Once I’d figured out that I was supposed to focus on Casey Affleck’s character as the central figure (he’s such a non-actor), it was all plain sailing, and a pleasant journey through my favourite kind of film: a family drama. This is certainly not a great film – even the cinematography is ordinary, despite the location, and the editing is worse, and nobody really bothers to act much, and nothing happens … but it was still an enjoyable couple of hours.
Now that Affleck has won Best Actor, I suppose I need to justify my assertion above. I guess for a family drama you have to be a bit more 'real' than in, say, a thriller, where it's expected that you'll be more histrionic. So the actor has to bring more of themself to the part and be seen to inhabit it - and I guess the Academy thought that Affleck did that well.
Manchester by the Sea (Kenneth Lonergan, 2016)
reviews | Garry Gillard | New: 27 February, 2017 | Now: 28 February, 2017