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Rating: 4.75 out of 5
I was very hesitant to watch Manchester by the Sea. The main reason was Casey Affleck was up against the GREAT Denzel Washington. If anyone ever knows me, Denzel is my all-time favorite actor. Also, I wasn’t really feeling the movie when I saw the preview. I will say that I was mistaken not to watch this movie earlier because it is fantastic. It is incredibly emotional, heartbreaking, and coming to terms with the past.
Lee Chandler (Affleck) is a reserved, antisocial janitor who works for a property management company responsible for four residential apartment buildings in Quincy, Massachusetts. On a snowy day, Lee is summoned by George, a family friend, to come home to Manchester By The Sea as Lee’s older brother Joe has just had another major heart attack. Moments before Lee arrives, Joe passes away. Lee starts making arrangements for the funeral with George but also must tell his sixteen-year-old nephew Patrick (Hedges), who’s at the hockey practice, that his father just passed away. Lee meets with Joe’s lawyer to read the will and learns to his surprise that Joe has named him to be Patrick’s guardian. Lee is at a crossroads because he doesn’t want to stay in Manchester at all from a recent past nor put Patrick in the care of his alcoholic mother, Elise. Lee decides that the best thing is to have Patrick live with him in Quincy. Patrick, on the other hand, doesn’t want to leave his life in the town. While planning the burial and funeral of his brother, we see the reasons why Lee doesn’t want to spend that much time in Manchester as he was happily married to his wife Randi (Williams) and their three children until tragedy hit. Lee must come to terms with his past as he tries to figure out what is best for Patrick.
The story is expertly told and well done as it goes from the present and past. In the present, we see how Lee seems like an unemotional person. One that seems to go throughout his day and life. He is extremely awkward and really doesn’t like making small talk with anyone. In the beginning, I thought he was an asshole. As he progresses through the funeral arrangements along with trying to figure out how to take care of his nephew, Patrick, we find out the dude that a freaking beautiful life until tragedy struck and his life fell apart from it. It makes you really feel for him and why he is the way he is.
Through all this, we see why Lee really didn’t want to step foot in his own hometown and why he wants to get out as fast as possible. Everyone in town always says, “That is Lee Chandler,” but you really don’t know what he is famous for. I thought it was hockey since the first place he meets his nephew was at his hockey practice. Boy, was I totally wrong. We see that certain people despise him, and even his ex-wife has moved on, but in the end, we learn that the dude made a mistake while drunk and then tried to kill himself for it. It was truly sad to see it all go down.
The other part of this film is the relationship between Lee and Patrick. Lee doesn’t want to be Patrick’s guardian as he doesn’t see himself fit to be it. Both Lee and Patrick struggle with communication with each other and the situations that they are in. Lee tries his best to adjust to his new life, but the pair struggle to connect the way they did when they were younger and happier in their lives. The communication between them gets even more challenging as Lee wants to live in Boston, and Patrick doesn’t want to leave his friends behind. Also, things become a tad bit tougher when Patrick’s former alcoholic mother tries to come back into his life.
Let’s give a big up to director Kenneth Lonergan. I don’t know much of Lonergan’s work, but his direction and eye should be greatly applauded. He presented an emotionally charged drama that shows the themes of family, the connections a family has with each other, and how each one goes through the process of trying to get over a significant tragedy.
Usually, I am weary of doing many flashback scenes in film. Sometimes they work, and sometimes they are straight-up awful. This one worked exceptionally well. The flashbacks didn’t seem forced but flowed naturally with the film and effectively told the story. The flashbacks’ timing and presentation revealed the backstory of the characters’ lives and, as you watch, made it more impactful to why Lee is the way he is.
As far as the acting goes, I am going to give it up to Casey Affleck as Lee Chandler. As a housing maintenance keeper/janitor, he was pretty chill. The scene where the woman is berating him over fixing her shower, and she tells him off, is priceless. Affleck presented him as this person that is extremely reserved and almost shows no emotions except for fighting. To me, this was just a way to hide his pain because, in flashback scenes, he was happy and engaging. The movie revolves around him trying to bury his brother and coming to terms with some of his past.
I also want to give a shout-out to Lucas Hedges as Patrick Chandler. I thought he worked really well with Affleck and is as much as an emotional driver in this film. Hedges portrays a convincing teenager who deals with the emotional loss of his father differently than his uncle. As we get to know Patrick, homeboy is a playa with girls all around town and someone who really loves his town as he doesn’t want to move away with Lee.
I really enjoyed Michelle Williams as Lee’s ex-wife Randi. Even though the role was small and she was only in the film at certain times, the whole scene of when she told everyone to get out of her house was priceless. She told off everyone and let them know she wasn’t happy about it. I loved it.
I will fully admit that I enjoyed watching Manchester by the Sea. I wasn’t expecting a powerful and emotional film that explored how one tragedy not only affected one family but a town around them and how each of them dealt with everything. The performances were superb and strong as Affleck and Hedges take center stage as uncle and nephew. I give them all the props in the world on how they portrayed their characters.
