughter goes to LA, gets involved in drugs and porn/sex, is seemingly rescued by Coughlin, only to have his casino sunk by chief’s daughter. His daughter winds up killing herself on her dad’s bed. Does chief just lose it and needs to lash out at the biggest sinner he knows? Does he feel there’s some stronger coughlin connection to his daughter’s death? Did he sexually abuse his daughter as a youth and is doing the classic Chris Cooper in a movie thing thing where he takes out his own shame on others?? Mostly joking on the last question

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This movie is based on two books and I have read comments that Coughlin's wife dies but not the way the movie portrays it so I'm not sure if it was still at the hands of the Chief or perhaps by some other vengeful mobsters who were trying to kill Coughlin.

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I suspect the Police Chief simply went mad and took it out on the man he thought had orchestrated a sex trafficking/pornography/blackmail scenario
(Or simply had it out for crooked bastards after he saw those pictures of his child)

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