Review of Manchester by the Sea (2016) by Grant S — 19 May 2017

Lee Chandler is a janitor in Boston. He is in a permanently depressed state and nothing seems to matter to him any more. Then his brother Joe dies and Lee is given guardianship of his teenage son, Patrick. Patrick lives in Manchester, 90 minutes drive from Boston. This is an imposition to Lee and he decides to conform Patrick's life and living situation to his own.

Wonderful, emotional journey. A gritty, realistic human drama about tragedy, how one reacts to it, recovering from it (or not) and second starts.

Well written and directed by Kenneth Lonergan. Particularly impressive is the use of back-and-forth time jumps to feed in background information. The revelation of the reason for Lee's depression is incredibly powerful and is woven into the plot with a deft touch.

This non-linearity helps the intrigue and the engagement level.

On the negative side the conclusion feels a bit tame after all that came before. I was expecting something quite profound and more closure-oriented but, while there is a degree of closure, it doesn't quite end up as conclusive as I imagined. This said, life doesn't always work out so neatly, so the ending is fairly realistic. This movie is about the journey, not the destination.

Superb performance by Casey Affleck in the lead role, for which he won the 2017 Best Actor Oscar. Good support from Lucas Hedges (as Patrick), Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler, CJ Wilson and Gretchen Mol. Hedges and Williams received Best Supporting Actor/Actress nominations for their performances. Matthew Broderick also appears in a minor role.