The society shown in Manchester by the sea, is composed of ordinary people whose life has nothing special. I would say they are middle class folks of a back country town. These people are all banal and some of them even mediocre; for example, Lee ex-wife and Patrick with the youth he frequents. Lee is the guiding thread that drives us in the visit to this society. He travels from Boston to Manchester to take care of the family problems created by the sudden death of his brother. During this journey, he interacts with the people who are part of his past in this city. Throughout this interaction we are presented to episodes of his past, through his memories or through the initiative of the storyteller.
Some facts remain unexplained. The constant bad temper and rudeness of Lee's ex-wife, attitude, which is partly responsible for Lee's drunkenness that originated the fire that destroyed his home, his family and his life. Lee's profession before the tragedy and the reason he was known kind of popular in the city. The psychological process that led Lee to a kind of suicide that consisted of alienating life, leaving Manchester to adopt the life of a nonentity who lives in Boston. The reason why the people of Manchester are reluctant to to hire Lee.
The camera travelings through Manchester landscapes reminded me of the camera travelings through Bordeaux (France) in the movie Moderato Cantabile by Peter Brook. These camera travelings are in tune with the suffering felt in background by the people who are presented to us. Because of this resemblance between Manchester and Moderato, I felt some lack of a soundtrack in tune with the drama which is presented to us. The film proceeds slowly through situations that are not encouraging, except at the end, when Lee seems to have overcome partially the state of alienation in which he had plunged after the tragedy that marked his life. I liked the film in that it consists of a character study of a set of ordinary and banal people living in Manchester by the Sea, and hit by tragedies.
Some facts remain unexplained. The constant bad temper and rudeness of Lee's ex-wife, attitude, which is partly responsible for Lee's drunkenness that originated the fire that destroyed his home, his family and his life. Lee's profession before the tragedy and the reason he was known kind of popular in the city. The psychological process that led Lee to a kind of suicide that consisted of alienating life, leaving Manchester to adopt the life of a nonentity who lives in Boston. The reason why the people of Manchester are reluctant to to hire Lee.
The camera travelings through Manchester landscapes reminded me of the camera travelings through Bordeaux (France) in the movie Moderato Cantabile by Peter Brook. These camera travelings are in tune with the suffering felt in background by the people who are presented to us. Because of this resemblance between Manchester and Moderato, I felt some lack of a soundtrack in tune with the drama which is presented to us. The film proceeds slowly through situations that are not encouraging, except at the end, when Lee seems to have overcome partially the state of alienation in which he had plunged after the tragedy that marked his life. I liked the film in that it consists of a character study of a set of ordinary and banal people living in Manchester by the Sea, and hit by tragedies.