Manchester by the Sea (2016)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The review highlights Casey Affleck's clenched and riveting performance in a film about unmentionable loss, noting strong support from Lucas Hedges.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.