Manchester By the Sea (2016) – Encore Review

“I can’t be his guardian. ” – Lee

Number of Times Seen – 2 (22 Jan 2017 and 2 Mar 2017)

Link to original review – Here

Brief Synopsis – After learning of his brother’s sudden death, a man must return to his old home town to look after his nephew despite trying to forget the tragic events of his own life that transpired there.

My Take on it – I was even more enamored with this film upon second viewing of it because I was now able to catch lots more of the subtleties that one easily misses the first time around due to not knowing the full story.

Once again, i was amazed at how great a job Casey Affleck does portraying this character and I still have my doubts if any other actors could have shown us this character as powerfully and emotionally as he did.

I’m truly glad he won the Oscar for Best Actor here and it easily makes my top ten list of best actors performances and could possibly even crack the top 5 because, yes! It really is that amazing.

Writer-Director Kenneth Lonnergan planned out the story and script exceptionally well that it easily allows it all to creep into our minds and hearts in order to effect us in ways we couldn’t imagine because it all seems so super realistic.

Really loved the way that we are only allowed access to most of the conversations between the characters but not the most emotional and intimate ones which allows us to view them from more of a distant perspective.

Rewatching this amazing film helps solidify its place as my top film of 2016.

I am quite happy that it won Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars this year because it really was deserving if those two accolades.

Besides Affleck, Lucas Hedges, Michelle Williams and Kyle Chandler are also all amazing.

Bottom Line – Affleck is superb here and I really doubt anyone else could have been able to bring the emotional depth of this character to the screen as well as he does.  The story is written and planned so well by Writer-Director Lonnegan that it is able to creep into our minds and effect us so much mainly because it seems so realistic.  Loved the way that we are privy to most of the conversations but not all which gives us a bit of distance for the most intimate and emotional conversations.  Definitely deserved it’s two Oscars and remains my favorite film of 2016. Highly Highly Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia –  First film distributed or co-distributed by a streaming service – in this case, Amazon – to get an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. (From IMDB)

Rating – Oscar Worthy (no change from original review)

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