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Manchester by the Sea (2016)
Cinema portrayals of angry people are not usually enjoyable entertainment yet we are fascinated by films that dwell entirely on simmering angst. Manchester by the Sea (2016) is such a film. Perplexing, unsettling, yet engaging, it is a story without joy that is made bearable by outstanding performances and superb cinematography.
The plotline has a simple core narrative framed by several abrupt flashbacks that gradually piece together a jigsaw-like story. We meet Lee (Casey Affleck) as a handyman and depressive loner whose temper blows over at little provocation. Through a series of flashbacks, we learn that he lives in self-exile because of a horrible family tragedy he caused. He has become emotionally hollowed out and unable to relate to people. Suddenly his brother has a fatal heart attack and his will names Lee as executor and guardian of 16 year-old son Patrick (Lucas Hedges). But to accept this responsibility, Lee must move back to the idyllic seaside town of Manchester by the Sea which is full of traumatic memories, including of his attempted suicide, his divorced wife, and people who are wary of him. He stays for the funeral, drinks heavily, lashes out physically, argues with his teenage nephew, and wants to cut and run. Gradually, he becomes emotionally re-connected with family and place through the experience of caring for the typically full-of-himself nephew. Lee’s traumatic past makes way for new beginnings, new relationships, and the hope of redemption.
If you look for originality in storytelling, there is little of it here. Painful battles with inner demons is a cliché, and fighting several at once is simply a compound cliché not something new. Half of this film is spent on assembling the narrative jigsaw so we can understand what makes Lee the way he is, and the other half is spent on standard melodrama tropes about re-connecting by caring for someone else. However, it is the casting, characterisation, and cinematography that save this film from being just another story of angry people destabilised by tragedy. Casey Affleck does trauma and ambivalence very effectively. His bemused tolerance of his nephew’s demands and sexual exploits becomes the emotional scaffold that guides his calming down from pot-boiling anger to resigned acceptance that life must go on. Lucas Hedges is the perfect foil for Casey Affleck, and both are helped by a strong support ensemble.
Brilliant acting by Affleck does not hide the film’s melodramatic predictability. But this slow essay on anger would be more unsettling were it not for its joyful filming. Trauma is calmed and un-likable characters forgiven when all are nestled against beautiful images of bobbing fishing vessels lapping the shores of charming Manchester by the Sea. The camerawork visually warms the film and helps bind its elements into an engaging story of loss and redemption.
Director: Kenneth Lonergan
Stars: Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler
CineMuseFilms 
Well you put that very well. Acting can’t save the clichéd can it? Thank you for the follow BTW. I’ll return the compliment
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Thats a very interesting point TanGental, thank you. We see a lot of films held together by the slender threads of acting talent. I think fine acting can obscure or ameliorate a predictable narrative, and its evident in this film.
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While I appreciated the setting, to film in the death of winter, the coldness and sharpness of the Mass. Bay only added to the depressing topic and the painful story. I didn’t find anything warm about the film.
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Interesting observation Cindy. The director clearly intended to create a pall around this story with little joyful relief. I wonder if he misjudged the tonal balance of his work and its impact on audiences?
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Well, one could say he was consistent. Nature imitating the story line or signifying an upcoming event (the storm is brewing, the rain cleansing or crying, the seasons representing the stages of life, etc.) is frequently used as a rhetorical device that extends from books into the visual text. All of this you know. It’s a good question, Richard, that pall — I wonder if the story would have been more poignant or less so had it been filmed in summer?
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Yes, there is no doubt the winter pall is deliberate and it serves its purpose well. I dont think that shooting it in Spring would make much difference. My ambivalence towards this film is entirely based on how the narrative flounders on its own cliche rocks. A genuine surprise event that creates a rise and fall in the storyline would have created the forward propulsion that can turn a static story into a dynamic narrative. From the moment Lee hears his brother’s will, we knew the story in its entirety. It would have been exciting to be proven wrong with a shock narrative hinge point that revealed something new, but that never happened. The closing scene of fishing on the pier is, I think, an inadvertent metaphor for the ordinariness of this tale.
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I think this is a splendid take on a movie that haunted me after I’d seen it. I guess I was torn between the superb acting and cinematography and the cliched story line that keeps looping back to emphasize the cliche. In the end, we could say there are no new stories…it is the performances that lure us back to ancient plots.
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“There are no new stories” is a brave assertion in the world of film Linda but you are on strong ground. Personally, I believe there are not that many ‘different’ stories on the planet but there are infinite ways of telling them. The macro stories are thematic: love, pride, hate, greed, malice, etc. Creativity lies in their treatment. So while I am agreeing with your comment I also believe the great acting and filming in this story struggles to make up for the ‘sameness’ in the treatment of its overarching themes.
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I saw this in the theater over the holidays with my sister-in-law. I didn’t cry, but I came pretty close to crying a number of times (and I’m not a crier). I think this film is one of those times that the acting came off as so raw that it touched you in a way where you felt like it was someone you knew, someone you wanted to help. But, at the same time you know you cannot, even if the world was real. I connected to it on that level, and I think there’s something to be said for the power of seeing a movie like this the first time that gets lost upon multiple viewings. I’m not sure it’ll have the same raw impact the next time I watch it. I’m OK with that. As I needed that watch when I watched it.
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Beautifully expressed closesat7; thanks for commenting.
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I appreciated the boldness of the sparse dialogue and lack of arc. I like films that take chances.
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I like your comment re “boldness of the sparse dialogue”, and yes, this film does take chances that has paid off for many. Its interesting to reflect on why it warmly touches some people and leaves others cool.
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Great and interesting review. I was very moved and touched by the story, as Lee and Patrick both rationalize, reconcile, and accept their past, present, and future through the passing of Joe. Although volatile at times as you mentioned, Casey Affleck was outstanding in this film. For the most part, it was a tormented yet quiet performance.
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A “tormented yet quiet performance” is a good summary of this film. Thanks for commenting.
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Heh, like Paterson, another critic darling that doesn’t seem to be all its been made out to be. All I have heard about this is Afflek’s performance, Affleck’s performance, and how Affleck’s performance. That can’t be a good thing.
And that first comment there is very true. Acting can’t save the clichéd, hehe, very true. I’ve also never heard the term compound cliché, hehe I liked that. But the further you go into it… standard melodramatic tropes? God why is this movie so loved?
All that being said I’ll probably watch this cos I like Casey. But now I know to keep my expectations in check
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Its a strong, bleak film, carried overwhelmingly by Affleck. You might be surprised.
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Yeah I’ll certainly be giving it a look, I think it has just opened here
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It is one of the very best films of 2016. The reviews have been spectacular. I’ve already seen it three times and it holds up beautifully.
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The scene in which Lee found his house ablaze was one of the most poignant and heartfelt, I’ve ever witnessed. It was as if Affleck was in his skin! Such a performance shows a rare gift.
I didn’t think the story cliched at all. Story differences are in the telling and not in the plot lines.
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“Story differences are in the telling and not in the plot lines.”….elegantly expressed.
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Coming from you, that’s praise indeed! :-))
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I just watched this… Felt tormented yet cathartic all at the same time… I agree that Affleck carried his weight in gold in this film. It’s a pleasure finding your blog 🙂
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And its a pleasure seeing you here Jolene. Cathartic is an apt term for describing this film.
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Hmmm… I didn’t feel like the movie was cliched while wathcing it, although in retrospect I suppose it was. I actually loved it. I think part of the reason it felt so fresh to me was because of how focused the movie was on Lee. To me, the movie wasn’t centered on plot or mystery, but on Lee’s character. I was intrigued and hooked from start to finish.
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Thanks for commenting. Interesting point about the film’s centering on Lee’s character. I think there are two quite separate dimensions to characterisation: what is depicted versus how it is depicted. The latter is good enough for an Oscar, but the former is not. The inner fight with demons etc and how it is constructed lacks originality and is the element that earns the word cliched.
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Do you think it should have won best picture?
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Not in my opinion. For me, Affleck’s performance was always better than the film. My heart and money was on either Moonlight or Fences.
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