Review of Manchester by the Sea (2016) by Cameron H — 07 Jul 2017

Character studies, within as close of an approximation to real life as drama allows, generally do not scream, "That's entertainment!" Everything that can count towards film quality will count -- cinematography, score, acting, dialogue, storytelling, lighting, editing. Thus, I would argue that the best character studies are generally better than the best of nearly all other genres. Of course, that comes with plenty of personal bias. I have trouble in enduring characters not worth my time learning about. Luckily, director-writer Kenneth Lonergan has created and developed a character who may be all too familiar to us somewhere in our personal lives, yet strangely absent in the realm of cinema. On the surface, Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck) may seem like a typical deadbeat father / husband / employee / friend / uncle / general member of society, treating everyone like crap and is forced to face the consequences of his actions. But Lee knows himself well enough, to understand that seeking redemption is futile. He made a grave mistake, and second chances won't prevent him from making the same mistake again. He won't ever forgive himself, even if everyone else does, and will simply do what he can to distract himself for however long he lives. Because he does not forgive himself for *SPOILER* neglecting a fire that ultimately killed all three of his children, he could not ever take the place of his brother Joe (Kyle Chandler) as the guardian of Patrick (Lucas Hedges).

I dig negative spaces. With Manchester by the Sea being the second Kenneth Lonergan film I have seen, I hail him as an artisan of the cinematic negative space. We can see connections develop and thoughts transmit through both what is said and what is not said. We fill in the blanks, based on both what is on the screen and what is not on the screen. Not just in one scene, but also in between scenes. That can apply to a whole plethora of directors, so I would also note something unique about Lonergan's style. I would not necessarily call him darkly humoured, but he does let sad jokes also stand as revealing moments for us to better understand the characters. Thus, you are free to laugh off whatever was said or done, or you can spend more time considering whom the person in question is. So, uh, I've seen two-thirds of Lonergan's entire filmography as director and writer, Margaret being the one film I missed. Looks like I am a fan. I'm not sure why Manchester by the Sea got some audience negativity for being slow. Maybe it really is too real for some viewers. Oh, well. Incidentally, I recommend this to anyone with a general appreciation for cinema, not to mention Massachusetts.