Manchester by the Sea

With his long-awaited third feature writer-director Kenneth Lonergan (You Can Count On Me, Margaret) asks cinemagoers to forego frothy, feel-good escapism and instead settle in for two-plus hours of life-shattering loss, grief and guilt. That's a pretty tough sell in a world where each and every day seems to bring fresh horror, but no mistake about it those who take the plunge will be damn glad they did. Entire stretches of Manchester by the Sea are nigh-on perfect

Lonergan has a masterful way of drawing out scenes just that little bit longer than you're expecting, almost to the point where you're watching something you feel you shouldn't. The performances are so natural and so real that certain moments seem too private, the camera lingering, motionless and still, as Casey Affleck's Lee Chandler reveals tell-tale signs of the pain and vulnerability barely contained beneath the surface.

At first his reclusive, closed-off handyman appears to have withdrawn from the world by choice, but that couldn't be further from the truth. The death of older brother Joe (Kyle Chandler) takes him back to the sparse, coastal town where he once shared a happy life with ex-wife Randi (Michelle Williams, stunningly good) and old wounds begin to re-open. Now he's the Lee Chandler, and as details of his heartbreaking past come to light you understand why he is the way he is.

Affleck deserves every ounce of praise that's coming his way. He nails the haunted, hollow-eyed look of a man struggling with emotional trauma so profound and devastating that he's been forced to completely shut down. Summoning the strength to re-enter the land of the living and look after teenage nephew Patrick (Lucas Hedges) stretches him to breaking point, and when at last he lets his guard down a grown man suddenly becomes a lost little boy.

As painfully sad as all this sounds not once does the film feel forced or overdone. Yes there's tragedy, but it always sits believably alongside the everyday. There are practicalities and routine frustrations that need to be dealt with, arrangements that need to be made. There are also moments of genuine humour and warmth, because that's how real life works.