7.9 | / 10 |
Users | 3.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 3.3 |
An uncle is forced to take care of his teenage nephew after the boy's father dies.
Starring: Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler, Lucas Hedges, C.J. WilsonDrama | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
UV digital copy
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Many of you have no doubt seen a meme on various social media outlets which states something along the lines of be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about, an aphorism which has been variously attributed (in various forms) to everyone from Plato to Philo of Alexandria to Ian Maclaren to Wendy Mass. The fact that most people, indeed perhaps everyone, is dealing with “personal issues” that they often don’t readily share with others is probably a given, but Kenneth Lonergan’s Manchester by the Sea takes that basic idea and dangles it in front of the audience for a while before ultimately revealing a seemingly distant but still viscerally felt tragedy that has colored several people’s lives, none more so than Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck), a reserved and seemingly depressive handyman working in the outskirts of Boston. Lonergan is no stranger to subtext, as his two previous films as writer-director, You Can Count on Me and Margaret, have proven. (Lonergan’s credits as writer are a rather odd assortment, including everything from Analyze This / Analyze That to The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle to Gangs of New York, films so disparate that they prove Lonergan’s versatility if nothing else.) Subtext fairly drips from the first hour or so of Manchester by the Sea, a film which in a way seems to reverse some of the plot mechanics of You Can Count on Me by having Lee return to his hometown of Manchester by the Sea after the death of his older brother Joe (Kyle Chandler). That tragedy would seem to be enough to inform the film’s narrative, for once Lee returns home, he’s almost immediately saddled with the realization that he has been named the guardian of Joe’s rakish son Patrick (Lucas Hedges). But there’s obviously something else coloring these characters’ lives, and that gives the narrative momentum of Manchester by the Sea a kind of ominously foreboding ambience, perhaps only exacerbated by the fact that no one seems to be willing to talk about what’s “really” going on.
Manchester by the Sea is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Digitally shot with Arri Alexa cameras, the film doesn't offer a lot of opportunity for outright visual "pop", especially since so much of the contemporary time frame takes place in wintery climes, but a lot of the outdoor photography, whether snowbound or sunnier flashback sequences, offers sharp and well detailed accountings of the often incredibly scenic environment. A lot of the current time frame is on the cool side, color temperature wise, with an emphasis on blues, whites and grays, something that can make occasional bursts of color as in bright winter sweaters look vivid, if only by comparison. Fine detail is excellent in proper lighting and especially in close-ups. As tends to be the case with some digitally shot features, there are occasional deficits in shadow definition in some dimly lit interior scenes, notably several scenes inside the family home, either in the current time frame or in flashbacks, some of which are kind of drenched in a honey amber hue. While there aren't any major compression artifacts, there was a kind of odd horizontal shadow of some sort that shows up intermittently in an early scene where Lee is being chastised by his supervisor for talking back to a tenant. I watched it a couple of times to see if it was a lighting issue, but wasn't able to authoritatively determine what caused it. A couple of the outdoor scenes were slightly softer looking than the bulk of the presentation.
There's a lot of music in Manchester by the Sea, and those ubiquitous source cues offer good opportunities for the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 to open up and spread sonic information around the surround channels. A recurring use of the family boat for various sequences also offers some good placement of water sounds and other ambient environmental effects. But by and large this is a quiet film that builds intensity out of more intimate dialogue moments, scenes where surround activity may be limited to occasional environmental sounds but which otherwise doesn't offer a lot of "wow" factor. Fidelity is fine and there are no problems with distortion, dropouts or other damage.
Manchester by the Sea is an emotionally wrenching experience, and it's hard to make it through the film without experiencing a lump or two in the throat. Buoyed by some impressive performances and a beautifully rendered sense of place and character, this may not be an "easy" film to watch, but it's extremely worthwhile. I personally had a few issues with so much different source music being shoehorned into the proceedings (some of the cues, as in the scene where Lee has to view his brother's corpse, just seemed needlessly overwrought), but otherwise this is a remarkable effort that deserves the many accolades it's been receiving. Technical merits are strong, and Manchester by the Sea comes Highly recommended.
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