Manchester by the Sea

[kevinknapman]

Kenneth Lonergan may not be the most prolific of filmmakers, but the quality of the three films that he has directed over the past 16 years certainly makes up for that.
His latest Manchester By The Sea, joins You Can Count On Me and Margaret as another incisive and moving drama with a fantastic cast.
Casey Affleck plays Lee Chandler who returns to the coastal fishing village of the title after his older brother dies. Becoming a reluctant guardian to his nephew Patrick, he struggles with the memories of a devastating tragedy several years earlier that led to him leaving in the first place.
A powerful and incredibly moving study of grief and depression, Manchester By The Sea could have ended up being a relentlessly depressing and dispiriting experience were it not for the welcome use of humour that is often used to allieviate the bleakness of the piece. The relationship between Lee and his nephew Patrick in particular is mined for plenty of very funny, awkward laughs as the two fail to reconnect. But when the darker moments land they hit hard.
In this regard it's hard to fault the strong cast. Affleck delivers his best role to date as the man who has maintained a distance from other people since events several years earlier. The sense of him bearing wounds that are never likely to completely heal is apparent in every inch of his guarded and distant body language. It's a surprising performance that deserves all the accolades. Michelle Williams is equally impressive and moving as Lee's wife Randi, while Kyle Chandler makes a strong impression in flashbacks as Lee's brother. Gretchen Mol, Tate Donovan and Matthew Broderick are also fine in smaller roles, with even Lonergan himself making an amusing third cameo in one of his own films. Most impressive of the rest of the cast however, is the relatively unknown Lucas Hedges as Patrick and it's his scenes with Affleck that really drive the film.
Emotionally devastating but deeply rewarding, Manchester By The Sea is essential viewing and highly recommended. Here's hoping it's not too long before Lonergan delivers his fourth feature.

[fraz]

Just watched this as the latest odeon screen unseen film. As the second screening in a week dealing with a tragic loss, it will be a timely relief to switch off for some sillyness at Why Him, next week!

Really enjoyed this film, and great performances all round. The addition of some light humour really helping the flow of the film although it did seem to take a while to arrive as the first hour was pretty full on dealing with the death and also the backstory behind Lee.

Only niggle was that it started to feel a little drawn out towards the end. 8/10

[stuartboy]

Hadn't realised that this was filmed in real time - like about 3 months. Of at least that's how long it seemed to last. Boy was it drawn out. Some really wooden acting as well with several pregnant pauses and open mouthed staring into the camera. It looked like they'd forgotten their lines. A very unfulfilling film with an ending if you could call it that where it just stopped. I really wanted to like this. I couldn't. My judge of a film is often how quickly I'd want to see it again, and sometimes if a preview happens more than once I will. This one? I couldn't sit through this epic saga again. Not as bad as La La La nd. But not far off.

[jpegga]

Watched in Kingston, a packed screening. For a moment it looked as if it would start at 18:20, so we feared the usual start then stop then start again, but fortunately they caught it in time and froze it at the Film Certificate for ten minutes! Although Casey Affleck was very, very good, the film dragged a little too long.

[Florence1]

Slow and slightly depressing, not light entertainment but still compelling to watch. Some of the acting was good but I did think that Casey Affleck was quite wooden in parts with his portrayal of the self destructive father. The story plods along and then comes very quickly to an end. Not sure I could recommend.

[Smarties]

I enjoyed this film. It was rather slow to unfold, but I was engaged with the storyline and characters throughout. Nice use of music, and beautiful cinematography as well. Strong performances from both Casey Affleck and Michelle Williams, can see why both have been tipped to do well at the upcoming awards.

[alythonian]

It is slow and looks cold makes you feel cold.
Casey Affleck,I thought, was superb as the father tortured by guilt.
It's not cheery but it's not as weepy as I was warned it would be.

It's a good film and deserves the plaudits it's been getting.

The end is a bit odd.

8/10 from me.

[D-Fens]

Mixed feelings, it's not a must-see as awards season would have you believe but I could have happily spent another hour in its company.

It wasn't a downer as expected because most of the sadness comes from a particular event which was handled as a mystery a lot of the time.

Affleck was good but his detached act must have been easier when most of the peripheral characters felt more like caricatures, particularly when they tried a Boston accent.

Thought the music was terrible, sweeping orchestral scores over dramatic scenes feels like The Apprentice or Screenwipe at this point added to Honky-tonk during a bar fight so maybe there was supposed to be another purposeful clash of styles to enhance the feeling of isolation.

[sfancy]

I saw this yesterday in Brixton. IT was a depressing but Casey Affleck is amazing. Don't watch if your feeling a bit down.

[nosila50]

I too had mixed feelings about this one. Would I have pa*d to go and see it ...NO. Was I happy to see it as it was free.... YES. Found it dragged a bit and due to all the sadness he had endured it was hardly going to be a laugh a minute but could have done with a few lighter moments.

6/10