movie review // manchester by the sea (2016)
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| image from the Daily Trojan |
genre: drama
starring: casey affleck, michelle williams, kyle chandler, lucas hedges
movie summary:
lee chandler is a 40-something man working as a janitor and living alone in boston, MA. he learns that his brother, joe, has passed away and made him the guardian for his teenage son and temporarily relocates to manchester, MA, to care for him. jumping between the past and the present, the movie delves deeper into lee's life and we watch as he tries to overcome grief to accept his role as a fatherly figure for his only nephew.
my thoughts:
considering that this film was nominated for best picture, i expected nothing less than perfection. i'm proud to say that that's basically what i got.
while i was watching this film, i didn't think very much of it at first. it wasn't until certain moments of clarity that i realized that the focus of this film is on the character rather than the plot. therefore, i do understand any critics who may claim this film was boring and had no direction; i can see where they're coming from. however, i respectfully disagree. here's why:
this movie feels real, and it's heartbreaking. a lot of the time, a movie will follow the same formula and introduce some sort of conclusion or resolution, whether it is resolving a primary event or overall character growth. in this film, we see none of that. lee chandler is a broken man, which we can see time and time again through the beautiful and poignant acting of casey affleck, and at the end of the film, he is no more healed than he was at the start.
we follow him as he tries to overcome his guilt and grief, but in the end, we learn that he just "can't beat it." there is no character growth or resolution, which is what makes this film so staggeringly real; sometimes, grief cannot be beat. sometimes, the character cannot grow. this is what makes this film so important. we expected great character development and change but were instead faced with the unexpected.
the two scenes that stood out to me most: the police station scene, and the scene in which he runs into randi and her child. i have never sobbed more in a movie than i did during these two scenes.
the police station scene:
this scene breaks me. it's the fact that, during his briefing with the police officers, he was being 100% honest with the expectation (and hope) that he'd be thrown in jail. it's the fact that, once he realizes that he's free to leave without consequence, he immediately pulls a gun on himself. it's the fact that he pulls the trigger without hesitation. and finally, it's when he's grappling with the officers and he mutters, "please." this one word, completely unscripted, might i add, absolutely tears my heart into shreds. he's horrified by what he's done. he feels guilty and responsible for what has happened. he believes he deserves nothing less than punishment or death and he begs for it.
the scene in which he runs into randi and her child:
this scene is really something special because casey affleck is able to convey so much emotion with so little dialogue. he's able to deliver an entire message in his reluctance to speak and difficulty conversing. with his stumbling over his words and rush to depart, we are able to see how deeply broken he is inside. we can see that he can't get over what happened, even if randi can, and that wounds are being reopened right in front of us. he can't talk about it without breaking down, so he has to flee. he can't accept an apology from randi because he doesn't believe he deserves one. he can't speak with randi because he can't stand to be around someone who tries to convince him that he deserves a sliver of happiness.
this movie delivers such a powerful message: sometimes grief just cannot be overcome. in this case, lee chandler cannot beat the grief. it's so strong that he can't even stand to reside in the same city in which the incident occurred.
lee chandler had his faults, that's true: he was a drunk, and he could be a total jackass to his wife at times. but overall he was a good and loving husband and father. and ultimately, this was his downfall. i realized the irony of his tragedy. the fire at the house happened due to a combination of factors:
he went upstairs to check on his kids and realized it was freezing, so he decided to warm the house.
he lit the fireplace because he knew the central heat would dry out his wife's sinuses and give her headaches.
he added an extra log so his family would be extra warm when he was gone.
he knew he was too wasted to drive so he walked to the mini mart instead.
his only mistake in this entire sequence of events: he failed to turn around when he realized he might have forgotten to place the screen on the fireplace. every other thing he did was what any other good father and rational being would do. yet, if he didn't check on his kids or care that they might be cold, he wouldn't have thought to warm the house in the first place. if he just disregarded his wife's preferences and turned on the heater instead, the fire wouldn't have happened. if he just drove to the mart drunk instead of walking, he might've been home in time to save his family.
his carefulness and carelessness combined was to blame.
final comments:
this movie stayed with me for a long time. most movies leave my mind a few hours, at most, after i've finished it. meanwhile, this movie continued to fill my mind days after i finished watching. it's still, 2 weeks later, something i continue to think about from time to time.
10 / 10 would recommend. please watch this masterpiece of a movie.
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