In many movies, flashbacks are a way of providing information. In “Manchester by the Sea,” the copious flashbacks are something else: a window into a soul.
In this case, the soul belongs to Lee Chandler, played by Casey Affleck. Lee goes joylessly through his rounds as a handyman in Boston, until he is called to the seaside town of Manchester when his older brother Joe (Kyle Chandler) dies from a lingering heart condition.
Joe’s will makes Lee the guardian of Joe’s 16-year-old son, Patrick (Lucas Hedges). Lee is as shocked to hear this as we are — he looks like nobody’s idea of a parental role model. Reclusive and depressed, he just wants to be left alone.
That’s where the flashbacks come in. Not only do we see scenes from Patrick’s childhood — when Uncle Lee was clearly a funny, lively guy — we also get glimpses of the tragedy that affected Lee so profoundly.
In this outline, “Manchester by the Sea” sounds like a familiar sort of redemption drama. Perhaps all a depressed man needs is responsibility to find a purpose in life again.
But, in the world of Kenneth Lonergan, things can’t be that simple. Lonergan, a heralded playwright, has written and directed two films, both superb. “You Can Count on Me” (2000) is a fine-cut gem, and “Margaret” (2011) a wide-ranging, ambitious masterpiece.
Lonergan’s merciless eye for character and his glorious ear for dialogue are again in play in “Manchester.” And although it’s not as breathtaking as “Margaret,” this one also has a very moving theme.
The film takes a leisurely pace, flicking in bits of humor as it moves between present and past. When we eventually learn what happened to turn Lee inward, the sequence is as harrowing as we’d been dreading.
The cast is up to the demands of a serious, character-driven chamber piece. Michelle Williams has only a few scenes as Lee’s ex-wife, but she is vivid. Gretchen Mol is fine as Patrick’s unstable mother, and adding levity are the two actresses playing Patrick’s girlfriends (they don’t know about each other), Kara Hayward and Anna Baryshnikov.
Affleck carries the film with an internalized performance. People have been touting it as an Oscar role, but Academy Awards usually go to splashier performances, and this is too quiet for that. But it’s a convincing portrayal of someone who just can’t get over it.
Lonergan is no Scorsese or Spielberg; he doesn’t think with the camera. But for a certain kind of literary tradition in American moviemaking, this is as good as it gets.
“Manchester by the Sea” (4 stars)
A depressed New Englander (Casey Affleck) resists his role as guardian to his 16-year-old nephew (Lucas Hedges). This serious, leisurely character study has writer-director Kenneth Lonergan’s great ear for dialogue and a fine cast in top form — a story about a guy who simply can’t come back from tragedy. With Michelle Williams.
Rating: R, for language, violence
Showing: Alderwood Mall, Everett Stadium, Guild 45th, Meridian
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