Opening nationally this week is an almost certain nominee for the Best Picture Oscar, Manchester by the Sea. Even if you aren’t a Casey Affleck fan, give this one a chance. This is a character-driven story so be emotionally prepared for it. (To my friend Denis, don’t see this!).
Manchester by the Sea (Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler, Lucas Hedges) – Kenneth Lonergan is a fine writer, having been nominated for Oscars for You Can Count On Me and Gangs of New York. He has dabbled in directing, first for the aforementioned You Can Count On Me and for a never widely released Matt Damon film called Margaret. He is getting all kinds of Oscar buzz for every aspect of Manchester by the Sea, an art house film about a bevy of damaged people in a small seaside town in Massachusetts.
As the movie opens, we meet Lee Chandler, a quiet, competent handyman who is good at his job but who has a hair-trigger temper. He lives in a one-room basement apartment that comes with his job taking care of the obnoxious residents of a four-building complex. Then, the call comes. His older brother, Joe, who has long suffered from congestive heart failure, dropped dead in their hometown of Manchester-by-the Sea. Lee heads home to a place he fled long ago for reasons that become apparent in due time.
Lee is legendary in Manchester but not in a good way. He is estranged from his ex-wife as Joe was from his. In flashbacks, we see Lee when he was happy, particularly in scenes on his brother’s boat fishing with his nephew Patrick. Lee has no idea what to do as Joe’s only adult relative. Friends help but the heart of the movie is about Lee’s relationship with 16-year-old Patrick (Lucas Hedges). As Lee’s back-story unfolds, we see why he has shut down emotionally. And as Patrick’s persona emerges, we see an ordinary kid with a foul mouth, a healthy sexual appetite, and a teenager trying to come to grips with his father’s sudden death.
Along the way, we meet some other fascinating, but rather undeveloped, characters: Lee’s ex-wife, Randi (Michelle Williams); Joe (Kyle Chandler in flashbacks, of course); George (C.J. Wilson), Joe’s best friend; Joe’s ex-wife, Elise (Gretchen Mol), and her fiancé, Jeffrey (Mathew Broderick, who starred in Lonergan’s Count On Me) among others.
But this film is a star vehicle for the underrated younger Affleck, Casey. This part fits him perfectly. Casey plays repressed and understated well in that New England, common man way featured in Gone Baby Goneand Good Will Hunting. I have a hard time taking Affleck seriously as an actor because he has absolutely no gravitas and just doesn’t look the part of a movie star. But he is just exceptional here as he was in Gone Baby Gone. He is almost a shoe-in for award nominations and possibly an Oscar. He is at his best when he moves from emotionless to unexpectedly violent as he drinks too much and is filled with pent-up emotion he normally suppresses.
Michelle Williams is also garnering notable Oscar buzz. Although her part is small, she steals (in a good way) every scene she is in both in flashbacks and after the funeral. There is an exceptional scene between Affleck and Williams near the end of the film that will take your breath away. It is so wrought with emotion – Randi can’t hold it in while Lee can’t let it out – that will have you crying, uncomfortable and empathetic all at once.
Manchester by the Sea is an emotionally draining experience and an exceptional movie. I would not call it enjoyable. It is also well over two hours (2:17) and could have benefited from 15-20 minutes of editing but writer/directors must be excused falling in love with their own work. You may love it, too, but be prepared.