Kenneth Lonergan’s “Manchester by the Sea” opened to rave reviews at Sundance this week. The film follows Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck), a brooding, irritable loner who works as a handyman in Boston. After his brother (Kyle Chandler) suddenly passes away, he is called back to his hometown north of the city, where he’s given custody of his 16-year-old nephew (Lucas Hedges). In the midst of dealing with death and raising a teenager, Chandler is also forced to deal with a tragic past that separated him from his wife (Michelle Williams) and the community where he was raised.
Affleck is being hailed for his performance as a broken young man who must transition from barely holding it together to re-emerging from isolation and trying to connect with his nephew. Writer and director Lonergan (“Analyze This,” “Gangs of New York” screenwriter) has been praised for his use of subtle, small moments between the characters as they struggle to meet loss with integrity.
Matt Damon serves as a producer on the film. He told SpoilerTV he was first offered the role of Lee Chandler but had to pass it up because of timing issues.
Amazon bought the film during Sundance for around $10 million, outbidding traditional studio distributors like Sony Pictures Classics, Fox Searchlight and Lionsgate. The streaming service still intends to bring on a theatrical distributor.
Tonya Papanikolas got a chance to talk to Matt Damon, Casey Affleck, Kenneth Lonergan and Lucas Hedges about the film. Check out our interviews below:
