Review of Manchester by the Sea (2016) by Bradley J — 01 Feb 2017

Perhaps Manchester by the Sea will deepen and engage more with time, however, its distancing emotionally chilly delivery is off putting in several ways. The story demands some kind of catharsis, however, Affeck's character (Casey turns in a very strong performance) is emotionally distant and thus much of the film trails on his quiet coldness.

While this is most likely the point of the film, my eyes were left wholly dry at the end of the film. The script has some insightful dialogue delivered with casual, unforced performances. Lucas Hedges delivers a stand out performance, the best supporting actor performance nominated this year, and has several strong moments with Affleck's character.

Michelle Williams makes the most of her limited screentime but is often overshadowed by the narrative completely. The film is also set-up with a confusing flashback structure that often thrusts you five-ten years earlier in the story without so much as a subtitle to alert you.

The story in Manchester is an undeniably powerful one and the film gets you in a few scenes with its shear grim realness, but this unnecessarily overlong film never launches itself past a series of depressing encounters that have little relief or emotional release.

The film is pint up afraid to let itself fully explode over the stakes of the emotional content. Rating: 64.