Manchester By the Sea Preview

Manchester by the Sea is the story of Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck), a janitor for residential buildings in Quincy, Massachusetts. He grew up in Manchester with his brother, but left after a tragic incident forced him away and turned him into an angry, antisocial loner.  He is called back to Manchester when his brother Joe (Kyle Chandler) dies from a heart condition.  Unexpectedly, Lee is named the legal guardian to his 16 year old nephew Patrick (Lucas Hedges) and also the trustee of Joe's estate until Patrick comes of age.  Lee is left with no other choice than to return to Manchester full time to fulfill his obligations and must face again the incident that prompted his leaving years before.

Manchester by the Sea is nominated for 6 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director (Kenneth Lonergan), Best Actor (Casey Affleck), Best Supporting Actress (Michelle Williams) and Best Supporting Actor (Lucas Hedges).  Affleck won the Golden Globe for Best Actor, but the film lost to Moonlight for Best Drama.  

If the movie is anything like the preview, Manchester by the Sea is absolutely worth every nomination is has received.  We've seen movies like this before where someone who isn't ready is thrust into taking care of another child's life and it completely turns their world upside down, though ultimately proving to be the best thing that ever happened to them.  Catherine Zeta-Jones did this in No Reservations.  Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel did it in Life as We Know It.  Jean Reno did it in The Professional.  And we all know that some kind of tragedy happened to their biological parents to end up in this situation.  It's no different in Manchester by the Sea as we already know Lee's brother Joe died from his heart condition.  What seems to set this film apart is the mysterious incident that drove Lee from Manchester in the first place.  It's mentioned in the preview, though it's completely unclear what happened.  What is apparent, however, is that the writing and performances look marvelously beautiful, compelling and tragic.

Though La La Land cleaned up at the Golden Globes, the buzz for Best Picture and Best Actor seem to be pointing in large numbers to Manchester by the Sea.  If the film lives up to the preview, it won't be hard to see why.  I'm giving it a 4.0 Star prediction based on several factors: the riveting preview, the wins and nominations, and previous performances by Affleck and Williams.  I think this will be well worth the money spent in theatres and a contender to find a permanent home in my personal collection.  So, am I right?  We shall see.