Hammerman Ikon

Hammerman Ikon Film Guide

Manchester by the Sea
2016
*****
Director: Kenneth Lonergan
Cast: Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler, Lucas Hedges, Gretchen Mol, C.J. Wilson, Tate Donovan, Kara Hayward, Anna Baryshnikov, Heather Burns

Lee Chandler is a quiet but volatile janitor who lives a lonely life with his painful memories. When his brother dies, Lee must return to his hometown of Manchester-by-the-Sea, only to find out that he is now the legal guardian of his nephew. Like You Can Count on Me and Margaret, Kenneth Lonergan's third directorial effort is a wonderfully understated but incredibly hard-hitting drama, and the strongest of the three. It tells a gut-wrenchingly believable story of grief, and Casey Affleck gives a beautifully nuanced performance as a man who has been crippled by it. Lonergan's original screenplay and Affleck won Academy Awards.