Skip to main content

Manchester By The Sea (2016), R, ★★★★

Casey Affleck in possibly his Oscar-winning role.
There was a lot of love and awards buzz for this latest movie that I'll review and I saw the trailer and even though I thought that it looked interesting, there was a tiny bit of hindrance between my expectations and this movie because the hype was huge. Um...the only movie that I know of Kenneth Lonergan, the director, is he made You Can Count on Me, which I liked very much as it is one of those underrated indie movies that everyone should watch. The hype is met because this is a simplistic story that absorbs you into how truly human this story is based on its seldom humor, realistic characters and a depressing tragedy. It is one of the best movies of the year.

Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck) works as a janitor and handyman for an apartment building which is filled with rude residents. He is so distant and antagonizing towards people because he seems either so occupied with his thoughts or is vulnerable inside. Lee gets a phone call as he has to go out of town for a week or two. He arrives at a hospital, and it is not a spoiler because it is in the trailer, and he finds out that his brother, Joe (Kyle Chandler) has passed away from congestive heart failure. Lee observes Joe's body in the morgue being cold and lifeless as he identifies him as his brother. Lee stops by Patrick's (Lucas Hedges), his nephew's hockey practice and as he argues with his coach and as the other kids notice Lee, Patrick notices that when Lee comes in that it must be bad news.

Patrick is devastated by this news and by dealing with his pain, he decides to ask Lee to invite his friends over to his and Joe's house and Lee replies that it is okay. Patrick is comforted by his girlfriend, Silvie (Kara Hayward from Moonrise Kingdom fame) and his two guy friends. Patrick has also had a bitter relationship with his mother, Elise (Gretchen Mol) as she is an alcoholic. Lee has to deal with the funeral arrangements and his hockey coach tells Lee to take time off because of that recent event. In the lawyer's estate while he is reading Joe's will, it is stipulate that Lee will be providing care for Patrick but Lee cannot commute from Boston to Manchester every day. It frustrates both Patrick and Lee because of not the situation but also their futures.

There is also another secret that Lee is hiding that is particularly devastating that it involves him not to move to Manchester and also with his relationship with his ex-wife, Randi (Michelle Williams). They break up because of a bitter tragedy that is haunting and depressing.

Casey Affleck and Lucas Hedges.
This is a depressing movie to watch as it pushes those buttons on heartbreaking realism as you become a participant of this family's tragic situations. The editing between the flashbacks and the present would seem to be weird as you become ponderous as to why Lonergan is doing the flashback narrative structure throughout the movie. I was starting to question whether it got messy but when the flashbacks reveal why it is in the movie, it ties in to Lee as a character and how he became that bitter, unlikable guy. It reveals why he is distant from mostly everybody including Patrick. It is brilliant storytelling because if it were done wrong by an inexperienced director, then that director would have focused more on the structure than the contextual storytelling and the characters.

Casey Affleck gives his best performance on his resume and is certain to get many award nominations in his awards campaign as he plays somewhat of a normal guy with a haunting past and a bitter personality. There is some character development as to how he handles his relationship with Patrick. Lee and Patrick are sort of buddies in the beginning but become more as guardian and child as the film progresses. And, Lucas Hedges does not push on the envelope by expressing his emotions surrounding his character's father's death. He is quietly magnificent. Michelle Williams should garner some consideration as Affleck's ex-wife.

This movie will be inside your soul for a few days because I do not believe that there is a shred of happiness but maybe a shred of hope when the movie ends. What I truly liked about this movie is that it is not emotionally manipulative because the movie deals with reality as the story has a blend of hostility, anger and love. The revelations surrounding behind the main plot and Lee's subplot are disturbing and Lonergan paints a bleak picture of Manchester and also Boston as he observes the human condition and also inner soul as it translates from the screen and persuades you to care about these characters and potentially weep because of their losses. It is not a re-watchable movie but it is a powerful movie to behold as it hits you on the gut with torn emotion. You'll be rewarded by great performances across the board and a precise and well-told screenplay and direction by Kenneth Lonergan.

****


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2015 Documentaries

I have only seen 6 documentaries this year which also includes Amy and I Am Chris Farley . But, I have to be honest, this has not been a particularly strong year for documentaries except for onethat got me emotionally and mentally as what I examine for when they uncover the truth or some facts from the people involved in these documentaries. But, here are the four I have seen this year: Listen To Me Marlon, Unrated, 4 stars This is the most insightful documentary of the year as we only hear Marlon Brando narrating his life and experiences what he has gone through regarding his family, his private life and his film experiences regarding The Godfather , Apocalypse Now , Last Tango in Paris , etc. It is like Marlon Brando came out of his grave to give us another profoundly moving movie only we hear his voice and scenery and nothing else. The Look of Silence, R, 3.5 stars Joshua Oppenheimer's follow-up documentary is a light-hearted but still-disturbing film regarding a
Post a Comment
Read more

Daddy's Home 2 (2017), PG-13, ★1/2

The first Daddy's Home was surprisingly a financial success as I thought it was not as bad as many people thought. I thought it was a solid cable watch because it had enough laughs for that sort of mixed recommendation. I was not craving for a sequel for this movie because again, comedy sequels have a very bad record, however, the only difference is that it is not too late since the first movie came out a few years ago. But, this sequel is a reminder as to why we do not need a sequel to a hit comedy because this is a pretty much forgettable comedy, especially a holiday comedy...which I hade a guilty pleasure for. This did not work for me. Brad and Dusty (Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg) have become friends after the events of the first film and they set up a co-dad system where their two children, Megan and Dylan, spending time at each father's home. Dusty has re-married to writer Karen (Victoria's Secret model Alessandra Ambrosio) and he is step-dad to Adrianna, Karen&
Post a Comment
Read more

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), R, 4 stars

The stockbrokers worshipping Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) like a god. Wall Street. The clients, the adrenaline, the stocks, the money, the power, and the decadence. The former three pertains to the man's job, but the latter three pertains what any stockbroker wants in order to have the freedom to do whatever they want with the client's money. As Mark Hanna (Matthew McConaughey) would say, "The name of the game is: move the money from your client's pocket into your pocket." We basically spend three hours seeing all of these Wall-Street scumbags steal the clients' money into their own pockets and spend it on booze, drugs, women, and other insane things in more insane activities. I have witnessed here is a great movie that I would not watch repetitively. The movie starts with Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) blowing cocaine onto a hooker's butt and he and his brokers throwing a little person onto a board with a dollar sign in the center. It'
Post a Comment
Read more