Manchester by the Sea
Directed by Kenneth Lonergan
Where to Watch Manchester by the Sea
- Scott PhelpsMay 13, 2025A hard-hitting and heavy subject matter in this dark drama, shows the harrowing torment of a broken Lee (Casey Affleck) due his own personal past tragedy whilst subsequently having to provide fatherly support for his nephew, leads us as a viewer to feel as emotionaly null to life as his character. Throughout this film, there is an overridding sense of abandoment and monotony - reflected in it’s slower pacing and story-telling. With it’s only changing pace from this through “flashback” snippets of highly poignant memories, allowing us glimpses to why Affleck’s character displays such misery; void of all feeling to the world and those around him. He carries with him such a self-reflective and weighty burden of guilt that has “beaten him”, that as an audience we empathise his suppressed pain even after being led to villianise him due to the traumatic events we’ve witnessed. This movie for sure hit true that life can indeed be taken from us (or by us?) in such a quick manner, but the wake of such tragedy is forever and we’d never rightly be happy again. A fantasic stark contrast to watching our lead (protagonist really doesn’t apply here…) go from being just a husk of a man, to being unwillingly thrust into a farther-figure role to console his nephew was by far the most gripping aspect of a “reality true” drama movie. Although not up there with some of my favourite hard-hitting and emotionally choking dramas, and aside from it’s social-media driven hype; it definitely has it’s place amongst films that were worth watching. Ultimately, it left me satisfied with a well-told story, but somewhat craving further expansion of emotion which could be achieved through more significant powerful flashbacks to take it to that top tier list.
- TanalienJanuary 9, 2025Manchester By The Sea shows us the center of the story in the opening shots: an uncle, Lee (Casey Affleck), horsing around with his nephew, Patrick (Lucas Hedges), aboard the family’s fishing vessel. It is a glimpse of their being in a different time before they were suddenly gripped by the loss of a brother and a father. The film is about Lee and Patrick’s journey away from trying times. The cause of this film’s staying power in my psyche is Casey Affleck’s performance as Lee Chandler. Lee looks like a regular guy, except he’s not. The scars that he shoulders are immediately visible. He displays a frequent inability to make eye contact, feels no reason to end unbearably long silences, remains disinterested in hockey, and rejects attempts for others’ caring touch. As we learn, the character we meet has completely devolved from the man he once was. Social norms are not front of mind. The things he used to love do not bring him solace anymore. Lee is possessed by a nagging sense of guilt for his past actions and a great deal of shame for his hidden notoriety in Manchester. His propensity for drunken bar fights comes from a dark place: a need for all that pain to go somewhere.
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Manchester by the Sea Trivia
Manchester by the Sea was released on November 17, 2016.
Manchester by the Sea was directed by Kenneth Lonergan.
Manchester by the Sea has a runtime of 2h 18m.
Manchester by the Sea was produced by Lauren Beck, Gigi Pritzker, Kimberly Steward, Kevin J. Walsh, Matt Damon, Chris Moore.
Lee Chandler is a brooding, irritable loner who works as a handyman for a Boston apartment block. One damp winter day he gets a call summoning him to his hometown, north of the city. His brother's heart has given out suddenly, and he's been named guardian to his 16-year-old nephew. As if losing his only sibling and doubts about raising a teenager weren't enough, his return to the past re-opens an unspeakable tragedy.
The key characters in Manchester by the Sea are Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck), Patrick Chandler (Lucas Hedges), Randi Chandler (Michelle Williams).
Manchester by the Sea is rated R.
Manchester by the Sea is a Drama film.
Manchester by the Sea has an audience rating of 7.8 out of 10.
Manchester by the Sea had a budget of $9M.
Manchester by the Sea has made $79M at the box office.