Vanguard News Network
VNN Media
VNN Digital Library
VNN Reader Mail
VNN Broadcasts

Old February 15th, 2017 #1
steven clark
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 2,277
Default Manchester by the Sea movie review

Time to talk about Oscar nominations, and although most of us on this site think movies suck, there have been some good ones.

Manchester by the Sea is by director Kenneth Lonergan, and deals with Lee, a janitor in Boston alone and troubled, dealing with troublesome, annoying tenants and picking fights with guys in bars. He has an awful, tragic event in his life to overcome, not helped when his brother dies and he is called back to Manchester to become guardian of Patrick, his nephew. Lee's plan to take Patrick with him back to Boston is nixed by the kid, who has a life here, and the film is a study of Lee dealing with Manchester, Lee's needs, and returning to a town where everyone nudges each other seeing Lee back…after what he did, as well as a painful but unavoidable meeting with Randi, his ex-wife.

Lee is in a gray world, but I don't find it a depressing film. Lonergan doesn't believe in easy, boy-meets-girl-the-one-love-in-your-life solutions, and I was impressed with the film's humanity, showing Lee beginning to cope with having lost his children and wife. Also, he begins, in a painful, slow but steady way, to rebuild what family he has left with Patrick.
I liked that the place and cast is all white…no Morgan Freeman here to be wise and profound. The wisdom of this film is that of suffering and enduring.
having lived in New England, I was impressed with the locale, the capturing of local mores and working class life of a white world many of us belong to.
 
Reply

Share


Thread
Display Modes


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:29 PM.
Page generated in 0.03919 seconds.