Film: Manchester By The Sea

GENRE: Drama

RATING: R for lots of language & some sexuality
RUNTIME: 2 hour and 17 minutes

STARRING: Casey Affleck (Gone Baby Gone, Ocean’s Eleven)

Lucas Hedges (The Slap), Michelle Williams (Dawson’s Creek)

DIRECTOR: Kenneth Lonergan (You Can Count on Me)

WRITER: Kenneth Lonergan (Analyze This, Gangs of New York)

PLOT: An unprepared uncle is asked to take care of his teenage nephew after the boy’s father dies.

FULL DISCLOSURE: Last Oscar Best Picture nominee to watch

STORY STUFF: This is a story about grief. So the expectations is that it is going to be slow moving and full of tears. Well, the pace is not quick, there are sorrowful moments but there is also a lot of silence and even some funny dialogue. Maybe it’s the Boston locale, but it reminded me of a more sorrowful Good Will Hunting without the Matt Damon monologues.  

ACTING STUFF: Casey Affleck is superb. His facial expressions, his silent contemplation and his soft-spoken lines speak volumes. There is so much going on under the surface you can’t help but be mesmerized by his performance. He deserves the Oscar. Lucas Hedges also gives a powerful performance of a son trying to distract himself from the grief. The whole cast is stellar in this film.

ARTISTIC STUFF: A beautifully shot film. Among the gratuitous shots of Manchester, the camera does a great job both framing the actors and minimizing them against the scenery. The music is also well done; a little operatic but fits the sorrow found in the film.   

VERDICT: Four and a half stars out of five

SEE IT IF: You want top-notch acting and don’t mind being sad.

UPCOMING REVIEWS: The Lego Batman Movie