Manchester by the Sea (2016)

Director: Kenneth Lonergan

Story: Kenneth Lonergan

Cast: Casey Affleck, Lucas Hedges

Music: Lesley Barber

Time: 136 minutes

Bottom-line: An emotional ride, with Affleck and Hedges at their best

Earning six Academy Award nominations this year, Kenneth Lonergan’s Manchester by the Sea brings out one of the best performances of both its lead actors: Casey Affleck and Lucas Hedges (each receiving an Oscar nomination). The story revolves around Lee Chandler (Affleck), a quiet, introverted janitor in Quincy. Despite his reliability, he is often rude to his customers, leading to tension between him and his boss. Lee receives news that his brother, Joe (Kyle Chandler), has died of a heart attack. When Lee reaches his hometown, Manchester-by-the-Sea, to break the news to Joe’s son, Patrick (Hedges), he comes to know that Joe has named Lee as Patrick’s guardian. Lee is shocked, for this would require him to shift to his hometown: the place where his past haunts him. The relationship between Lee and Patrick – before and after Joe’s death – is what the film is about.

 

Affleck as Lee (left) and Hedges as Patrick

One thing about Casey Affleck’s acting: he can never express emotions. However, when the role doesn’t require one to do so, this guy is one of the best-suited people. Lee’s character is a reserved one: taciturn, minding his own business. He has a traumatic past: memories of his accident causing the death of his kids, his divorce (Michelle Williams plays his ex-wife, Randi) all come flooding back when he arrives at his hometown. The other mentally disturbed character is Patrick: a boy with a deceased father, an alcoholic mother, two girlfriends and an uncle whose cooperation he never seems to get. The film emphasises on the mental tension that exists between these two characters. Both of them suffer in different ways, each with his own problems, but they try to find solace in each other.

Affleck, with Williams as Randi 

That is what brings out the best in acting from Affleck and Hedges. The former’s authoritative attitude, his angry outbursts, and the latter’s myriad of emotions – as a teenager would normally have – are so naturally delivered. Michelle Williams has barely 10 minutes of screen time, with one heartfelt conversation with Lee, but giving her an Oscar nod seems a bit exaggerated! I also felt there were a lot “awkward silences” throughout the film; scenes where the camera would be at a fixed location, and the characters performing mute actions, probably intended for the viewers to reflect on what’s going on.

The story has several flashes to the past, as Lee scans through his memories of Manchester by the Sea; the relationship between Patrick and himself gradually turns from two people forcibly made to stay in each other’s company, to people who accept each other with all their flaws. The ending seems apt, leaving you with a touch of happiness after almost two hours of melancholic content.

My Rating: 3.5/5

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 96%