Kenneth Lonergan, 2016
Manchester By The Sea was written and directed by Kenneth Lonergan, and follows Lee, a depressed man who, after his brother dies, is entrusted with the care of his teenage nephew. You can already see that there is a reason Lee is very reluctant to do it, and this becomes clear.
Lee is played by Casey Affleck with a career best performance in my opinion, who portrays all the emotions of a grief stricken brother, as well as a man who clearly has more trauma in his life, which does unfold in the movie. He is based in Boston, working as a janitor, and is living life like that a loner. He seems to be hiding out in Boston, away from his hometown of Manchester by the Sea. He is hiding rage, hatred, anger frustration and all sorts of emotions, just bubbling underneath his skin. He receives a phonemail about his brother who has just had a heart attack, so he is forced to head on back to his hometown
The acting in this film is out of this world. Lucas Hedges plays the nephew and is portrayed excellently. He is a grieving teenager, who is already struggling with all the problems that arise when growing up a teenager. He is often bratty and sarcastic, but also very troubled and emotional. The is also another great performance from Michelle Williams, who plays Lee's ex wife. She isn't in the film as much as the other two, but the scenes she's in was enough to win her an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Affleck's performance is so subdued, and it really fitted well within the film.
This film just kept smacking me in the face with the pure emotion that emanates throughout the story. This, added with some beautiful cinematography and an incredible, picturesque setting, makes this a very hard film to forget. It is a very real, and tough story to watch, due to its extremely relatable story, but is masterfully told and expertly portrayed. As far as a story point of view, there are many twists and turns and reveals that keep you involved, and keep you on that rollercoaster of emotions.
This is a really well written film, and it made the audience feel like they weren't watching a film, but more eavesdropping on real conversations, with real people going through real trauma and grief. The one negative I have with this film is that the pacing felt off at times. I know this is a common, often purposeful theme in dramas, but I felt sometimes scenes went on for a good few minutes more than it needed too, but honestly I can look past that with great ease.
This film blew me away, it chucked me straight in to Manchester by the Sea, straight in to this family and straight in to their tragedy, and I completely adored it. This film is a complete masterpiece, and probably one of my favourite dramas of all time.
You can see why this film was so critically acclaimed, and won many awards, with acting, writing, directing, this is so deserved. If one day I ever write a screenplay like this, I would be so incredibly proud, and whoever did the casting for this should get a huge pat on the back, because I have never seen the 3 main actors of a film smash it out the park as much as Affleck, Williams and Hedges did. You absolutely need to watch this movie. This feels like a very short review but there really isn't much else to say other than, go and watch it!
My Rating 9.5/10
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