Manchester by the Sea

It takes only a few short scenes for us to know a lot about the character of Lee (Casey Affleck), a Boston janitor and odd job man.  He's unemotional, lacks empathy, keeps his distance and is prone to violent outbursts.  It's a beautifully crafted opening and the key to what makes this film so enjoyable - superbly structured, building the drama block by block and using carefully interspersed flashbacks to provide the explanation of who Lee had once been and how he became the person we see now.

A phone call takes Lee, reluctantly, back to the eponymous home town he left years before.  His brother has died and left him with an unusual, unexpected and, to him, unwelcome bequest - he is to be the guardian of his teenage nephew Patrick (Lucas Hedges) until he comes of age.  And that means staying on in Manchester where Lee clearly feels uncomfortable, and where some of the locals are unhappy about his return.  While we see Lee and Patrick try to come to terms with their sudden change in circumstances, the traumatic events that lie behind these feelings are gradually unfolded to the audience.  Is living so close to the source of Lee's anger and pain ever going to be something he can deal with?

It's a genuinely emotional movie with some heartbreaking moments as we watch the two protagonists try to navigate their way through events they are emotionally ill-equipped to deal with.  Lee's efforts at parenting are well intended, but graceless, and too close to the past he needs to keep at bay.  In a chance encounter with his ex-wife we can see how distant he has become from the person he once was, and how unable to deal with real life relationships.

This could easily make for an exhausting tear-jerker, but writer/director Kenneth Lonergan is far too smart to fall into that trap.  There's a surprising number of laughs throughout.  If you enjoy the comedy of social awkwardness there are some outstanding moments here to cherish.

Affleck is superb.  His Lee is a masterclass in understatement, replete with small gestures and body language that convey the troubled character underneath.  Hedges looks set for a bright future and delivers a Patrick who demonstrates the full range of teenage angst and hope.  An excellent supporting cast too, with Michelle Williams the standout in her all too brief appearances as Lee's ex.

At a little over two and a quarter hours this might sound like a marathon.  But the ending only left me wishing there was more.  It's an ending entirely in line with the blankness of the central character, leaving you questions to ponder as you leave Manchester behind.  This is cinema at it's best.