A heart-wrenching slice of life
As part of The Bookshelf’s Sunday film series, the American drama Manchester by the Sea left much of its Guelph audience in silent tears.
Written and directed by Kenneth Lonergan, the film stars Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler, and Lucas Hedges.
Manchester by the Sea tells the story of an uncle (Affleck) whose brother (Chandler) dies, leaving him to care for his teenaged nephew (Hedges). While this story may sound familiar, what sets it apart from similar narratives is the tragic backstory that is recounted in the form of flashbacks.
All of the actors do an incredible job of conveying their characters’ emotional lives with the subtlest of actions, expressions, and inflections. In particular, Affleck’s portrayal of the taciturn custodian Lee Chandler becomes increasingly heart-wrenching with each new piece of information. The subtlety and depth that Affleck brings to the role are nothing short of triumphant.
Manchester by the Sea takes the concept of realism seriously as it rejects the comfortable architecture of a predictable denouement. The film seems to begin and end at random points of the much longer and fuller lives of its main characters. And yet, it’s clear that these choices are not random because it still feels like a satisfying end; the decisions of the protagonist are exactly in keeping with the character we have learned so much about, and while they may seem subtle to some, it is clear that for Lee Chandler, they are life-changing.
The camerawork is different than what we are used to seeing; everything is just jarring enough to make us take notice as if for the first time. Most of all, our attention is brought to the mundane moments of life, which—combined with heavy silences—capture the repetitive everyday actions that preserve us even as they conceal our underlying pain.
Manchester by the Sea builds and releases tension like so many waves crashing on a shoreline. Everything seems calm for a moment, we are saddened, and just as we think we will never laugh again, we do. The cyclical catharsis encapsulated in Manchester by the Sea will leave you feeling refreshed as life’s trivial stresses are put into stark perspective.
Photo courtesy of Roadside Attractions and Amazon Studios.