Manchester by the Sea – 2016
This was an incredibly depressing film, and I know exactly why. It was because at the end of the film, the protagonist fails. One of the major themes of the narrative was a man’s struggle to overcome the emotional tragedy of his past, in which he feels personally responsible for the deaths of his three young children. The situation which, in most films, would facilitate his character arch and culminate with catharsis and healing, was the death of his brother, and his unexpected guardianship of his teenage nephew. But though the man tries his best, he cannot overcome his own sense of guilt and depression.
But I think that his inability to get past his own grief and move on with his life is what sets this movie apart from most other dramas and makes it good. The film ended on a depressing note as he admits defeat, realizing that he cannot care for the boy. He makes arrangements for others to take the responsibility from his shoulders. He returns to his life of loneliness and sorrow, feeling that it is all he deserves. It doesn’t get much more depressing than that, does it?
The film starred Casey Affleck as Lee Chandler. Affleck took home the Oscar for Best Actor for his incredible performance, and I think it was well-deserved. He displayed an emotional depth that was heart-wrenching to watch. Like many other dramas, this film told two stories at the same time. First was the present-day one in which he has to deal with his brother’s death and everything that goes along with it like funeral arrangements. He also has to become a sudden father to a boy he hardly knows.
But the whole time, he is shown to be an extremely introverted and angry man, not the kind of man who is capable of being a parent. It is only through the second story, told through flashbacks, that we learn why he is so sour, so defeated. We learn that one night, when he had been married with three children, he had gotten drunk and high on both marijuana and cocaine. Then he had started a fire in the fireplace, and left the house to buy more beer. He had forgotten to put the fire grate in front of the burning logs. The resulting fire had burned all three of his kids to death. His wife, Randi, played by Michelle Williams, survives, but divorces him.
I can’t say enough how great a job Affleck did in this film, but I also have to give special props to Michelle Williams. She did a great job throughout the entire movie, but there was a particular scene which many critics single out as powerful. A chance meeting on the street between Lee and Randi gives the two grieving souls a chance to reconcile. Randi, who has been able to move on with her life, tries to apologize for the way she treated him after the tragedy. She attempts to tell him that she regrets leaving him, and that she still loved him. She begs him not to give up on his own life. But Lee cannot listen to her tearful pleading, believing that he deserves everything, including his own unassuageable sense of guilt. I have to agree. That scene was probably the emotional climax of the movie, and both actors were incredible.
There was so much emotional depth to this film. The superbly melancholy score by Lesley Barber really set the sorrowful mood. Even the director, who also happened to be the man who penned the script, Kenneth Lonergan, really knew what he was doing. First, the script was powerful and compelling. The dialogue was never unnecessary or expositional. It was real and always character driven. Second, the directorial choices he made were perfectly executed to foster the emotional separation of the characters, using very few close-up shots and mostly showing the actors from a bit of a distance. Critics also like to mention the delicate balance between the comedic dialogue and the drama, but I don’t get that at all. For me, the drama was so heavy that any dialogue which might have been comedic became sad and un-humorous. And that wasn’t a bad thing.
The story took place, as you might imagine, in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts, which is the full name of the town most people know simply as Manchester. The area has a very specific feel, its own unique look and aesthetic, and the movie did a phenomenal job of capturing the spirit of the town. The story took place in the winter, which was actually an important plot point as John’s body could not be buried until the hard winter ground had thawed, stretching out the grieving process for all the characters.
And lest I forget, other actors in the film that deserve to be mentioned were Lucas Hedges, playing the part of the teenage boy, Patrick. His character was well-written as a typical teenager, self-centered and trying not to wear his heart on his sleeve, even though his emotional psyche is actually a fragile mess. John’s best friend who helped Lee through all the post-mortem difficulties, and who eventually ends up adopting Patrick, was wonderfully played by C. J. Wilson. And lastly, I have to mention Patrick’s mother, Elise, who had a history of substance abuse and an inability to connect with her son, played by Gretchen Mol. They all did a wonderful job and deserve to be recognized.