Review - Manchester by the Sea

The tale of never-ending grief

Manchester by the Sea is a sad, sad film. The protagonist of this film is constantly grieving, never coming to terms with his tragic past. He is stuck, never moving on, even when life literally throws bundle of opportunities towards him for doing so. The film makes this point - if you have messed up real bad in your past, your future won't be a blissful joy. But bigger issue for the film itself is this - will you spend over two hours watching a suffering man wearing a same sad expression and mumbling most of the time?

Clearly enough, the film is not an easy watch. Cassey Affleck stars as Lee Chandler, an ill-fated janitor who has got the custody of his 16-year old nephew after untimely death of his brother. Lee for much of the film (except for some flashbacks) is melancholic, hardly taking interest in any living or non-living thing. Earlier in the film, we see him reacting on the news of his brother's death -  stoic, almost blank albeit with a hint of concern. He sees his brother's dead body, again, with the same old expression on his face. You wonder, what is wrong with this man?

Kenneth Lonergan, also directing this film, has written the script in an intriguing fashion. The film is told with alternate cuts of flashbacks and present proceedings, which creates a sense of mystery, especially regarding Lee's troubled past. It does unfold near the film's half-way, and it is indeed shattering - a mistake, or rather a gigantic blunder which has not only destroyed Lee's own life, but also his family's. 

The present timeline of the film deals with Lee slowly taking the role of his father-less nephew's guardian, even though he feels strongly evasive about it. The demons of his past however, are ever troubling him, even taking a toll on his mental state. Lee hoards an ocean of repressed anger, mostly directed towards his own self, which often manifests via violent outbursts of drunken brawls. The dynamic between Lee and his nephew is particularly interesting, and it is perhaps the only "fun" part of the film where Affleck's coerced guardian tries to understand peculiarities of the teenage boy.

The film is soaked with melancholia. The sky is ever dark and overcast, there is always snow around and not even a single ray of sunshine hits the frozen surface. Cassey Affleck plays his part extremely well, he's subtle and reserved. Even in the scenes where there was some scope of dramatic fireworks, he remains grounded and true to his character's psychological state.

But that also means that there is nothing in this film which bounds the audience to its characters. The overwhelmingly dreary tone and sluggish pace doesn't help either. Worse, there is no narrative arc in this film. Lee's character is at same state in the end as he was in the beginning, there is nothing to take back home. As a dramatic film, Manchester by the Sea fails, but as a character study of depressed soul with a tragic past, you cannot get anything better than this.

3/5