With its familiar story, Manchester By The Sea has a very slow pace. The reason why I say the story is familiar is that there are many movies with a similar narrative and some of the scenes of some of the movies I have seen are instantly vivid in my mind.
The only thing that distinguished the movie from the others was the emotionless nature of the main character. Lee Chandler (played by Casey Affleck) was far from the portrayals we are used to seeing in drama movies and was quite annoying with his silent nature.
From the first moment you start watching the character, you can hypothetically understand that there is a reason behind his appearance. Until the reason is revealed, the sense of curiosity about Lee Chandler's character is triggered and the audience is drawn into the story.
When it becomes clear in the story what made him this way, you can instantly feel the highest level of anger one can feel towards an irresponsible parent. Despite everything, the character is not justified in his irresponsible and indifferent behavior towards his nephew, and the balance of cause and effect is strange.
In terms of the story and the way it is handled in every scene, describing the movie as one of the rare examples of the drama genre is just an expectation. Strangely, at the moments when the drama is expected to reach its peak, attempts to add unnecessary comedy through cold jokes lead to absurd scenes.
It is understandable for a responsible individual to punish himself for failing to fulfill his responsibilities, but to avoid, postpone or ignore responsibilities is to rewind in a vicious circle. Fortunately, the movie doesn't focus on the rewinding but repeats the cycle for a while (until the funeral burial).
The scenes I found most absurd involved the character of Patrick (played by Lucas Hedges) as a spoiled teenage boy. As the burial of his father's body was going on, every action he took and behavior he exhibited created deep holes in the story.
After all, even an 8-year-old knows what death and funerals are, and when faced with such an event, he or she has the instinct or intelligence to distinguish between the dos and don'ts. Patrick fails as a weak personality, unable to digest what happened, instead of being at the center of the drama around him.
Manchester By The Sea deserves praise for its true-to-life story that could happen to any of us at any time, but in terms of storytelling and acting, it was a waste of time for me. It can be watched for its story and the hidden drama it contains, but don't expect too much.
Posted using CineTV