re: Manchester by the Sea

Why would Michelle Williams win the oscar... she was in the movie for 5-10 minutes. I can cry and get depressed really easily for 10 minutes if I wanted to

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I can cry and get depressed really easily for 10 minutes if I wanted to

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I loved this movie. The scene in the police station was particularly brutal.

I was literally exhausted after this movie ended.

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And I had the same feeling of it just ending, but I think that's what's so heartbreaking about it. It does just end, just like that. There's no satisfying conclusion because sometimes there's horrible shite in your life that you just can't overcome and it ruins you. Not everyone makes it out of the darkness. Some are left behind.

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I'm glad someone else gets it. The whole movie sets up to the point where you just know there won't be a happy outcome. This movie was meant to be brutal and real.

Great movie.

Lee Chandler...that is a character that will stick with me for awhile. Affleck deserves that Oscar for that.

And Kyle Chandler fit in one of his signature Friday Night Light "all right" lines in this movie. Bless him for that.

I agree Affleck and the kid were fantastic but I fall somewhere in the middle in the debate of this being a great film or just really boring.

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How is it aimless? It's quiet. It's moody. It's a bit long. But it's not aimless. It's a study of a man and his inability to overcome the never ending grief that came from one honest mistake. There isn't a happy ending, and the main character didn't learn anything or overcome the obstacles in his life. Kind of like the real world works for some people. Just because the camera work is minimalist and the acting understated, doesn't mean there isn't a meaning to the story.

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Finally caught this last night, and these are exactly my thoughts. What an emotionally draining, scary, and tragic story. Wife and I were both shaken up throughout. The kind of movie that makes you want to go hug your kids and tuck them in again afterwards.

I thought it was a real throwback to just a true drama, slice of life, character study. I can't see how anyone that has kids couldn't be completely shaken up and invested in this tragedy. A horrific accident like that, I would think, would make life seem like it literally could never be happy or joyous again. It would consume that person.

That is what I watched, and I thought it was fantastically written and directed.

One thing I find myself not quite getting is the consensus that Affleck should be an Oscar lock, even by those that claim the movie was boring.

He was very good, obviously, but I honestly think he benefitted from a great script and story. Ironically, the people that praise the performance but felt bored by themovie probably would have liked it a lot more with a different approach by a different actor.

Affleck is the king of the thousand yard stare, and other than the police station scene or the two bar fight scenes, that is literally all he does the entire movie. He does it very well, but even in the final scene with his wife, Williams carries it while he just stands there frozen.

Now that is good acting in its own right, and worthy of a nomination, and maybe even a win (only other nom I've seen is Gosling and Viggo), but I think it contributes to the feeling from some people that the story was boring and nothing happens.

Again, I'm not saying that it should have been someone else cast or a different take on the character would have been better. I thought the movie was fantastic and one of the most emotional films I've seen in a long time.

But those saying how great his performance was, but that the movie was boring, just confuse me.


Affleck didn't do anything here he didn't do in Jesse James or Gone Baby Gone. Again, it's that thousand yard stare that he seems to bring to every character. I found it effective in this particular role given the paralysis he found himself in after the unimaginable horror he has been through. But take an actor like DDL, or even Mcconnaughy or Denzel and we'd likely get some teary scene with emotional monologues that would be Oscar nominated as well, and would likely be less "boring" and seem like more "happened".

Not better or worse, just a different take on a character in that situation, as every person would react differently. This seemed true to Affleck, but I don't see how someone can love the performance but not think the movie itself is a gripping emotional tale of grief.

Won't be at all surprised if he wins, but could easily see some other more hammy performance win too. Affleck's most powerful line was just that, a single line: "I can't beat it".

Loved the movie. Hope it wins screenplay. The ability to bring moments of humor and levity in this drama in his interactions with his nephew was absolutely stellar, and so true to life. Even in absolute grief, there are moments of reprieve. Just making it all the more heartbreaking when the despair takes over again.

The chemistry between Affleck and the kid was outstanding, and I'd love for the kid to win Supporting Actor. He was fantastic and honestly hilarious, which is what the story needed to keep from being boring and paralyzingly depressing. Their relationship showed the highs and lows that Lee was still capable of feeling. He was at times brought out of the despair to interact with his nephew, also dealing with loss, just in such a different way. And that was the heart of the movie.

It also showed that not all loss is the same. Patty had time to prepare for that day, Lee didn't. And obviously Patty wasn't the cause of his fathers death. It just juxtaposes Lee's unimaginable guilt and blame that he will never allow himself to escape with a kid that lost his dad, a great dad, but still just wants to hook up with his gf or play music with his band (lol btw). Just shows exactly how out of the norm and inhumane what happened to Lee is.

Anyway, a real throwback to just a character study of a man lost in grief and an inability to forgive himself for an momentary lapse that will rightfully haunt him forever.