Review of Manchester by the Sea (2016) by Harrison W — 25 Feb 2017

I am no longer reeling from Manchester by the Sea, but I was, deep into my bedtime thoughts last night. The devastation that is being Lee Chandler, and how the emotional processes of going through grief and being loved express the persistent punishment of being this character, are revealing experiences that open to the viewer long after the first emotional impact from the screen.

Right away in the film, before we know anything about the character's life, or who he is to the other characters in it, we can feel the burden he carries with him. We feel it in the way the nameless (or names quickly forgotten) characters in Manchester react to his presence, in Casey Affleck's muted delivery, in the dashboard camera that takes us from the dreary congested traffic of Boston, to the beautiful seaside of the film's titular location.

Much like Lonergan's other film, You Can Count On Me, Manchester shows how tragedy mars human lives in far further and unexpected ways than the immediate and near by days we so often study it by, when participating as outsiders. Also like You Can Count On Me, is the collaboration with composer Lesley Barlow . In both films, Barlow utilized a heavy amount of classical music. It's sounds give a very pure and romanticized feeling to the characters' emotions, which seem to jar against their and our modern reality in how they should be expressed or nullified. There is also our shared pop music appearances that help ground it in now, and also give lighter touches. Perhaps the music is self medication for the characters, just like the persistent presence of alcohol.

One of my favorite elements about watching this movie was how the trailer framed the experience, and my expectations. It didn't feed into them in a cheap way, but it also didn't fight against them. I think movies, stories, and all art are part of our daily lives and decision making; they make us happy and laugh, but they also teach us things. We want to see ourselves and understand ourselves, and how to make things better, and we used pre-exposed guides and narratives as lessons. The characters in this story know what movie they're in: the brother knew it when he put together the movie's plot (a will? Such a gimmick), the teenaged nephew,Patrick knew it when he brags about scoring with babes, and there's even a montage where Lee starts to get his groove back, complete with breezy music. But life doesn't always end up like a happy movie. Even when you will it, people need to take phone calls, they can't get gurneys to operate, and revert back to painful patterns.

Other than Affleck, effective acting turns are given by Hedges and Williams, but what I'm most impressed about a film of this category, is how much it pulls to be rewatched. Not to find what pieces you missed, but to see just how much was missing. The plot is just what the trailer and synopsis say, but **spoiler*** the meat of the story is all related to events that happen five years earlier. Yes, it is revealed through flash back, but it is also carried on the backs of every scene as if it is constantly being discussed- and it isn't. It's what gives power to the pivotal scene between Lee and ex-wife Randi, and is why Williams is capable of winning an Oscar for less than ten minutes of screen time. What they say, though simply worded, blazes in what could be joy, could be pain, but is ultimately beautiful.

****Most spoiling moment***.

The film used the important artifacts of three picture frames. If tehy existed before you now the contents then you didn't think to pay attention. We see them repeatedly handled, and looked at, but never get to truly see them. We expect to. We want to, so that we can cry like blubbering babies. But we don't. Perhaps it help us better empathize with being denied a shameless cry.

****End Spoils***.

Go see Manchester by the Sea. Not a unique story, but by most accounts, a unique film. I was moved. I very much like to be moved, and put myself in that position, but I also feel like a connoisseur in the department of seeing if it's gimmicky or honest sentimentality.