SPOILERS!

We live in a society where we are so quick to judge other people. We essentially judge a book by its cover. The woman taking out each of her coupons and causing a delay on the supermarket line? She’s cheap and has no consideration for the patrons waiting behind her. The waiter who orders you a ‘well done’ instead of a ‘medium’ steak? He’s irresponsible and doesn’t deserve a tip. As David Foster Wallace once declared, we all tend to live within our default settings. This is where one puts him or herself in the center of the universe—everything revolves around that person. If there’s a train delay, the person will become agitated and sulk in frustration, unaware that a teenager just took his own life up ahead. That woman who took forever on the supermarket line, causing moans and groans behind her? Her husband has brain cancer and she can’t manage to spend ample amounts of money anymore. We are so inconsiderate of others and the types of situations that they might be submerged in. And yet, that’s where we, the audience, find ourselves within the first 45 minutes of Kenneth Lonergan’s Manchester by the Sea.

Manchester introduces us to a character named Lee Chandler—played by Casey Affleck. He’s a handyman in Boston. When he’s sober, he doesn’t seem to give a shit—he performs his job in a lifeless manner, he curses at his customers, and he bears no interest in conversing with potential companions. When he’s drunk, he also doesn’t seem to give a shit, as he brews up bar fights. All in all, he is a dick who doesn’t fit the criteria of a protagonist. There’s a lifelessness in Lee’s eyes that doesn’t garner the audience’s sympathy. Even his own brother’s (Joe played by Kyle Chandler) hospitalization and ultimate death doesn’t seem to move him.

As flashbacks gradually creep into the movie, there’s a contrast between Lee’s emotions in the past with those in the present. These flashbacks present a more upbeat and happy Lee as he spends his time in Manchester fishing with his brother and nephew, leading a fruitful life with his wife and kids, and guzzling as much beer as he wants. His expression when he drives up to Manchester for Joe, combined with the eerie funerary music in the background, makes it apparent that something happened here—something that has caused Lee’s distant behavior. Even while he’s reunited with his nephew (Patrick played by Lucas Hedges), Lee doesn’t seem too thrilled to see him. The essential question in the first hour of the film is: what happened to Lee Chandler?

Kenneth Lonergan, who also wrote the script, doesn’t seem too eager in presenting the tragedy that took place in Lee’s life within the film’s opening ten minutes—and rightfully so. He takes his time in revealing what happened to Lee by letting us get comfortable with his current nature. Once we find out about 55 minutes in, our reactions are so much more effective than we could’ve ever imagined. As a result, we do not view Lee under the same light and we sort of regret the impressions we initially made of him because our default settings made Lee out to be this asshole who enjoyed getting into unnecessary bar fights. It’s this revelation about Lee’s past that shifts the film’s tone from that of a dark comedy to a haunting portrayal of a man coming to terms with his grief.

Joe leaves a will that proclaims his younger brother as the guardian of Patrick—much to Lee’s disbelief. As Lee roams around Manchester, all of the townspeople glare at him and whisper things like, “THE Lee Chandler?!” As a result, we ask ourselves: why would Joe leave his son under the care of a man who doesn’t give a shit about anything anymore? But as the movie progresses and Lee spends more time with Patrick, the light seems to slowly come back into Lee’s eyes—perhaps, this was Joe’s intention all along, to have someone like Patrick help Lee move on from his past.

The film itself takes place in a dark time; both Lee and Patrick are mourning the loss of family members. However, most of the movie is a deadpan comedy with Lucas Hedges bringing much-needed comic relief to the film. His character is filled with one-liners that register hilarious sarcasm and sexual puns that make the audience members go “HA.” But when Manchester does dive into moments of distress, the results are so powerful. My favorite scene in the film would be the encounter between Lee and Randi–played by Michelle Williams–on a street corner. While the setting is so casual, Lonergan’s script and the acting between Casey and Michelle bring out the theatrics of the scene as each character spews out confessions in a heartbreaking manner that made me tear up when I first watched it. The scene focuses on both characters speaking in the span of two minutes. As the camera switches from Randi to Lee, the sense of dread accelerates as they both delve deep into the past and the painful memories that have lingered ever since. It’s the type of scene that when it’s over, you just sink into your seat and feel emotionally drained.

It’s crazy to think how my perspective on Lee Chandler changed drastically during the course of Manchester by the Sea. Having initially deemed him a prick, I was greeted with guilt when the film explained Lee’s past. Lee puts himself through hell by refusing to forgive himself—he essentially trades in his happiness for a life filled with self-punishment. All of his dread is summed up in one quote towards the end of the movie. When Patrick asks Lee why he can’t stay in Manchester, Lee plainly shakes his head no and says, “I can’t beat it.” This line epitomizes the painful memories that the town of Manchester will always have and the painful memories that the sight of Randi will always have. Not only does he recognize his tragic past for the first time, but he is able to show the audience that he is going to be okay; in one of the following scenes, there’s a shot of Lee smiling for the first time. Maybe he has learned to forgive himself. Maybe he is happy to have someone like Patrick to care for. Maybe he realizes the absurdity of dwelling on the past. Screenwriter and director Kenneth Lonergan succeeds in not only making a movie about grief funny, but he is also able to fit in a multitude of emotions—so many that will make Manchester by the Sea stick with you long after the credits roll.

CONSENSUS: 4 out of 4 shahks