By Travis Johnson
Casey Affleck’s underachieving janitor is forced to take custody of his nephew, Patrick (Lucas Hedges) after the teen’s father (Kyle Chandler) dies unexpectedly. Writer and director Kenneth Lonergan tends to cast a wide net, to use an appropriate fishing metaphor. His last film, Margaret, was a masterful study of grief and immaturity that takes multiple viewings to completely unpack; this looks to be working a similar vein, dissecting huge, universal themes in a workaday, recognisable milieu. Early word is that Casey Affleck is remarkable here, but the entire ensemble (which includes Gretchen Mol, Matthew Broderick, Tate Donovan and Michelle Williams) has drawn acclaim.
Manchester by the Sea is due in early 2017.
