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.

****