Zi Ran Shen is overcome by the pulsating swell of emotions in Kenneth Lonergan’s tragedy...

The crisp and cold winter sets the perfect tone for a heartwarming story of family in a time of tragedy – a masterful blend of charming wit and piercing sorrow with splendid execution by Kenneth Lonergan. Though framed around misfortune, the film is surprisingly uplifting. The struggling characters create beauty from blight, love from loss, all in the picturesque seaside town of Manchester-by-the-sea.

The turbulent yet alluring sea becomes a mirror for the lives of the protagonists – Lee and Patrick Chandler – as they are each tossed along with the waves, grasping onto what little control they have left of their lives. The cool colours and pale Arctic light fill the theatre with the frigid ocean wind, putting the house straight into Manchester. Despite the chill of calamity, the characters’ love and devotion melts the winter snow, capturing an inspiring vitality which leaves the audience aching for life.

“The cool colours and pale Arctic light fill the theatre with the frigid ocean wind, putting the house straight into Manchester”

The ingenious use of music only heightens the sensations brought forth from the screen. Handel’s ‘Messiah’ permeates the movie, quietly echoing each characters’ suffering and rebirth – paralleling the timeline’s transition from winter to spring. Lesley Barber’s brilliant chorales are unwavering as tragedy unfolds. The audience is helplessly swept along by the motion of the music just as the characters must accede to the waves of fate. An aria from Massenet’s Chérubin makes an appearance, singing about love in a time of emptiness. These subtle yet powerful pieces bring extraordinary depth to the film.

Manchester by the Sea delivers emotions that will leave you laughing and crying in the same minute. With astounding cinematography and music, this film captivates all senses. Lonergan’s film immaculately captures the unforgiving grace of winter and the revival of life in spring, a must-see this season.

Peter Murphy similarly notes the film’s sensuality, but wonders if it is a counter-point to the numbing effects of grief...

Sometimes words can’t describe pain and Lee Chandler simply cannot find the words. While Zi Ran’s review cites the visual beauty and sensuality of the film, I was taken by the use Kenneth Lonergan made of these qualities to draw contrasts with Affleck’s performance. The audience can read the image of pain wrought upon his face. He delivers the sort of performance one imagines that Tom Hardy is shooting for in all those dead eyed close-ups.

“The audience can read the image of pain wrought upon his face”

Zi Ran finds in the sea a mirror of their lives, but I feel it is a foil to the relationship between Lee and his nephew Patrick. The sea is calm, the sky above clear, but there are clouds on the horizon, for Lee’s relationship with Patrick is overcast by his past. The film is visually sensual, and allied to Casey Affleck’s performance, it highlights that Lee is a man who can feel only pain. Sensuality is far out of reach. In fact, it can seem superfluous.

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Distance is a theme which dovetails: it stands between them emotionally and threatens to separate them physically, as Lee intends to flee both his past and his pain, trying to leave Manchester for Boston. The passage of time is an important trope in this film. Flashbacks break the narrative, filling in Lee’s memory as he is cast backwards by his arrival to his hometown. No matter how much time has elapsed, as long as he is in town he cannot escape the tragedy of the past.

Ultimately this film grapples with the two suggested remedies for pain in our age: time and distance. It is a tale of perseverance, and though at times I felt my guts were being dragged out through my belly button by Casey Affleck’s excellent rendering of suffering, it is life-affirming. Uplifting it is, Zi Ran