![]() Joe (Kyle Chandler), his older brother, has suddenly died, so Lee drops everything and heads up the Massachusetts coast north of Boston to the seaside village of Manchester to deal with all the loose ends. One morning, while shoveling snow, he receives one of those dreaded, out-of-the-blue bad-news phone calls that will instantly change his life. Lee (Casey Affleck) is a sullen, reserved handyman who quietly performs his menial tasks while trying to avoid any interaction with his clients. At key moments, dialogue and situations often call attention to themselves by adopting an affected tone that takes us out of the story just when we need to be immersed in it. That's the fault of the script, which is literate, peppered with humor, and brimming with emotion, but not as natural and true to life as the filmmakers would like us to believe. Nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Actor, Supporting Actor and Actress, Director, and Original Screenplay, this intimate tale hits several resonant notes, but rarely strikes the raw nerves that would make it really hit home. Lee Chandler is that walking shell, and he's the central figure of writer-director Kenneth Lonergan's 'Manchester by the Sea.' Grim yet hopeful, this thoughtful film paints a sober and effective portrait of the many facets of grief as it examines a typical American family that's destroyed by one tragedy and rocked to its very core by another. And over time, all that remains is a shell of a human being. In those extreme cases, guilt, anger, and self-loathing often eat away at the soul, no matter how hard it struggles to escape their vice-like grip. Some emerge from the shadows of sadness faster than others, while some remain trapped, unable - or unwilling - to hoist themselves out of the abyss. Coming to terms with it, accepting the loss, and moving on takes time.often a lot of time. Natural defense mechanisms may initially numb the body, but sooner or later pain comes home to roost. People react to tragedy and deal with grief in different ways.
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