Manchester by the Sea (2016)- BFI London Film Festival 2016

135min

Genre:       Drama

Director:    Kenneth Lonergan

Cast:         Casey Affleck, Lucas Hedges, Michelle Williams…and more

Writer:      Kenneth Lonergan

-Synopsis-

A stoic and blunt Boston handyman is forced back to his coastal old stomping grounds by the death of his brother and is confronted by new and unexpected responsibilities regarding his teenage nephew; but his Massachusetts trip stirs up un-confronted emotions about the tragedy which left him a shell of a man in this poignant and honest drama from writer/director Kenneth Lonergan.

For his third directorial effort, playwright-turned-screenwriter Lonergan (Analyze This, Gangs of New York) masterfully crafts a beautiful, honest and heart-breaking drama packed with working-class charm and featuring a career-defining performance from the less glamorous but more impressive Affleck brother, in a film which should impress at this year’s London Film Festival as much as it did in its Sundance debut.

In a subtle and nuanced but masterful performance, Casey Affleck stars as “Lee Chandler”; an honest working-class man broken by life and unable to process grief, who pushes everyone away and is unwilling to even make small-talk, making every conversation a precursor to awkward silences. But the death of his brother (Kyle Chandler), the only real relationship he had left, spurs a trip back home which re-kindles a connection with his spirited young nephew (Lucas Hedges), but also opens up unhealed wounds.

The story is split between two intertwining parts; “Lee’s” current monotonous and lonely daily life in Boston keeping buildings in working order, which gets put on the back-burner by a dreaded trip back to Manchester-by-the-sea. And then there’s his former life in this coastal Massachusetts town, with its highs and the very lows which prompted his exodus, all told in flashbacks.

Set in the chilling sea breeze of a New England winter, ‘Manchester by the Sea’ is a deeply moving film, thanks largely to a lack of scenery-eating high drama and characters with an instantly relatable working-class charm. All coming across as flawed but genuine and sympathetic people with depth written on their faces, thanks to tone-perfect performances from the entire cast. And Lonergan admirably avoids “emotional closure” for the easy and convenient narrative shortcut it is, making the film more than your standard family drama.

But despite the freezing weather and heart-wrenching drama, this is no dreary affair and ‘Manchester by the Sea’ is packed with brash but honest smart-ass New Englander humour. Including expertly written dialogue featuring clever quips and good-natured trash-talk, even in the most poignant moments, which is far more reflective of real life than most cinematic melodramas.

Ultimately this intimate little indie drama has all the elements you might want and expect from a genre piece; stuffed with grief, loss, anger and plenty of pathos, but perfectly balanced by humour and not succumbing to silver linings or a predictable destination, while keeping you on board throughout. At its core this is a universal story about failing to cope with grief, and its toxic consequences, particularly with men.

‘Manchester by the Sea’  is the rare kind of heartbreaking tear-jerker that’s neither clichéd nor melodramatic, leaving plenty of emotional room for even the most macho to shed a tear as well as laugh. And if you find yourself not feeling a shred of emotion from what you’ve just seen, you’re ironically probably as damaged as “Lee Chandler” himself.

The Bottom Line…

A touching and deeply moving contemporary family drama with universal themes, ‘Manchester by the Sea’ is a tone-perfect and finely balanced piece of work from Kenneth Lonergan, thanks to a memorably nuanced lead performance and accomplished supporting ones all around. An affecting piece of work with plenty of charm, grief and pathos, which avoids the trappings of your typical emotional melodrama while still offering a slightest hint of hope.

‘Manchester by the Sea’ is out on the 16th of December in the US, and on the 13th of January 2017 in the UK.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Reign Over Me (2007)

New York dentist “Alan” runs into old college roomate “Charlie” and finds his old friend is a shell of a man after loosing everything in the 9/11 attacks. With an unusual relationship reforming and as the only human connection “Charlie” seems to have, “Alan” takes it upon himself to help his old friend deal with years of repressed grief in this funny and poignant drama from Mike Binder.

Directed by Mike Binder and starring Adam Sandler, Don Cheadle and Jada Pinkett Smith among others.

Comments

comments

Comments are closed.