---
title: "Manchester by the Sea"
year: 2016
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/manchester-by-the-sea"
fi1m_id: "manchester-by-the-sea"
imdb_id: "tt4034228"
tmdb_id: 334541
wikidata_id: "Q19864603"
fi1m_score: 89
critics_score: 92
critics_reviews: 19
published: "2026-09-16"
updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:37.556758+00:00"
region: "JP"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Manchester by the Sea (2016)

Directed by Kenneth Lonergan · 2h 18m · Eirin R18+ · Drama

## Identity

Manchester by the Sea

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/manchester-by-the-sea
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** manchester-by-the-sea
- **IMDb ID:** tt4034228
- **TMDB ID:** 334541
- **Wikidata ID:** Q19864603
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4034228/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/334541, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19864603

**Fi1m score: 89** · Critics 92 from 19 reviews

*In a sentence:* An uncle who can barely manage a conversation, let alone a teenager

> Kenneth Lonergan makes grief painful, awkward and unexpectedly funny, with Casey Affleck and Lucas Hedges exact in their uneasy companionship. The second half needs a little trimming, but the film earns the attention it asks for.

## Synopsis

Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck) is a withdrawn janitor in New England, living with grief he does not know how to discuss. Family responsibilities draw him into the daily life of his teenage nephew, Patrick Chandler (Lucas Hedges), whose needs make it difficult for Lee to keep other people at a distance. Randi Chandler (Michelle Williams) also figures in the family history that Lee struggles to face. Fragments of the past interrupt the present as uncle and nephew try to negotiate what each needs. Lee wants to retreat; the demands of looking after someone else will not let him.

## Review

Kenneth Lonergan’s *Manchester by the Sea* is a moving, unusually funny drama about a man who cannot make himself ready for what his family needs. Its 138 minutes demand patience, particularly in the second half, but the people are worth staying with. The writing gives them room to be impatient, disagreeable and bad at offering comfort. Grief keeps interrupting ordinary conversation, and nobody reliably knows what to say next.

Casey Affleck plays Lee Chandler with a restraint that never becomes merely blank. The reluctance to speak makes an exchange feel like hard work, and we register the effort other people must expend to reach him. His surliness is allowed to be unpleasant. The performance moved us because he makes it possible to recognise the pain without making Lee any easier to approach.

Lucas Hedges gives Patrick Chandler, Lee’s teenage nephew, enough impatience to stop the relationship becoming a solemn exercise in caring for the wounded. He has demands of his own, and the film lets those demands matter. We laughed at their testy exchanges, and were grateful for the interruption. The humour comes from the difficulty of getting through a conversation when neither person can supply what the other needs. Kenneth Lonergan’s dialogue lets the irritation remain even when we understand why both of them feel it.

Michelle Williams has less room as Randi Chandler, and that is a small frustration. Her emotional directness makes a sharp contrast with Lee’s withdrawal, giving the film a welcome change in how pain can be expressed. We wanted more time with her; the performance suggests a life beyond the scenes she is given. Even in a limited role, she makes it difficult to think only about Lee.

Jody Lee Lipes’s cinematography gives the New England setting a persuasive everyday presence. The place feels able to carry on regardless of the people we are watching, which keeps the film from becoming claustrophobic. Ruth De Jong’s production design gives ordinary objects weight in these lives without making them conspicuous. There is something reassuringly practical about the physical world around Lee, even when the people in it can do little to help.

Jennifer Lame’s editing moves through fragments of the past, letting our understanding of Lee change without handing us a neat explanation at the outset. That broken sequence of information makes the film absorbing, although the second half could lose a few stretches without hurting it. At times we have understood a difficulty well before the film is ready to leave it. Lesley Barber’s music adds to the sorrow, but the voices already carry a considerable amount of it. We are most attentive when someone struggles to finish a thought.

As a drama about family responsibility, it takes the familiar promise that caring for someone might help and subjects it to serious doubt. Kenneth Lonergan is interested in the limits of what people can do for one another, and he allows affection to coexist with exasperation. That makes the tenderness here feel earned. Choose it when there is time to listen to difficult people; save it for another evening if tonight needs to be easy.

*Fi1m score 89, published 16 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

The consensus is strongly positive, with praise centred on Casey Affleck’s restrained performance and Lonergan’s refusal to offer easy recovery from grief. Most critics find the emotional force in ordinary conversations, awkward encounters and characters who cannot say what they mean. The writing’s unexpected humour is a recurring pleasure, particularly in the uncle-nephew relationship, giving the sadness room to breathe. Supporting performances also draw praise, with Lucas Hedges’s natural presence and Michelle Williams’s emotional directness frequently noted.

The differences concern pacing and emphasis rather than the film’s central achievements, and the spread remains firmly positive. The Hollywood Reporter finds the second half overextended, while The Wrap also notes that the depiction of life after tragedy can become lengthy. NME admires the refusal of easy catharsis but considers Williams underused. The Evening Standard questions the premise as contrived, yet finds the detail, jokes and performances persuasive enough to overcome that reservation.

## Straight answers

**Is Manchester by the Sea worth watching?**

*Manchester by the Sea* is worth watching for anyone with the patience for a slow, unusually funny drama about grief, and we scored it 89. Casey Affleck and Lucas Hedges are exact as an uncle and nephew who cannot give each other what they need, though the second half runs a little long. Save it for an evening when you can bear difficult people.

**How long is Manchester by the Sea, and what is it rated?**

*Manchester by the Sea* runs 2h 18m and is rated R18+ by the Eirin in Japan. It is a drama film.

**Where can I watch Manchester by the Sea in Japan?**

*Manchester by the Sea* is streaming on Amazon Prime Video in Japan, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV from ¥400. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is Manchester by the Sea, and is it suitable for children?**

*Manchester by the Sea* is a UK 15 drama about grief, and it is not suitable for children. There is no horror and the review notes nothing violent, but the subject is painful, the conversations are raw and the runtime is 138 minutes. Older teenagers who can sit with sorrow and awkward silence should be fine; anyone wanting comfort should look elsewhere.

**How does Manchester by the Sea compare to Ordinary People?**

*Manchester by the Sea* and [*Ordinary People*](https://film.one/film/ordinary-people) are both dramas about family grief, but Kenneth Lonergan's film leaves far more unsaid, where Robert Redford's screenplay explains more than it needs to. Lonergan's is the funnier and the more demanding; Redford's is the more direct, with Mary Tyler Moore as its reason to watch. Choose the earlier film if you prefer emotion spoken aloud.

**What should I watch after Manchester by the Sea?**

After *Manchester by the Sea*, try [*Ordinary People*](https://film.one/film/ordinary-people) (1980, Fi1m 81): For more family grief, especially the hurt concealed by apparently reasonable behaviour. Then [*The Quiet Girl*](https://film.one/film/the-quiet-girl) (2022, Fi1m 84): For the patient attention to small acts of care and unspoken hurt; and [*A Separation*](https://film.one/film/a-separation) (2011, Fi1m 93): Family obligations become difficult choices, with nobody granted a comfortably simple motive.

### Reviews we read (29)

- **Little White Lies**, Sophie Monks Kaufman (4/5/4): It is among the best films of the year, too funny and too tragic, bound by humane writing and powerful performances. The critic singles out Casey Affleck's career-best restrained portrayal of a man trapped in grief, alongside sharp dialogue and everyday moments that explode into emotion. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/manchester-by-the-sea/)
- **Radio Times**, Damon Wise (5/5): A masterful Sundance hit with electrifying, Oscar-winning form from Casey Affleck as a surly janitor facing his past. It singles out the easy-going low-key humour amid thick tragedy, especially in scenes with the teenage nephew, making the emotional showdowns more electric. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-3wtlfq/manchester-by-the-sea/)
- **The i Paper**, Matthew Turner (★★★★★): An emotionally devastating study of grief and loss that is one of the best films in recent times and a front-runner for awards. It singles out Casey Affleck's astonishing, career-best performance for particular praise. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/manchester-by-the-sea-review-41049)
- **The Times** (★★★★★): The critic praises it as the most emotionally intelligent movie in a long time, with a complex taciturn performance from Casey Affleck that makes the heart ache. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/article/manchester-by-the-sea-2sg6kgxdg)
- **Time Out**, Joshua Rothkopf (5/5): A tremendously moving portrait of grief with rare poise and honesty. It singles out Casey Affleck's complex, brooding central performance as a man long past caring, in a dark and courageous film about coping with trauma that offers no easy rebound. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/manchester-by-the-sea)
- **Evening Standard**, Charlotte O'Sullivan (95/100, inferred): Despite a hokey premise, the film is a masterpiece with an eye for detail, an ear for jokes, and strong non-A-list performances. It singles out Michelle Williams' powerful, bone-cutting work in limited screen time for particular praise. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/hp/front/manchester-by-the-sea-film-review-all-this-misery-adds-up-to-a-masterpiece-a3440021.html)
- **The AV Club** (A): Lonergan's third feature marries emotional intimacy with complicated ambition, resulting in a tremendously powerful film that operates in a near-constant state of heightened emotion while sidestepping sentimental choices. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/kenneth-lonergan-shatters-sundance-and-hearts-with-a-1798243436)
- **Empire**, Phil de Semlyen (90/100, inferred): The film is a shattering yet graceful elegy of loss and grief, masterfully told and beautifully acted. It singles out Casey Affleck's revelatory, career-highlight performance for particular praise. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/manchester-sea-review/)
- **Screen Daily** (90/100, inferred): A meticulous, rich film with depth of story, time and place. It singles out Casey Affleck's magnificent, haunting career-best performance as a man living with unbearable grief, guided by Lonergan's rare storytelling and authentic characters. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/manchester-by-the-sea-sundance-review/5099239.article)
- **The Telegraph** (4/5): The review highlights Casey Affleck's clenched and riveting performance in a film about unmentionable loss, noting strong support from Lucas Hedges. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2017/01/05/manchester-sea-review-casey-afflecks-heartbreaking-loss-gain/)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Kenneth Turan (Critic’s Choice): The critic calls the film powerful and emotional, with searingly realistic performances that wallop the viewer with honesty and authenticity. Lonergan’s ear for intimate dialogue and blend of tragedy with humor is singled out for praise. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-manchester-sea-review-20161114-story.html)
- **Sight and Sound**, Nick Pinkerton: The film is a masterful, darkly American account of grief without false optimism. It singles out Casey Affleck's icy, haunting performance as the mournful loner at its center, alongside strong ensemble work and authentic regional detail. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/downbeat-film-week-manchester-sea-bracing-portrait-grief)
- **Slant Magazine**, Christopher Gray: Lonergan frustrates the therapeutic trajectory of the premise through avoidance tactics and slipstream flashbacks that illuminate family devastations. The film's heart rests in the testy uncle-nephew relationship, achieving a comprehensive emotional sweep with minimal exposition and insisting on the intractability of grief. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/manchester-by-the-sea/)
- **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw: The critic calls the film a minor-key masterpiece about the painful and irreparable wrongness of life, praising its superb acting and blend of weighty drama with comic scenes. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/jan/12/manchester-by-the-sea-review-casey-affleck-kenneth-lonergan)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Todd McCarthy: The film is a wrenching family tragedy dramatized with depth, rooted in its New England setting and led by Casey Affleck's impressive performance. The overextended second half could use trimming, but it remains a strong bet for release. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/manchester-by-sea-sundance-review-858707/)
- **The New Yorker**, Anthony Lane: The review highlights the raw emotional power of a key street conversation between characters. Lonergan is commended for refusing to smooth over irreparable wounds while finding a peace of compromise and exhaustion. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/11/28/manchester-by-the-sea-and-fantastic-beasts-and-where-to-find-them)
- **The New York Times**, A.O. Scott: The critic praises Casey Affleck's fiercely disciplined performance as a man numbed by unimaginable loss. Lonergan's film is singled out for its honest portrayal of ordinary grief intertwined with sudden horror. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/18/movies/manchester-by-the-sea-review-kenneth-lonergan-casey-affleck.html)
- **Variety**: The review lauds Casey Affleck’s bone-deep performance and the film’s richly textured drama about confronting past tragedy. Lonergan’s ear for conversation rhythms and sense of place are highlighted amid themes of grief and redemption. [Read](https://variety.com/2016/film/festivals/manchester-by-the-sea-review-sundance-casey-affleck-1201687256/)
- **Vulture**: The film is a devastating vision of grief interrupted by the awkward vitality of life, a family melodrama that immerses viewers in a world of pain revealed carefully through fragments and a flood, kept from becoming just another sad story by visual poetry and minor jolts of life. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/2016/01/sundance-review-manchester-by-the-sea.html)
- **/Film**, Angie Han (10/10): Casey Affleck gives a career-best performance as the devastating heart of this exquisitely wrought drama exploring grief. Lonergan presents a humane, truthful portrait of pain and the rituals surrounding loss, with hope hard to extinguish. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/542334/manchester-by-the-sea-review/)
- **The Skinny**, Jamie Dunn (5/5): A shattering yet surprisingly humorous study of death, guilt and family, elevated by revelatory performances, especially Casey Affleck’s. Lonergan’s fine-grained direction and jet-black humour prevent it from becoming a manipulative tearjerker, focusing instead on the enduring scars of heartbreak. [Read](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/manchester-by-the-sea)
- **Collider**, Adam Chitwood (A): The critic calls it a deeply felt, honest film and an absolute triumph. Casey Affleck's layered, career-best performance is singled out as the anchor. [Read](https://collider.com/manchester-by-the-sea-review/)
- **Consequence** (90/100, inferred): It is a masterpiece of pitch-perfect filmmaking and a hearty, rewarding drama that balances humor and darkness. Affleck's icy, career-best performance is praised for conveying the character's torment. [Read](https://consequence.net/2016/11/film-review-manchester-by-the-sea/)
- **Eye for Film**, Anne-Katrin Titze (90/100, inferred): Kenneth Lonergan's film is a masterful study of clumsiness in the face of grief, with stirring dialogue and great performances aided by an exceptionally real use of objects. Casey Affleck delivers a magnificent performance conveying the before-and-after of trauma. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/manchester-by-the-sea-2016-film-review-by-anne-katrin-titze)
- **Den of Geek**, Mark Harrison (4/5): The film is a raw and emotional character study of grief and responsibility, anchored by career-best work from Casey Affleck and a strong supporting turn from Lucas Hedges. Lonergan’s non-linear structure and surprising lightness of tone provide unexpected warmth amid the bleakness. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/manchester-by-the-sea-review-2/)
- **NME**, Nick Levine (80/100, inferred): Manchester by the Sea offers a powerful, gritty exploration of bereavement through Casey Affleck’s haunting lead performance as a man consumed by grief and guilt. The film avoids easy redemption or catharsis, delivering a searingly sad drama that lingers, though Michelle Williams’s role is underused. [Read](https://www.nme.com/reviews/manchester-by-the-sea-film-review-1936453)
- **The Ringer**, K. Austin Collins (80/100, inferred): Lonergan is a moral artist of great perception who makes no easy promises about resolution or change. The centerpiece broken-up flashback is singled out for its percussive editing and psychological insight. [Read](https://www.theringer.com/2016/11/17/movies/manchester-by-the-sea-kenneth-lonergan-review-aa47b8d88abc)
- **The Wrap**, Robert Abele (80/100, inferred): The critic praises the film's psychologically astute storytelling of one man's grief and Casey Affleck's superlative lead performance. They single out Affleck's emotionally shut-down portrayal and the authentic, if sometimes lengthy, depiction of post-tragedy life and relationships. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/manchester-by-the-sea-review-casey-affleck/)
- **Paste**, Tim Grierson (8.3): It is a commanding, absorbing work whose overall impact exceeds individual scenes, though Lonergan's approach is not always completely successful. Michelle Williams' piercing, emotionally rapturous performance is highlighted. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/manchester-by-the-sea/manchester-by-the-sea)

## Details

- **Director:** Kenneth Lonergan
- **Director:** Kenneth Lonergan
- **Writer:** Kenneth Lonergan
- **Cinematography:** Jody Lee Lipes
- **Editor:** Jennifer Lame
- **Music:** Lesley Barber
- **Production design:** Ruth De Jong
- **Costume design:** Melissa Toth
- **Producer:** Lauren Beck, Gigi Pritzker, Kimberly Steward
- **Cast:** Casey Affleck as Lee Chandler; Lucas Hedges as Patrick Chandler; Michelle Williams as Randi Chandler; Kyle Chandler as Joe Chandler; C.J. Wilson as George; Gretchen Mol as Elise Henderson; Matthew Broderick as Jeffrey Garner; Anna Baryshnikov as Sandy
- **Runtime:** 2h 18m
- **Certificate (Eirin):** R18+
- **Release (Japan):** 13 May 2017
- **Genres:** Drama
- **Also in:** [Best Picture winners](https://film.one/collections/oscar-best-picture.md) (Nominee, 2016); [BAFTA Best Film winners](https://film.one/collections/bafta-best-film.md) (Nominee, 2016); [Golden Globe Best Drama winners](https://film.one/collections/golden-globe-drama.md) (Nominee, 2016)
- **Budget:** $9 million
- **Box office:** $79 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxQmuJnrjxg

## Where to watch in Japan

- Amazon Prime Video: streaming, uhd
- Amazon Prime Video: rent ¥400, hd
- Apple TV: rent ¥440, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy ¥1, sd
- Apple TV: buy ¥1,100, sd

*Checked 2026-09-16.*

Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, EC, ES, FI, FR, GB, HR, HU, IE, IN, IT, JP, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PL, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, UA, US, VN. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- AACTA International Award for Best Actor 2017: AACTA International Award for Best Actor (won)
- AACTA International Award for Best Direction 2017: AACTA International Award for Best Direction (nominated)
- AACTA International Award for Best Film 2017: AACTA International Award for Best Film (nominated)
- AACTA International Award for Best Screenplay 2017: AACTA International Award for Best Screenplay (won)
- AACTA International Award for Best Supporting Actor 2017: AACTA International Award for Best Supporting Actor (nominated)
- AACTA International Award for Best Supporting Actress 2017: AACTA International Award for Best Supporting Actress (nominated)
- Academy Awards 2017: Best Director (nominated); Best Picture (nominated); Best Supporting Actor (nominated); Best Supporting Actress (nominated); Best Actor (won); Best Writing, Original Screenplay (won)
- Golden Globes 2017: Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama (nominated); Best Motion Picture – Drama (nominated)
- Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor 2016: Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor (won)

## If you liked this

- *You Can Count on Me* (2000): Another prickly family bond, with affection repeatedly making a mess of responsibility
- *Still Walking* (2008): A family gathering where food and polite conversation cannot settle old grievances
- *Ordinary People* (1980), Fi1m 81: For more family grief, especially the hurt concealed by apparently reasonable behaviour — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/ordinary-people.md)
- *The Quiet Girl* (2022), Fi1m 84: For the patient attention to small acts of care and unspoken hurt — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-quiet-girl.md)
- *A Separation* (2011), Fi1m 93: Family obligations become difficult choices, with nobody granted a comfortably simple motive — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/a-separation.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/manchester-by-the-sea