Manchester by the Sea

A grieving and detached maintenance man (Casey Affleck), living in near isolation in a Boston area one-room apartment of the complex he tends, returns to the fishing community of his youth when he is notified of his brother's (Kyle Chandler) passing. As old devastating wounds are torn open, he learns he has been appointed custodianship of his teenaged nephew (Lucas Hedges), a responsibility that would likely force him to return home for good and confront his past. Kenneth Lonergan's Manchester by the Sea is a complex, intricately woven drama, taking on tones both operatic and tragic, while presenting on the surface a humanistic, often humorous, keen-eyed seemingly simplistic small town story. Affleck has never been better, always in tune to his sympathetic, emotionally stunted character and Michelle Williams, playing his ex-wife, shows what an exceptional talent she is, most memorably in a trumpted, cathartic scene played by the duo towards the end of the picture. Chandler also brings his usual stoic resolve to the picture, to great effect. 

**** out of ****

Margaret

4/8/12 A cheeky and intelligent teenager (Anna Paquin), living in a high rise flat with her stage actress mother (J. Smith-Cameron) and attending an esteemed private school with Manhattan's elite, feels guilty for the death of a woman (Allison Janney) hit by a bus she was flagging down. Having had a spiritual connections with the stranger in her dying moments and in trying to fit the tragedy in with her ideal world view, the teen reverses her initial story told to the police and attempts to hold the bus driver (Mark Ruffalo) pays for his transgression, a crusade that she doesn't care who it affects. "Margaret", based on a poem entitled "Spring and Fall" by Gerlad Manley Hopkins, is ambitious, literate, and incredibly well realized filmmaking from playwright Kenneth Lonergan who wonderfully captures New York City shortly after 9/11 and captures and explores many of the attitudes in that time frame. In addition to the main storyline featuring a nicely tweaked performance from Paquin, Lonergan juggles a different and sweet storyline featuring J. Smith-Cameron as Paquin's mom who embarks on a romance with an exceedingly charming Jean Reno. Matt Damon, Ruffalo, Matthew Broderick, and Lonergan himself also have excellent and often humorous supporting roles. "Margaret" strives to achieve a series of lofty goals, and carries them off with style, wit, and gusto.

11/25/12 I watched the extended version (which totals over three hours) of this excellent and troubled film (it spent over six years in post-production) and found it just as fine, if not superior to the theatrical version. It contains many new humorous and well approached scenes, in addition to more protracted shots of the city coupled with operatic overtones and muted eavesdropping on its anonymous inhabitants, all of which abets the the films. Once more, I appreciated the work of Paquin, Smith-Cameron, and the many fine supporting players.

You Can Count on Me

Sammy and Terry lost their parents in a car accident when they were young and have since shared an emotional bond although their lives have taken divergent paths. Sammy is a single mother raising a young boy, but she has a stable job at a local bank in their small upstate New York town. Terry has drifted since he left, occasionally returning for money, and he has recently reentered Sammy's life to obtain money for his pregnant girlfriend. As Terry's arrival, along with relationship problems with her on again off again boyfriend and a new perfectionist boss have thrown Sammy's life into upheaval. Now she must weigh her relationship with her brother, and decide whether he is a healthy influence on her son. You Can Count on Me is the directorial debut from screenwriter Kenneth Lonergan and it is a well observed family drama that effectively blends comedy and drama. Laura Linney, in an Oscar nominated performance, shows what a gifted and underappreciated actress she is as she wonderfully portrays a reliable woman who somehow can't avoid destructive relationships. Mark Ruffalo is fine as well as Terry, a good guy at heart who always seems to shirk responsibilities and can't seem to stay out of trouble. I also really liked Matthew Broderick's character as Linney's boss, who is rigid and unbending on every issue at the office and develops an unexpected relationship with Linney, who at first seems to not be able to stand in. You Can Count on Me is a nicely realized family drama that feels authentic as we think we are witnessing a true to life dysfunctional family on the screen.