Manchester by the Sea
First screened in November 2016 / Most recently screened in December 2016
Director: Kenneth Lonergan. Cast: Casey Affleck, Lucas Hedges, Kyle Chandler, C.J. Wilson, Michelle Williams, Kara Hayward, Anna Baryshnikov, Heather Burns, Gretchen Mol, Matthew Broderick, Mary Mallen, Ruibo Qan, Robert Sella, Susan Pourfar, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Allyn Burrows, Jami Tennille, Josh Hamilton, Wendy Overly, Brian A. White, Erica McDermott, Joe Stapleton, Brian Chamberlain, Glenn McKiel, Tate Donovan, Ben Hanson, Liam McNeill, Richard Donelly, Virginia Loring Cooke, Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Missy Yager, Ben O'Brien. Screenplay: Kenneth Lonergan.

 Twitter Capsule: Lonergan retains his knack for short, incisive scenes but a lot feels off: scoring, lensing, time jumps...

Second Capsule: Language, structure, tone impressed me a bit more on second pass, but this will never be my Lonergan movie.

VOR: ③  Plays a solid long game of profiling extreme emotional congestion despite the tonal variety of its scenes. Still, familiar in many other ways.


Photo © 2016 Roadside Attractions/Amazon Studios/
K Period Media/Pearl Street Films/The Media Farm/
The Affleck Middleton Project/B Story/OddLot Entertainment

Not yet reviewed in full. Grade: B

Academy Award Nominations and Winners:
Best Picture
Best Director: Kenneth Lonergan
★Best Actor: Casey Affleck
Best Supporting Actress: Michelle Williams
Best Supporting Actor: Lucas Hedges
★Best Original Screenplay: Kenneth Lonergan

Golden Globe Nominations and Winners:
Best Picture (Drama)
Best Director: Kenneth Lonergan
★Best Actor (Drama): Casey Affleck
Best Supporting Actress: Michelle Williams
Best Screenplay: Kenneth Lonergan

Other Awards:
Independent Spirit Awards: Best Actor (Affleck)
New York Film Critics Circle: Best Actor (Affleck); Best Supporting Actress (Williams; also cited for Certain Women); Best Screenplay
National Society of Film Critics: Best Actor (Affleck); Best Supporting Actress (Williams); Best Screenplay
Boston Society of Film Critics: Best Actor (Affleck); Best Screenplay
Chicago Film Critics Association: Best Actor (Affleck); Best Supporting Actress (Williams); Most Promising Performer (Hedges); Best Original Screenplay
National Board of Review: Best Picture; Best Actor (Affleck); Male Breakthrough Performance (Hedges); Best Original Screenplay
British Academy Awards (BAFTAs): Best Actor (Affleck); Best Original Screenplay
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