Review of Manchester by the Sea (2016) by Axet — 01 Jan 2017

Sir Alfred Hitchcock once said, "I don't make slices of life pictures. I prefer slices of cake." This is a prime example of why he expressed that sentiment and why he was the Master, and why so many are students of his to this day. The filmmakers of this little indie slice of life film are not. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but it is naive not to realize the tenants of suspense apply to all stories and genres, that any good movie needs some form of imagination.

The writer/director here is trying to pass off a lazy, half baked, self indulgent, contrived excuse for a movie that is very slow, dreadfully boring, poorly edited (in the sense of economy of running time), and unevenly acted (at times it's naturalistic and real, while at others it's painfully forced and phony, with Casey Affleck delivering a suitably competent performance but certainly not outstanding by any sane measure)... and the critics just ate it up! They swallowed the pretentious void of story craft and lack of dynamics hook, line and sinker, as the herd on the scent of pretentious art films does, so often mistaking the pretense of art for actual accomplished audience pleasing work, or even difficult opaque but still highly worthy endeavors that require work on the audience's part. This thing is neither. Moviemakers should always work for the audience, not the other way around. That means even with difficult, challenging or disturbing material the work of story craft in a narrative must be done before it's given to the audience. To just throw up on screen some ramblings and musings (no matter how tragic or melancholic) that a screenwriter jacked off on the page and called it a day is no excuse for the lack of quality entertainment or "art" in any genuine sense of the word when it comes to the cinema.

Of course The Academy flock will also delight full course on this unpalatable slice of s--- too. Meanwhile we, those in and who work for the audience, shake our heads in disgust at the obscene deranged over-praise.