'Manchester by the Sea' stars Casey Affleck, Lucas Hedges, Michelle Williams and Kyle Chandler. The movie centers around Casey Affleck's character, who is named the guardian of his brother's son after his brother's death. The movie premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year to a lot of acclaim, and it received a lot of Oscar hype. Now that the movie is finally out and I got a chance to see it, I can confirm: This movie deserves all the praise it's getting.
Let me start by saying that Casey Affleck gives the best performance of the year. He WILL be nominated for 'Best Actor', and I would be shocked if he didn't win. His performance is very subtle, but it's heartbreaking at the same time for reasons that I can't spoil, but I can say that this movie is very powerful. There's a scene in this movie that comes out of nowhere and just punches you in the gut. The rest of the performances are great across the board; Lucas Hedges is amazing as the son who loses his father, and Kyle Chandler (who is one of my favorite actors) also delivers an excellent performance as he usually does, although he isn't in the movie as much as I maybe wanted him to be. It isn't a detriment to the movie; he plays the dad who passed away, so he's only seen in flashbacks. I just wish he was in the movie more because of how much I love him as an actor. Michelle Williams has also gotten a lot of buzz for 'Best Supporting Actress.' I think she's great when she's in it, I just don't personally think she's in it enough to get a nomination, but I seem to be in the minority there. From a story standpoint, this movie hits on all cylinders; it's not necessarily an exciting story, but it's just so real. The characters feel like real people with very real problems, and anytime a movie can make you feel like that instead of the feeling that you're just watching a movie, it's very impressive
I really don't have a whole lot to say about this movie. If a dialogue driven movie with little to no action just isn't your scene, then this movie probably isn't for you, but if it is, you'll love this movie. The performances are great across the board, Casey Affleck will probably earn an Oscar from this movie, and there's a 100% probability that this movie gets nominated for Best Picture. It's a tour de force in acting, and I can't recommend it enough.
