One year spent with Manchester by the Sea
I first watched Manchester by the Sea, in a crowded cinema, one year ago today. I was immediately captivated by the film and it turned out to be my favorite release of 2016, but I had to see it four more times in the theatre just to be sure. One year later, I am still just as enchanted by Kenneth Lonergan's film as I was the first time I saw it.
Manchester by the Sea weaves together the perfect tapestry of the exploration of one man’s ongoing journey through grief. Kenneth Lonergan writes and directs an instant classic with his beautifully raw tale of human emotion. Starring Casey Affleck as a man who can not escape the demons of his past who is then forced to face them head on again, Manchester by the Sea is as gripping as it is devastating. Lonergan’s feature certainly ranks at the top of the list as the best piece of cinema to come out of 2016.
Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck) is an isolated, brooding, tortured soul loner traveling through life listlessly broken. When he gets the news that his brother, Joe Chandler (Kyle Chandler) has passed away, necessitating his return to his hometown, Lee is clearly met with demons he has never put to rest in his own life. When he suddenly realizes that he has been named the guardian to his 16-year-old nephew Patrick (Lucas Hedges). Lee doesn't want, nor know how to be a guardian. Too damaged from his past, Lee is unable to properly navigate his own life, yet help a teenager try to navigate his own life after the death of his father. An examination of grief to the fullest extent in cinema, Manchester by the Sea has something for everyone, and should not be missed.
Opening beautiful establishing shots of the ocean, there is no doubt Manchester by the Sea takes place in Massachusetts. I have never seen a film use flashbacks as often and as suddenly as Manchester by the Sea, yet in a way that is absolutely seamless and perfect. Kenneth Lonergan completely immerses you in the world he creates, his world-building is so all-encompassing and fantastic. From a messy boss’s office, to the well-worn stairs of Joe’s home, to the repeated wardrobe used throughout the film, the audience is pulled so far into the story they nearly become one of the Chandler’s. Lonergan’s brilliant writing almost fools the audience with how simple the story seems. Essentially, we follow a family through the grief process, learning enough about them through each flashback to understand why they are handling the situation the way they are. We see Joe Chandler often acting as the strength of the family, we see Lee succumb to his personal hardships pulled to the surface solely by his brother, and we even see Patrick, who seems to be indifferent to his father’s death, so accustomed to tragedy through his childhood that is unscathed by additional loss. Lonergan’s script illustrates the pleasantries of grief that we are so accustomed to giving or receiving and showing how inconsequential it really is to the process of losing someone. Manchester by the Sea shows in the most perfectly genuine way, real people and real families expelling the notion that there is one universal way to cope with grief and loss. Lonergan never breaks the tone of the film either by painting even the most tragic moments against the subtle backdrop he puts so much emphasis on creating. An aspect that really aids in establishing the understated tone is the film’s score. A predominately instrumental score firmly established the subtle tone of the film.
The Success of Manchester by the Sea, is no doubt, cemented by the brilliant performance of Casey Affleck. Affleck’s performance is the best of 2016; as much as the Academy Award “belonged” to Leonardo DiCaprio after his performance in 2015’s The Revenant, Affleck is owed an Oscar for his portrayal of Lee Chandler. Affleck adds an incredible amount of depth that a lesser actor would have missed in such an understated role. My favorite part of Affleck’s characterization is that he avoids splitting his character in two between before/after his personal tragedy. Many films often make the mistake of showing the character before their turning point as a completely different person. Manchester by the Sea, however, shows us the same Lee Chandler before and after his personal tragedy as the same person with the same mannerisms, subtly broken after. The film also avoids the Hollywood ending in which everything comes together perfectly and the characters sail off happily together into the sunset. The film ends on a note that is perfectly in-tuned with the characters Lonergan painstakingly created. Kenneth Lonergan trusts his audience, he shows rather than tells, allows the audience to infer, thus creating a perfect example of cinema. Manchester by the Sea has gripping, raw, and powerfully emotional scenes injected with actual bursts of humor creating the most human story of 2016.
I will not be forgetting the line “I can’t beat it.” anytime soon.
