Roadside Attractions
There’s a category of movies I call “brutal,” which are movies that may vary in quality but are all difficult to watch. This isn’t saying you can’t have a great movie that’s brutal, but that doesn’t mean a movies is good either. For me, it all comes down to whether or not the brutality is earned in the context of the story and about all the other pieces: directing, acting, cinematography, story, etc. But I usually don’t get everything.
Manchester by the Sea comes from writer/director Kenneth Lonergan and stars Casey Affleck as Lee Chandler, a plumber in Boston with a tragic past back home in Manchester, Massachusetts that is slowly revealed over the course of the movie. The movie cuts between different points in time to show the truth of the tragedy, taking a story that’s often melodramatic and elevates it with the performances.
Lee finds out his stalwart older brother Joe (Kyle Chandler as seen in flashbacks) has just passed away, leaving behind a teenage son and Lee’s nephew Patrick (Lucas Hedges). And naturally, Lee has been asked in Joe’s will to take custody of Patrick, a situation neither really wants. Patrick doesn’t want to move to Boston and has a life of his own in Manchester, including friends and girls. Lee doesn’t want to move back to Manchester and doesn’t think he can handle keeping an eye on Patrick.
As we find out more of Lee’s backstory, including something with his ex-wife Randi (Michelle Williams), it’s one gut punch after another. But Lee seems to be trying his best with Patrick, despite his misgivings and worries. For a while, the movie is content to reveal the backstories and show how the uncle and nephew are coping with Joe’s death. There are moments of levity, but it’s a pervasive sense of sadness that’s everywhere.
All shot beautifully along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, this movie aches as it pushes itself through your mind. It’s sad but real, a movie with naturalistic performances and stakes that make sense. Some of the tragedies are almost too horrible to take seriously, but the performances help keep things grounded.
There will be a lot of awards attention paid towards this movie, and with good reason. The themes of family and how important it is and how difficult it is when you lose it are universal. And the acting is just stellar here, with an understated, excellent showing from Casey Affleck. Lucas Hedges is barely supporting here, closer to lead as well, but he’s very good for his age.
A short scene with Michelle Williams may win her awards this year, that’s how good it is. This is an extremely sad movie, and although it is also a very good one, it is certainly not for everyone. If you can handle a brutal movie because it will win awards, or you just like this sort of thing, it’s one of the year’s best.
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Thoughtful review.