Manchester By The Sea (2016)

[CJohn]

Discuss it

[La Binoche]

i loved it. it's exactly the kind of movie i'd been craving: a straight up drama, no flash, simply told, well told. it's one of those movies where you don't quite feel the full impact until a few hours after it's done. and while it's essentially a tragedy, it's also surprisingly funny. 

 

bonus points for lonergan's excellent choice of music - i especially liked the (classical?) piece he used during the

Spoiler

fire scene. 

 

the cast is uniformly excellent but i walked out thinking why isn't michelle williams in more movies? 

A

[filmlover]

This opens here next weekend, so excited.

[filmlover]

Well, this was an emotional sucker punch. This is a remarkable, heartwrenching, and ultimately uplifting portrayal of sudden loss and grief that doesn't feel at all overwrought: anyone who has ever had to endure the loss of someone close is certain to see themselves in these very human characters. Despite the heavy subject matter, it even throws in moments of levity that feels natural, including a handful of hilarious scenes that are funnier than most comedies that have come out this year. Carrying the film on his shoulders is a transcendent turn from Casey Affleck with a marvelously lived-in performance. He's no less matched by a tremendous breakout performance from Lucas Hedges, who makes the strongest impression of any young actor since Shailene Woodley in The Descendants. Kyle Chandler has little in the way of screentime but his absence hangs over the film. Also with little in the way of screentime but making a massive impression is Michelle Williams, who gets the film's most heartbreaking lines of dialogue. This is my #1 of the year so far. A

[Blankments]

Manchester by the Sea is an emotional roller coaster that sweeps up every viewer in its path. Its power is in its realness, with strong characters. Lee and Patrick are compelling in their authenticity and their individual tragedies that bind them together on this poignant tale. Lonergan writes this tale with perfect precision, mixing the most intense drama with some really funny moments. Then, he directs it even more meticulously.

 

Praises have been thrown on Casey Affleck for his performance as Lee, and understandably so. It's rare that a well-known actor melts away so completely as Affleck does in this film. After the opening scenes, all you see is Lee, and he breaks you emotionally again and again. Lucas Hedges also brings Patrick to life in an incredible way, constantly living his tragedy while remaining a goofy kid. Williams and Chandler round out the cast in memorable supporting roles, and they both have memorable scenes that touch the heart in different ways. The entire ensemble is one of the best of the year, full of character actors who inhabit their characters fully, no matter how small the screentime.

 

The cinematography is frequently gorgeous. Lipes frames shots in a way that reflect the emotion perfectly, and there are so many moments that are unforgettable in part thanks to their beautiful composition. Lame's editing matches this by making a two-hour-plus movie simultaneously feel like an epic despite the fact that the viewer will want to be living with these characters longer.

 

Manchester by the Sea is a beautiful look at family and how we cope with tragedy. It's a powerful drama, intimate in the human love it portrays while sweeping in its storytelling. Lonergan has made a film that will be remembered for years to come, thanks to his magnificent direction and script and his actors' breathtaking performances. A true work of art. A

[Ezen Baklattan]

This utterly floored me. Devastating and Microcismic in a way both subtle yet deeply humanistic that Lonergan excels at. Affleck, Williams, and Hudges all kill it. 

[The Stingray]

Still thinking about it a day later. Such a beautifully told movie. Moving and thoughtful. Its low-key, naturalistic portrait of anguish and grief reminded me a lot of The Sweet Hereafter.

 

8.5/10

 

[The Futurist]

An Amoral, manipulative, boring, basic piece of trash.

 

 

[filmlover]

11 minutes ago, The Futurist said:

An Amoral, manipulative, boring, basic piece of trash.

 

 

[MrPink]

Thought this movie was terrific, and as dark as it could be, it was surprisingly quite funny at times.

[baumer]

Affleck is terrific.  The film is one of the best of the year.  

 

9/10

[The Futurist]

I kept laughing at this movie.

 

That poor kid,have you made the list of miseries he s living through ?

 

 

And then, the SCENE that made more angry than the entire Deadpool screening.

 

I was dreading it and I was right.

 

Something TERRIBLE has happened.

That's how subtle the writing is in this movie.

 

When He got out of the house and the Adagio started to play, I was like : "oh Boy, Here we go" and we have almost the whole movement until the BIG reveal !

 

DRAMA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

So much subtlety in the writing, editing and directing.

 

 

It was so jarring & clumsy & over the top, in a movie so naturalistic  & quiet with barely no music and then suddenly it s Godfather s Coppola Land, and we have a grandiose, Epic and super sad roman piece of music to illustrate a horrible incident.

 

 

Affleck s performance was so one note I didn't care for it after the first 15 minutes.

 

Yup, grief is hard and sad.

 

Spoiler

Especially when you are responsible for the death of your kids.

 

Who knew ?

 

Innaritu, Mc Queen and Lonergan are all made of the same cloth, they use extreme human misery to claim artistic integrity and profundity.

 

That's how vulgar and insensitive they are.

[Cmasterclay]

32 minutes ago, The Futurist said:

I kept laughing at this movie.

 

That poor kid,have you made the list of miseries he s living through ?

 

 

And then, the SCENE that made more angry than the entire Deadpool screening.

 

I was dreading it and I was right.

 

Something TERRIBLE has happened.

That's how subtle the writing is in this movie.

 

When He got out of the house and the Adagio started to play, I was like : "oh Boy, Here we go" and we have almost the whole movement until the BIG reveal !

 

DRAMA !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

So much subtlety in the writing, editing and directing.

 

 

It was so jarring & clumsy & over the top, in a movie so naturalistic  & quiet with barely no music and then suddenly it s Godfather s Coppola Land, and we have a grandiose, Epic and super sad roman piece of music to illustrate a horrible incident.

 

 

Affleck s performance was so one note I didn't care for it after the first 15 minutes.

 

Yup, grief is hard and sad.

 

Especially when you are responsible for the death of your kids.

 

Who knew ?

 

Innaritu, Mc Queen and Lonergan are all made of the same cloth, they use extreme human misery to claim artistic integrity and profundity.

 

That's how vulgar and insensitive they are.

This is one of the most batshit insane things I think I've ever read outside of the Trump administration. 

[filmlover]

19 hours ago, Cmasterclay said:

This is one of the most batshit insane things I think I've ever read outside of the Trump administration. 

Any time The Futurist posts nonsense, I hear it in the voice of The God Warrior.

 

 

[4815162342]

On 1/30/2017 at 8:01 AM, The Futurist said:

An Amoral, manipulative, boring, basic piece of trash.

 

 

 

[Ezen Baklattan]

Did Kenneth Lonergan murder your family in your sleep, Futurist? God damn.

[aabattery]

This was really great. It's pretty much a perfect example of an emotional rollercoaster, but it never felt unrealistic. In fact, it was probably one of the most brutally real films I've ever watched. I was shocked at how funny it was; it probably made me laugh more than a lot of the comedies I saw in 2016. Casey Affleck delivers a mean punch alongside a truly incredible performance. The supporting cast is equally incredible, particularly Michelle Williams and Lucas Hedges. They are all very much worthy of their nominations. 

 

The scene that stuck with me the most is the scene in the police station, when Lee grabs the Police Officers gun. That was tough to watch, but it was excellent filmmaking.

 

I really enjoyed this. A from me.

 

 

Edited February 5, 2017 by AABATTERY

[chrisman0606]

I thought this movie was awesome with the cast and crew doing it great! A+

[somebody85]

I see it's well praised here but besides the acting, I hated that I wasted 2 hours and 17 minutes on this movie. I could have watched so much else instead but chose this due to the high ratings on Metacritic and IMDB. I knew it would be slow but I didn't expect it to be this dull.

Like wow I'm so glad I wasted 2+ hours to find out that Lee can rebuild a boat, move a few towns over from Boston and maybe have his nephew over now. Gee what a revelation. 

The best scene in the movie is Lee's final confrontation with his ex wife. That is one of the greatest acting scenes of the year but it doesn't save this movie. Lee doesn't change. He doesn't go and see her again. He basically has no arc. Besides the things mentioned above, he is the same person he was at the credits as he was when this movie begins. If you think that change was worth 120+ minutes, than more power to you. I didn't.

I get it he's supposed to be playing a depressed person with no emotion. I deal with on/off depression and Casey Affleck nailed it. It doesn't make for a compelling story just to see someone wallow in that state though. Obviously what happened was tragic and his reaction was incredibly realistic but what did I get out of watching this since I'll never see these characters again? Depression sucks? Alcoholism sucks? It would be awful if that happened to you? Yep knew all of that already...so yeah, absolutely nothing.
 

The funny thing is I was thinking "man, it would be pretty funny if the movie just ended here" when they are on the boat again...and sure enough it does. 
 

It's not a bad film. It has really good acting. It's realistic but I was hoping it would at least lead to something and instead it just ends.

It gets more compelling when the tragedy of Lee's family is introduced about an hour in but even that scene doesn't have the impact it should due to the really weird choice of classical score used. I almost turned it off before that area too because I was bored (and it takes a lot to bore me - I didn't find Jackie boring).

And I can't believe this got nominated for best picture instead of Silence.

I knew I should have trusted my instinct after reading the summary. Moonlight at least had a good first half....I couldn't recommend this to anyone outside of the acting. I'll forget I even saw it by the end of the weekend. - C

Edited February 12, 2017 by somebody85

[Avatree]

10 hours ago, somebody85 said:

He basically has no arc. Besides the things mentioned above, he is the same person he was at the credits as he was when this movie begins.

That's... exactly the point of the film. Hollywood character arcs do not exist in real life. Your personality does not get transformed by certain events.

This is a film about real people dealing with problems in a real way.