Manchester By The Sea was released in France on Wednesday and I finally got the chance to see it today. It is directed and written by Kenneth Lonergan and starring Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler and Lucas Hedges.
This movie is about Lee Chandler (played by Casey Affleck), a handyman/janitor who is living in a small apartment, he is not a really nice person, gets into a fight in a bar and almost insults the people he is working for until the day his brother dies and at his biggest surprise he gets the child custody of his nephew, something he does not want. Throughout the movie, we get flashbacks explaining more why he has become the way he is. He is a tortured man – he lost his three children in a fire he inadvertently caused, he even tried to kill himself at the police station after that. Before that, we see a rather happy man but after that we see a man who is lost, who has lost his will to live. So his life is filled with drama and having to take care of a 16-year-old boy is not really something he can handle.
I think having the flashbacks is really helpful to understand the character and it gives depth to the story and when we get these flashbacks, it really feels like we’re travelling in the past with Lee, in his mind. It also helps understand the audience why Patrick’s mom is not the one taking care of him instead of Lee.
Because of how Lee has become, the ending doesn’t come as much of a surprise but more as the realization for Lee that he can’t take care of Patrick which is obviously sad but the best choice for Lee as he would hurt Patrick more than helping him if he had kept the custody. There is beauty in the ending scene, the movie starts with a young Patrick with his father and Lee on the boat fishing and it ends with Lee and Patrick fishing. I think that at this moment, we understand that Lee wants to be part of Patrick’s life and certainly wants to make some effort.
Casey Affleck is outstanding, it is probably one of his best performances, he really is into the character, almost flawless, it’s a wounded character, silent at times and it is not always easy to play this.
You don’t get a lot of music but when it’s there it really adds something to the tone of the scene.
8.5/10 An outstanding performance for Casey Affleck in an impressive and brilliant drama.
A Fistful Of Movies 