Manchester by the Sea is a wash for me

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It seems to occur fairly regularly that if I finally get around to seeing a popular film, my opinion of it is wildly different from the majority of theater-goers and movie buffs. For instance, I hated Steel Magnolias. I could tell you why, but that's another post. So, I watched the film "Manchester by the Sea", a film that is being hailed as a "masterpiece". When we got to the end, I sort of went "huh" and felt incomplete. Okay, it's a story of real life and real suffering and so there may not be some happy ending or neat Hollywood wrap-up of problems. That's okay. Most Russian novels end like that. It's a fact of life. Misery continues. I think the film is a lot like the town, it is pretentious. The town was originally just called "Manchester" but they changed the name to "Manchester by the Sea" to avoid being mistaken for Manchester, New Hampshire, which is a more industrial city. Manchester by the Sea is a rather exclusive community, the exclusivity being created by the housing prices. Anywhere near the sea (the ocean, really) is going to be prime real estate. So yeah, mostly rich people live here. Homes selling for well over a million dollars each, apartments as high as $3000 - $5000 a month. I have no clue how Casey Affleck even got into town, let alone was allowed to live there. So, it was rather jarring to hear everyone speaking in this very affected Boston accent. They just don't on the North Shore, at least not this far from Boston and not in such an upper-crusty neighborhood. It just seems to be the only accent anyone thinks of when they think of Massachusetts, or when they think of Casey Affleck perhaps. The scenery was lovely, and of course, I know it all by heart. I could smell the ocean and drive the highways right along with the characters. But that's all that really drew me. Affleck has a slow and repetitive delivery of lines that makes me wonder if he is completely awake. His life is miserable, mainly due to being a heavy drinker. But this is never really acknowledged by anyone. I don't expect the alcoholic to recognize his problem is the beer, but surely someone he knows would mention it to him. His former life - which seemed fairly happy even though he moved through it like he was walking through cold molasses - was destroyed by one mistake. Now he suffers and seems to want to make himself suffer for that mistake. His penance is denial of happiness. Then things get worse when his brother dies and he has to decide if he can be guardian to his nephew. A chance for redemption that unlike Raskolnikov, he doesn't take. I really felt that this is a strong story told weakly and with too much emphasis on exaggerated accents than actual acting. Go watch it if you want to. Pay attention to the color of the North Atlantic, it is like no other ocean. I love it immensely. Enjoy the snow and the sorry state of Route 128 as he drives to the hospital. Enjoy being out on the ocean with them. Enjoy listening to them say "shahk" (shark) a dozen times. But it's a long 2 1/2 hours, so make sure you have a snack. Everyone else you know will have seen it, so you'd better see it. Otherwise, you will seem woefully out of touch.