We Need To Talk About MANCHESTER BY THE SEA

This is the best movie since Lonergan's previous masterpiece, Margaret

That was my fear EXACTLY, with this film. But it most certainly lives up to everything being said about it. It's a pretty brutal 135 minutes, though. Sometimes it feels like someone is just repeatedly punching you in the gut.

No spoiler. It's a story about our obsession with a lie, or at least an unworkable intellectual construct: "closure." We live in a culture that believes irresolution is impossible, that closing, finishing, moving on is the highest achievement. This film dares to say: not so fast. And even: without closure there is still life. And even hope.

It's just a heartbreaker, and yet so filled with quotidian survival skills it inspires. Unmissable. But stay away from reviews and too much analysis. The NY Times went full bore election on it, race and gender specific commentary, dragging in white male economic anxiety, which is not remotely what this film is about.

Lonergan continues to do on film what he has done for stage. Humanism is the ultimate reality show and Lonergan captures it perfectly each and every time. Truly underrated talent that doesn't write the typical fairy tale but shows the bruises and continues to press those bruises. In a time of total BS, he and his work continues to resonate my mind and my soul. I am hoping that his indie movies continue to produce the quality that Hollywood so lacks.

This one shattered my heart.

If it's any consolation, Jane, none of my tears were jerked by this generally quite fine movie. I found it admirable, realistic, carefully observed and nuanced, even fascinating at times, but not particularly emotional for me. It felt to me like that dryer, arms-length tone was actually the specific choice Kenneth Lonergan was making every step of the way here, and especially in getting us to the final reel. If you're not a fan of tearjerkers, I'd say you'd still be fine seeing this one.

Now ARRIVAL was one recent movie that easily earned my tears-- and boy was I grateful for that experience!

Someone in a tree, that's good to hear, because literally everyone I know cried through the whole thing.

Considering what happened with Nate Parker and Birth Of A Nation I"m surprised this isn't being talked about.

Or not so surprised I guess.

Why the Casey Affleck Sexual-Harassment Allegations Just Won’t Stick

http://nymag.com/thecut/2016/11/why-the-casey-affleck-sex-harassment-allegations-wont-stick.html

Loved it, but when the end credits started out here in the sticks, several people audible cried out "that's it?!" and "you've got to be kidding me...", so I guess some people were really holding out for the Hollywood ending that was never remotely promised as being on the horizon.

I'll cop to finding the ending rather, shall we say, abrupt, which I'm sure was the point, and which didn't detract from my enjoyment of what had gone before. A splendid film by any measure, dealing with sensitive subject matter without ever once crossing the line into tear-jerking self-satisfied emo-wanking Spielbergian grossness.