Lee Chandler works as a maintenance man in Boston apartment blocks. He's a man quick to lose his temper, with a look of emotional deadness in his eyes. He gets a call. His older brother has died unexpectedly. Lee has to return to his hometown of Manchester by the Sea to sort things out.
From the moment he returns its clear that he has a troubled history and reputation here. His brother leaves a teenage son Patrick on his own, his mother having long left for who knows where, lost her mind to alcohol dependency. Being back in his hometown stirs up painful memories from Lee's own life here. Ones he evaded facing by moving away. In the middle of all this he has to decide what is the best way to set up Patrick's future life, now he's on the cusp of adulthood.
This film is sad to its very core. A deep vein of melancholic unexpressed loss inhabits most of its characters. Life has dealt a rough deal to many in Manchester by the Sea, Lee is only one. Always trying to do the right thing, but it doesn't always come out that way. There are moments in this film when it is unbearably painful to watch. Containing such emotional truth that it punches you in the gut. I would question the need for the popular classical music, used in some scenes, it feels entirely superfluous, adding nothing to the mood. If anything it distracts your attention.
Cassey Affleck is utterly believable as this fundamentally broken man, with his drained expressionless face, prone to explosions in frustrated fist fights. An emotionally inarticulate man, if he can express himself at all it is clumsily. He does his best with Patrick, played with all the annoying knowingness and smart backchat of a young man by Lucas Hedges. Michelle Williams as Lee's estranged wife Randi, steals each of the handful of scenes she appears in.
CARROT REVIEW - 7/8
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