Manchester by the Sea (2016) is a sad, depressing story that won two Oscars.

I don’t know what it is, but film critics sure love their Massachusetts misery. The Fighter. Gone Baby Gone. Mystic River. Every few years, Hollywood returns to the Bay State for another dose of working-class tragedy.

Is it Catholic guilt? The Red Sox? Weather that makes you wonder what sins you’re paying for? Or maybe those witches in Salem really did hex the whole state with eternal gloom.

At least the poor schlub in this one has a good excuse to sad sack. Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck) is a janitor. Lives in one room. Karens always giving him lip about toilets.

Then his brother dies—so he’s dragged back to Manchester-by-the-Sea, a town he clearly despises. And yes, the real town name actually has hyphens, though the movie drops them.

Lee is, on the surface, an affable guy. But he’s the kind who does catastrophically stupid things when he drinks. Not just stupid—life-ruining. Casey Affleck plays him like a man walking around hollowed out. Matt Damon was supposed to play this role before he bailed, and honestly? Thank God, Affleck really was the one for the job.

When Lee returns, surprises pile up. Chief among them: he’s suddenly guardian of his hot-headed nephew Patrick (Lucas Hedges). Which means grief, awkward dinners, teenage girlfriends stashed in basements, and more surprises on top of that. Hedges, only 20, wound up one of the youngest ever nominated for Supporting Actor.

The movie likes to hit you with flashbacks—no warning, no fade. One minute you’re in the present, the next you’re back in the past. And yes, I found it confusing. Memory may not announce itself politely, but a movie isn’t real life—it’s storytelling. And sometimes you need a signpost instead of a blindside.

At least Lonergan’s script never betrays Lee’s character. He doesn’t arrive—or leave—with some neat bow. He’s complicated. He’s wrecked. He stays wrecked. That’s the honesty at the heart of the movie.

This movie has atmosphere. The town looks gorgeous on film—icy harbors, bleak cemeteries, bars full of gossip. Sad? Sure. But also oddly inviting. The people come across as likable and working class, even when they’re drowning in loss.

Lesley Barber’s score only adds to that atmosphere, though it got disqualified from Oscar contention because the Academy said it leaned too much on existing classical pieces. Bureaucracy at its pettiest.

In the end, Amazon paid $10M at Sundance for this movie—making it the first streaming-backed film to snag a Best Picture nomination. It grossed nearly $80M worldwide on a $9M budget, walked away with Oscars for Affleck (Best Actor) and Lonergan (Best Original Screenplay), and put Manchester-by-the-Sea on the cinematic misery map forever.

Recommended. Sad as hell. But also funny in that bleak New England way. Proof that even janitors drowning in grief can carry an entire movie.

Where to watch:

Prime Video: https://www.primevideo.com/detail/0GYZPYZ3EYBCDZ1MPZCO18NCW7/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r

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