Manchester By The Sea

This review may contain spoilers!

This is a film that is truly open and honest about the experience of grief, while also boasting one of the best casts I've seen in a drama this year. I would give Manchester By The Sea an 8/10.

This film takes care at showing how people grieve, which is to say you see how people grow closer but also the awkward and uncomfortable distance that occurs between people; you also see how people go about their daily lives as if nothing had happened but it also catches those moments where everything just overwhelms you. It also manages to capture the more manufactured moments in grief, in particular interacting with staff at the hospital or dealing with funeral homes. While the main characters in this film wrestle with their inner feelings you can only be drawn in further to the relationship between Lee and Patrick that's at the heart of this film. It's also really distressing to see why Lee is so withdrawn and detached from the world around him, this is no easy backstory to watch and really sets this film apart. I appreciated that the film's message wasn't that everything could be fixed after a tragedy, you get better but pain like this never truly heals you just find a way forward; this is a melancholy narrative that really delivers. The cinematography is very intimate, we're treated to a very close visual style that helps you identify and perceive the internal struggles occurring within Lee and Patrick. The score for this film was also incredible, a serenade that adds to the tragedy while also celebrating those moments of brightness in between.

Ben O'Brien, who played Young Patrick, is really full of energy and a great introduction to the character; I loved his connection to Affleck in the flashback scenes and how these foreshadow their relationship to come. Kyle Chandler, who played Joe Chandler, comes across as very level headed and a steady presence in the flashbacks; he was very genuine in his presentation of easy going humour as well as his relationship with Affleck. C.J. Wilson and Jami Tennille, who played George and Janine respectively, were very steady pillars of support throughout the film; they backed up Affleck well and brought forth some great emotion from him. Chloe Dixon and Ellie Teeves, who played Suzy Chandler and Karen Chandler respectively, are a pair of great child performers; the bubbly and caring personalities they create make for some genuine father/daughter scenes between them and Affleck. Michelle Williams, who played Randi Chandler, has a very sweet relationship with Affleck at the start of this film; it's really terrible to see her grief at the death of her children. Lucas Hedges, who played Patrick, is such a great believable protagonist alongside Affleck in this film; it was interesting to see Hedges grapple with themes of coming of age while at the same time having to accurately portray his role's grief. Christian J. Mallen and Oscar Wahlberg, who played CJ and Joel respectively, created a great sense of friendship between Hedge and themselves; it was nice to see some comedy and openness from young characters in the face of someone passing. Anna Baryshnikov, who played Sandy, had some really genuine chemistry with Hedges in this film; I actually liked how honestly this relationship of young attraction and then romance was presented.

However the best performance came from Casey Affleck, who played Lee Chandler. This was really Affleck's film, the psychology and reactions of his character were constantly under the spotlight. This was a very withdrawn and haunted role who was torturing himself at every turn for accidentally causing the death of his children. Seeing how lost this role was in the face of his brother's death and becoming Hedges' legal guardian was moving, every scene felt so hard for Affleck's character. This is one of those roles that Affleck will be remembered for, it's an honest depiction of a tortured state of mind and a man riddled with grief.

This is a film that handles the process of grief well but it views it in excruciating detail, meaning that the pacing throughout the narrative feels very slow. Furthermore the start of the feature lacks substance, it's hard to connect with Lee as a protagonist initially. The editing for the film is probably the most taxing quality, the transitions are quite dated and have a negative impact on what is otherwise a very beautiful film.

Gretchen Mol, who played Elise Chandler, lacks screen presence in a pretty serious way; it would have been nice to see more of her and Chandler's relationship so you can understand her lack of presence in the present day narrative. Tom Kemp, who played Stan Chandler, had absolutely no impact on the film at all; I often questioned his significance in scenes as all he did was sit in the background most times. Kara Hayward, who played Silvie McCann, was just a really rigid frosty role; it would have been nice to see Hayward put some effort into the chemistry between Hedges and herself. Heather Burns, who played Jill, seemed like a very awkward and out of place comedic role; it was strange that she had such casualness towards her daughter making love just upstairs from her. Liam McNeill, who played Josh, was very much a background figure in this film; I found this annoying as McNeill's character was in a relationship with Williams so there could have been some stuff explored there. Matthew Broderick, who played Jeffrey, felt unbelievably artifical in this film; Broderick's creation of an awkward atmosphere was quite transparent to watch.