Film review: Casey Affleck gives a heart-wrenching performance in Manchester By The Sea

Michelle Williams and Casey Affleck did not need too many words to produce a moving partnership. AP

Manchester By The Sea

Director: Kenneth Lonergan

Stars: Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler, Lucas Hedges

Four stars

Since its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival just over a year ago, Kenneth Lonergan's Manchester By The Sea has been quietly scooping up awards and acclaim wherever it has played.

On Sunday, it is in the running for six Oscars – and you would not bet against a repeat of its success at the Baftas this month, where star Casey Affleck – younger brother of fellow actor Ben - won Best Actor and writer-director Kenneth Lonergan won Best Original Screenplay.

A playwright and occasional filmmaker, Lonergan is not the sort of director to deliver grandstanding dialogue or moments of extreme catharsis.

Set in a blue-collar part of the well-to-do Massachusetts coastal town of the title, this film is a nuanced, subtle but hugely powerful family drama that does not reveal itself easily. Dealing with issues of loss, pain, guilt and grief, it is not only a world apart from the typical Hollywood melodrama, but also from the idiosyncrasies of contemporary American independent cinema.

There is nothing “quirky” about Affleck’s Lee Chandler, a Boston janitor who returns to Manchester-by-the-Sea after the death of his brother (Kyle Chandler, glimpsed in long, protracted flashback scenes).

Named as guardian to his brother’s 16-year-old son, Patrick (Lucas Hedges), Lee is reluctant to take on the responsibility, not least because it returns him to a town he left behind. Gradually, Lonergan teases out details of Lee’s past, in particular his former marriage to Randi (Michelle Williams). What caused their separation is tragic and hits you like a wrecking ball.

Even then, Lonergan refuses to be tempted by tears or breakthroughs. Rather, this is a portrait of characters coping – or not – with tragedy. Rarely has the phrase “lost for words” been more appropriate than when applied to Lee, a man sucked into a void and unable to move on.

Frequently a supporting player, Affleck is a marvel in a role that feels like he has spent his career building to (producer Matt Damon was originally earmarked for the part, until scheduling issues intervened).

Equally impressive is Williams, who – like Affleck – manages to say so much with so few words. A scene in which their characters meet after years apart is one of the most heart-wrenching scenes you will ever see on screen. Like a good novel, Lonergan’s film takes its time and toys with you – and the cumulative effect is overwhelming.