Manchester by the Sea

You can’t judge a book by its cover or a movie by its poster. When Mike suggested Manchester by the Sea (2016) for the pod, Dan hooted and derided his co-host as a lover of Hallmark Holiday Classics. But after he watched Kenneth Lonergan’s brutal and sobering examination of unquenchable grief, he admitted his mistake. Join us for a conversation about a film that was mismarketed as a Man Who Learns Life Lessons matinee but which offers some of the best and most restrained performances either has seen in a long time. IMDB describes it with, “A depressed uncle is asked to take care of his teenage nephew after the boy’s father dies,” but that’s like describing Citizen Kane with, “A wealthy media tycoon finds that money can’t buy happiness.” Kenneth Lonergan’s screenplay for Manchester by the Sea can be found here; it includes an essay by Lonergan about the film. Follow us on X and Letterboxd–and let us know what you’d like us to watch! Incredible bumper music by John Deley. Also check out Dan’s new Substack site, Pages and Frames, for more film-related material.