“I can’t beat it. I can’t beat it. I’m sorry.” 

‘Manchester By The Sea’ (2016) is a developed look into the absolute abyss that is mind crushing sorrow. There is so much to unpack in a performance that is so subtle and so quiet, yet more pronounced than any I have ever seen. This film tackles the mourning, loss, and grief of loved ones like no other film has before. There is a pressure out onto the audience to witness, not how horrifying tragedy is, but how brutal solitude can be from it. I’m sure we have all connected with such an idea, and many of us cannot comprehend how desolate we feel after tragedy, but if one work of art can show us that feeling, it’s ’Manchester By The Sea’ (2016). 

This is an unforgiving portrait that does not glorify the contemporary man’s life who deals with struggle. The movie is lewd at times, and it can also be outrageously funny. However, what writer and Director Kenneth Lonergan pontificates about most is the art of patience in storytelling. There is a steadiness throughout the script that almost never shows its hand at its faults. The story is happy to linger on the dull and empty moments when Lee is shoveling snow, or drinking a beer. These moments express nothing in a substantial scene, but what it does show is the mundane destruction of loneliness on a mind. 

I have never seen a movie in my life that is more fitting into the genre of “Tragedy” and it is specifically designed that way. Though this is a quiet film that isn’t fast paced, there is still always something happening. Anguish and tragedy are the themes of this daunting feature, and the more the film develops, the more is packed into such a stressful idea. There is a nonstop motion in the script where once you think a rock bottom is hit, there is always more to be packed on and there is much further to go. By one point in the film, something so tragic happens, it leaves everything in absolute desolation, while at the same time, giving some much reason and purpose to why the way things are. 

The usage of humor throughout ‘Manchester By The Sea’ (2016) could sometimes be seen as misplaced or not appropriate. I would argue though, it’s more real and genuine to have than not. In moments of dejection and mourning, there are glimpses of humor that peek through, even if only the audience recognizes it. This sparks up difficult emotions from a viewer, because we what we’re seeing is beyond agonizing, then seeing a glimpse of humor sprinkled in makes us realize there is possibility for emotional adjustment, even in the worst moments. This was such a smart way to write a story, and genuinely makes the film more humanizing. 

Flashbacks are prominently displayed throughout the duration of the feature, but we are never given indication when the time frame changes. Kenneth Lonergan trusts the audience enough to piece together what time frame we are being shown. From the usage of big things like when Joe is alive or how old Patrick is, to the little and subtle details like the expressive nature (or lack there of) in Lee. These are the things we need to pick up to understand the meaning of the character and story itself. Even when the film goes back to the tragic moments that was a catalyst for everything that prospered, nothing is actually bogged down by time. We see the moment, and that’s it. The point of the movie is not a grand tragedy told in a flashback, it’s about the outcome of never coping with it. 

One of the biggest take aways I had from this viewing experience was the fact that ‘Manchester By The Sea’ (2016) was not cinematic in anyway. It almost feels like Lonergan is intimidated by the pressure of grandiosities in cinema. This is not a big film. This is not a loud or charismatic or fast paced movie. This is simply just a story about a man who is fighting with his own mental stability. Nothing is showy, nothing is in your face or big. The point of ‘Manchester By The Sea’ (2016) is how it lacks the characteristics of a traditional cinematic force. It’s definitely something to truly appreciate about Kenneth Lonergan and his creation in this art. 

I view a lot of this movie as Lee being out on his own, and struggling with so much impacted loss. The fact of the matter is, the movie doesn’t even hide the fact he isn’t on his own. He’s given an opportunity to take care of his nephew Patrick, but Lee still struggles with the idea of ownership. He knows Patrick is a better person than him, even if he sees road bumps in the road for him. He’s afraid to take ownership of another human life after the tragedy of his own. However, once seeing the transitions he could make, he only saw a child that could have been his in Patrick. All grown up and ready to fight. It’s such a heartbreaking realization that really hammers home the ideas of the whole film.

Lee Chandler can be expressed as one type of man. He is someone who is lost and wandering the world in such a dejected way, nothing seeming can console him. Lee attempts to find massive amounts of solitude in himself, while still drudging his way into the memories of trauma. His monotonous demeanor only seemingly wishes to be left on its own. Once something or someone has left, it’s an individual’s job to make the attempt in not drowning in their own sorrow and hatred. Finding solitude in someone else is not an easy ask, but finding it in one’s self like Lee does, that’s just devastating through and through.  

‘Manchester By The Sea’ (2016) makes a remarkably brave decision. Most movies that deal with stuff like this would never have been able to come to a conclusion quite like this one. The point of this whole film is not to overcome any kind of mourning or grief someone might have. In fact, the point of the film is that people simply don’t overcome this type of thing. Some people go through moments that are so agonizing, and so bleak, that falling back into a routine with absolutely no prospect of success is what they want. This is not how Hollywood movies are made anymore, but I genuinely think it’s more honest than almost any other movie. 

Like I explained before, this movie is not cinematic one bit, and what helps mat all of that down is the coldness in the feature as well. There is the obvious and apparent coldness of the scenery, and there is the even more obvious coldness of the characters. Having this film set in Massachusetts during the cold season was a brilliant idea. I could feel the freezing nature cut through the screen and it made me want to bundle myself up. The snowy landscape pairs immaculately with the grey overcast backdrop. Coldness is a tool used through the movie to show how one can warm others up in a time of coldness, and it also helps show how some people choose to freeze and disappear.

Lee Chandler is played expertly and tragically by Casey Affleck. Being award the Academy Award for best leading actor in this film helped cement his work. The character of Lee is beyond complex, and as I’ve discussed, tragic through and through. The fairest characterization of him is that he is reserved to the world that continues around him. Not only is he reserves to the world around himself, but he is also closed off to the audience and refuses to be a narrator for us. We were never invited into this characters life, and having to witness the lugubrious struggle he faces makes it only worse when you know it’s now all delving into exhaustion. Casey Affleck plays this character absolutely remarkably and puts in a performance of a lifetime. This is the role to look at when you want to see true pain through silence. 

So needless to say, Kenneth Lonergan’s ‘Manchester By The Sea’ (2016) is a film that I thought was worth some deeper commentary on. This movie ranks in my top ten films of all time because of the humanistic nature of everything. This is a movie that pulls no punches and regards the audience in such a high light. ‘Manchester By The Sea’ (2016) is a mature and intelligent film that helps provide a greater look upon self sorrow, depression, and mourning. Every single aspect of this feature is perfect, in its own flawed ways. This is a brutal film that delivers so much context, you don’t want to pass your life by without seeing such artistic craft.