Manchester by the sea is a very serious and well focused picture about family bonds, when grief comes all of a sudden to upset your normal life and getting along with it becomes a reiteration of useless gestures. Here's the slowness of a picture to be understood, a picture which gives time to characters and situations, and may seem not to able to stand off the ground, but on the contrary does reflect the real timing and perception of life when you are deeply affected by loss and pain.
However, despite its slowness, the picture kept me involved from beginning to end, and the long runtime with its constant moving backwards did not affect my attention. The elaboration of grief is a long and slow process, and this picture reflects this process as it is in real life: unfortunately, our attention span as viewers, readers and often as human beings is often too short, but pictures like this one can remind us that attention and elaboration require time and slowness.
Well deserved Oscar for Casey Affleck, who managed to exploit every single step of grief with a heartfelt and authentic interpretation, and reached a deep chemistry with the boy playing his nephew. Michelle Williams also offered a strong performance although in a minor role. The screenplay was effective, since it was able to combine the seriousness of the topic with some slightly humorous tone, but never forgetting the highly and successfully committed aim of the narration.
However, despite its slowness, the picture kept me involved from beginning to end, and the long runtime with its constant moving backwards did not affect my attention. The elaboration of grief is a long and slow process, and this picture reflects this process as it is in real life: unfortunately, our attention span as viewers, readers and often as human beings is often too short, but pictures like this one can remind us that attention and elaboration require time and slowness.
Well deserved Oscar for Casey Affleck, who managed to exploit every single step of grief with a heartfelt and authentic interpretation, and reached a deep chemistry with the boy playing his nephew. Michelle Williams also offered a strong performance although in a minor role. The screenplay was effective, since it was able to combine the seriousness of the topic with some slightly humorous tone, but never forgetting the highly and successfully committed aim of the narration.