Manchester by the Sea

Seen at the lovely old cinema in Cronulla in Sydney's south.

Cecil says: When I first heard people talk about Manchester by the Sea, I had thought for some reason that this would be a gritty northern England film, a kind of kitchen-sink drama, with maybe  some urban fantasies about creating sandy beaches in the middle of Salford or the Northern Quarter.

Well, gritty this film was, in a sense, though American gritty is always a bit different from UK grit. Sure, we have the average Joe the janitor, struggling to make ends meet and trying to keep his plumbing and electricity customers happy as he fixes things in a run-down Boston apartment block.

Casey Affleck is excellent as younger brother to Joe, who dies and leaves Casey in charge of his teenage son. It’s interesting to note that Casey is younger brother to Ben, so I guess he must know all too well how to play the younger brother role, not that we see much of Casey’s character Lee’s older brother, except through the many flashbacks that litter this film.

Lee has a tragedy of his own to deal with, and the nature of that tragedy slowly comes to light as the film develops. It all culminates in an extraordinarily sad scene towards the end where Lee bumps into his ex-partner in the street and they recognise what has happened between them.

I shan’t give any more away for fear of giving a spoiler to readers of this review.

But you will get the drift that this is not a bundle of laughs or a joyous experience. In fact, we both left the cinema on a beautiful sunny afternoon in the lovely beach suburb of Cronulla feeling totally drained and almost depressed. So if you need a pick-me-up, Manchester by the Sea is not for you.

Lucas Hedges plays the 15-16 year old Patrick very well; it’s tough to lose your father at that age, when you need everything to be all about you. And he suddenly has to get Lee involved in some of his scheming and story-telling as he tries to date several girls at once and get violent on the ice hockey pitch.

But again, this film is all about getting through the tough times and dealing with every day issues. It’s compelling, but really not easy viewing. Even the moment where Lee and Patrick seem to have finally agreed on a way forward for the boat Patrick inherited did not end up being a turning point. I mean, I don’t miss the rose-tinted glasses of 1950s Hollywood, but this story could have a tad more smiles than it did.

The main joy for both me and Bea was seeing a town we know and love on the eastern seaboard. Essex, Massachusetts was where much of Manchester was filmed and it brought back fond memories of a wonderful weekend – and many more fabulous road trips we had while we lived in the States.

I hear Manchester is up for a few Oscars this year. Hmmm, not sure about that, but then I rarely do like film that win Oscars, so no change there then.

***

Bea says: I was really looking forward to seeing Manchester by the Sea.  Unlike Cecil, I had read enough about it to know it was set on the north-eastern seaboard of the US; and that it was some kind of gritty family and relationships drama.  

Gritty it certainly was!  I am in a busy and often challenging phase of my life right now, and, well, I could have done with a bit more escapism and a bit less “real life” on a rare free Sunday afternoon.  

It’s not even a weepy, it’s so grim that it is beyond tears really.  However – it is very well written, very well acted and very well produced, and it’s not often you see that in a film these days.  The haunting story and the performances of both Affleck and Williams has stayed with me – a few weeks later I can still remember key scenes in clear detail, almost word for word.  It’s highly deserving of any awards.

I have liked Michelle Williams ever since her Dawson’s Creek days, and have watched her career develop with interest; and although she doesn’t have a lot of screen time in this film, what she does is riveting.  Affleck is similarly good; although since seeing it I have read a lot about his behaviour off screen, which is rather less palatable.  I loved seeing beautiful Essex as the location, and I really, really want Michelle Williams’ coat.

****