Manchester by the Sea: A Profound Family Drama with Touches of Comedy
A poignant and subtly humorous family drama, “Manchester by the Sea” delves into the lives of men who are accustomed to concealing their deepest emotional pain.
Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck), a man leading a solitary and underpaid existence, is jolted by the news of his older brother’s sudden death from a heart attack. As the only remaining relative to handle the arrangements, Lee reluctantly returns to his hometown of Manchester-by-the-Sea, a place he had once fled. Upon the reading of the will, he discovers that his brother has entrusted him with the guardianship of his 16-year-old son, Patrick (Lucas Hedges). However, Lee harbors profound reasons for resisting the responsibility, even though Patrick is already quite independent.
Initially, Kenneth Lonergan was only slated to write the script, with Matt Damon set to direct and star. Ultimately, Damon took on the role of producer.
The Significance of the Setting
The title “Manchester by the Sea” might seem like an odd choice for a deeply personal story about a family from the Boston area. Such narratives are often named after their main characters. However, as you watch the film, you quickly realize what the repeatedly Oscar-nominated Kenneth Lonergan (“Gangs of New York,” “Analyze This”) intended when he conceived and directed “Manchester by the Sea.” While the film focuses intently on a single Manchester family, it portrays the behavior and inner lives of many people from a specific social and ethnographic group. The Chandlers become a mirror reflecting the entire town of Manchester-by-the-Sea.
The Stoicism of a Blue-Collar Town
What kind of town is it? It’s a blue-collar town, where life is traditionally tied to the ocean. When men go out to sea every day, unsure if they will return, and wives and mothers wonder daily if they will receive tragic news, it cultivates a particular, taciturn stoicism in people.
To outsiders, this stoicism, combined with a dark Irish sense of humor, might seem like a lack of feeling. It’s hard not to be shocked when Patrick, having just learned of his father’s death, gathers his best friends at home, and their small gathering quickly turns into an ironic debate about the merits of “Star Trek.” But for a Manchester resident, it’s natural to hide their pain, to conceal their true feelings behind a macho facade, to live as if no tragedy has occurred. However, this doesn’t mean that Manchester residents have hearts of stone. It’s just that their feelings manifest not when they are expected to, but when they can no longer be contained. It’s no surprise that Patrick laughs with his friends and cries when he opens the refrigerator, sees a frozen chicken, and remembers that his father is lying in a refrigerator at the morgue.
The Weight of the Past
One of Patrick’s classmates is played by Anna Baryshnikov, the daughter of ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov, who defected to the United States.
At least Patrick isn’t to blame for what happened. His pain is “merely” the pain of a terrible loss. Lee’s burden is much heavier. We won’t reveal his past, as the film only explains how a sociable guy turned into a gloomy recluse midway through the flashback-filled narrative. But we can hint that Lee blames himself for what happened, and his life is a self-punishment for what he considers an unforgivable crime. His ancestors might have received absolution, but Chandler isn’t religious, and his self-torture is a prison from which it’s almost impossible to escape. He can’t even talk to anyone about what he feels, as Manchester is in his blood. His pain erupts not in words, but in bar fights that he provokes when he’s particularly upset.
A Portrait of Male Suffering
“Manchester by the Sea” is a lengthy and unhurried film, without a dense and dramatic plot. Its essence lies not in events, but in creating a three-dimensional portrait of male suffering hidden from prying eyes and its bizarre manifestations. At the same time, the characters’ suffering is so deep and painful that it cannot be resolved within the screen time, as is usually the case in sentimental Hollywood films. “Manchester by the Sea” ends on an optimistic but not a happy-ending note, and this is the truth of life. Writers from Manchester and Boston note that they know many tragedies that have broken the lives of their relatives and friends for decades because they tried to keep the pain inside, and it “ate” them from within. Of course, this isn’t just a Manchester phenomenon. Despite the film’s ethnographic nature, “Manchester by the Sea” tells a universal story.
The film’s posters suggest that it’s a story about Affleck and Michelle Williams’ characters, but the Oscar-winning actress appears in only a few scenes – very important, but not decisive. Mainly, “Manchester” is a film about Affleck and Hedges, and they both (of course, with the support of the script and director) create convincing, believable, and by no means stereotypical images, although the story of their characters isn’t unique to Hollywood family melodramas in an arthouse spirit.
A Film That Stays With You
Is it a good movie? Absolutely – if you go to the movies to delve into the lives of other people, rather than to escape and enjoy a mesmerizing spectacle. Although Lonergan is from New York, not Boston, the characters in “Manchester by the Sea” are said to be lifelike, and the film has the strongest effect on those who can recognize themselves and their loved ones in its characters.
It’s important to note that, despite the gloom of the events and experiences described, this isn’t a depressing film. It has humor, light, love, and a struggle with circumstances, not just surrender to fate. One can understand why the film is considered one of the main contenders for key Oscars (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Leading Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress).