Kenneth Lonergan
Manchester By The Sea

Manchester By The Sea - 2016

TOTALLY NO SPOILER
"Tragic events are capable of transforming even the strongest personalities."
This is the guiding thread that connects all the scenes of Manchester By The Sea, a film with a simple plot but excellently constructed.
The protagonist is Lee Chandler, a custodian/plumber from Boston, as enigmatic as few characters ever seen, an alcoholic fleeing from himself and his past, who, due to a series of events, becomes the guardian of his nephew, Patrick, a typical popular high school boy.
The relationship between the two is problematic from the beginning, and the dialogues are on the edge of minimalism, due to Lee, who proves to be truly abrasive and closed off even to the slightest social interactions, both with his nephew and in social situations.
Despite its very serious theme, the film flows well for over 2 hours, showing us how the development of events can have repercussions on the characters' psyche, which I greatly appreciated and believe to be the true strength of Manchester By The Sea. Every single character, even the minor ones, is excellently constructed, the conversations are never trivial, and they incredibly adapt to the most varied situations, offering a palette of emotions that ranges from the "humorous" situation to the "tragic" one.
I had the chance to watch it in English (it will be available in Italy starting tomorrow) and the acting is extraordinary, never clichéd and well-proportioned to the theme, making even the sporadic presence of seemingly minor characters, like Randi (Lee's ex-wife), significant. The cold city of Manchester serves as a perfect and almost oxymoronic backdrop for the film, cold and static in contrast to the constant flow of the personalities that populate it. The cinematography deserves particular praise for capturing the beauty of New England, which fits well with the events.

I found the film an extremely pleasant surprise this boring Wednesday afternoon; I was expecting a clichéd movie, which instead provided me with much satisfaction, and honestly, I can't find a flaw in this film, written and directed by Kenneth Lonergan, justifying my rating, which I hope you don't find too generous:
5/5