A beat up man who lost his whole family and life has to deal with a boy who lost his father. Fortunately enough, these two are actually uncle and nephew. Manchester by the Sea, a film by Kenneth Lonergan, is a story of loss and heartbreak that evolves into an awesome revival for every character.  

I can confidently say this film was a masterpiece, and is my pick thus far for Best Picture, just outperforming Denis Villenueve’s Arrival.

Every great expectation that the movie already had was met, and even more. The acting and the screenplay of the movie were phenomenal, and the movie still managed to leave room for things like stellar cinematography of the city, as well as plenty of lighthearted and funny moments.

Lee Chandler, played by Casey Affleck, is a lonely Boston man who spends his time being the handyman for the city. He gets into unreasonable bar fights, and starts a ruckus in nearly every stage he is found, just for the hell of it. After losing his whole family, he then moves into a small one-room complex with the help of his brother and nephew. The three begin to spend much time together, especially on their own boat that they have great pride and love for. After a sudden death of Lee’s brother, he is forced to become the legal guardian of Patrick, played by Lucas Hedges. From many flashbacks throughout the film, we begin to learn how everything in Lee’s life unraveled to where he is now. Initially, Patrick and Lee are not thrilled to be put together. But as they start to share their new life, they start to realize how similar they are and how much they both need each other. 

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The best thing about this movie was easily the characters. Each one had their own distinct personality and brought so much life to the screen. Patrick has been dealing with the terrible health of his father and the disappearance of his mother his entire life. As well as his two girlfriends. Once he begins to live with his uncle Lee, the two similar but very aggressive personalities add a comedic factor to the film that makes it that much more entertaining. The banter between Affleck and Hedges felt so realistic and offhand that I would have been satisfied enough just listening to them argue and cuss at each other for the entirety of the movie.

By my complete surprise, the movie was just absolutely hilarious. The last thing I expected when walking into the theater was to be laughing for a good amount of the film, or to even laugh once. The humour is so well balanced and consistent, and never seems to get in the way of the more emotional scenes, strengthening the movie by allowing you to understand the characters much more through their comedic decisions and actions during extremely cringing, yet enjoyable moments for the viewers. It never felt forced, giving you just the right amount to where it didn’t turn the movie into a comedy, as well as allowing the story and the characters to be the lead.

Leading and guiding the entire movie was the script. I was very impressed with how easy and relatable the dialogue came off. Every line seemed so unscripted and natural, creating an almost effortless, fluent picture. There are so many emotional scenes that don’t rely on music or corny lines to get the point across. Instead, just a few simple words and mere facial expressions do the trick. I greatly applaud the actors and the director for this.

The beautiful city of Manchester, Massachusetts and the east coast vibe and culture are captured so well. It was nice to see a movie so heavily dependent on the script not lack in stunning cinematography. The film would go from a powerful scene, to a quick cut of a few shots of lighthouses or homes near the coast that were just gorgeous and gave you a little break from the intensity, as well as obviously showing off the city.

Casey Affleck steals the show in this one as expected. Already being an acclaimed actor, this act still easily surpassed any of his other works like Gone Baby Gone and Good Will Hunting and made me respect him so much more. The most amazing thing about his acting in Manchester, is that he almost isn’t even acting, and just being an everyday person, which was the point. There are no great stunts or giant emotional monologues from him, but he still creates such a compelling and meaningful character that you begin to sympathize with as you learn more about his past. The subtlety of his character can be easily matched with the same tone and feel the whole movie had.