"Manchester By The Sea": A Slow Burn Oscar Winner Quiz

Answer: Coastal Massachusetts

When the movie opens we learn the central character, Lee is a sullen, smoldering character who works as a janitor near Boston. His brother Joe and his family live a distance away in coastal Massachusetts. The opening scenes of the movie show Lee driving out of of Boston on the interstate heading north, arriving at Beverley Hospital sometime later.

The movie was shot on location. Until 1989, the town was simply known as Manchester. Local residents petitioned local council to add the suffix, ostensibly to differentiate it from the 'other' New England Manchester, the largest city in nearby New Hampshire.

Answer: Matt Damon

Because he was filming 'The Martian' (2015) at the time, Matt Damon could not take on the role so he gave it to the brother of his childhood friend Ben Affleck.

The genesis for this movie is that Mr Damon, in 2011, pitched the concept of a man returning to small town New England to Kenneth Lonergan, a screenwriter and director. (Mr Lonergan was the director of "Margaret" (2011) in which Mr Damon starred). However the initial idea came from John Krasinski who is married to Emily Blunt. Mr Damon was filming 'The Adjustment Bureau' with Ms Blunt in 2011. Mr Krasinski told Mr Damon his plot outline over a meal in the Blunt/Krasinski Manhattan apartment.
This was meant to be Mr Damon's directorial debut. He became one of its producers instead.

Answer: False

The story is told in flashbacks. Near the start, Lee (Casey Affleck) returns to Manchester By The Sea as his brother Joe has died after a long illness. We (the audience) think at this point, that Lee is suffering from grief because of his brother's illness / death. We find out later this is not the case. In the movie, at the reading of the will Lee is named guardian, of his 16 year old nephew, Patrick.

Answer: Both actor and character have a surname of Chandler.

Kyle Chandler was mainly a TV actor up until 2011. When "Friday Night Lights" ended in 2011, Chandler turned to the big screen. He appeared in a supporting role in such blockbusters as "Zero Dark Thirty" in 2012 and "The Wolf of Wall Street" in 2013. In 2105 he went back to his roots in television taking on the role of John Rayburn in the Netflix series, "Bloodline".

Answer: When Patrick opens the freezer and has a panic attack

The chief (apparent) conflict is that Lee, as the newly appointed guardian of Patrick is expected to move back to Manchester. Lee does not want to and the two constantly argue. This is despite the opening scene, where we see the two share a wonderful fishing trip when Patrick was much younger.

Patrick, can't leave Manchester By the Sea ("I got two girlfriends and I'm in a band") plus he plays hockey. Patrick expects his uncle to move back because he is only a janitor in Quincy. Joe cannot be buried until spring when the ground thaws out. He has to stay frozen in the morgue until then. When Patrick opens the freezer, he has a panic attack. Lee sympathises with him and calms him down. (Incidentally when the freezer is opened you can see lots of meat substitute products, yet no-one in the household is vegetarian. Mr Affleck is a vegan. Is this some product placement on Mr Affleck's behalf?)

Lucas Hedges was 19 when he played this role. He only had small parts before, except for a starring role in the TV series "The Slap" (2015 American Version). This makes his Oscar-nominated performance quite an achievement.

Answer: She has had another man's baby at this time.

In this scene, Randi has a newborn baby when she comes across Lee in the street. She feels remorseful, very much so but the pregnancy is a reminder that for others, not Lee, life moves on. Through her tearful pleas for reconciliation, Lee just shakes his head, refusing "There is nothing there".

Michelle Williams is the American actress whose role as Randi in "Manchester by the Sea" earned her both a Golden Globe and an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Williams had previously enjoyed success with roles and award nominations in such stellar films as "Brokeback Mountain" in 2005 and "Blue Valentine" in 2010. She won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Drama and was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in the 2011 British film "My Week with Marilyn".

Answer: Lee's house burned down killing the three children.

As an audience, we were not prepared for what happens next. We witnessed the events in staccato fashion: Lee and his mates had a merry but drunken time in Lee and Randi's house; Lee dispatched his mates after Randi protested about their noise; Lee left the house; Lee returned with beer to find the house burning down; Lee tried to calm Randi who was hysterical - all three kids were still inside; they died.

We felt Lee's grief. We later found out when interviewed by the police that Lee had not tended the fire properly and was responsible for the children's deaths. There were few dry eyes in the cinema at this point of the movie.

Answer: Matthew Broderick

Patrick's mother could not cope with the impending doom of her husband's disease, She resorted to drink and left the family. Patrick re-connected with her after his father's death. She had found religion and a new partner (Broderick). The meeting did not go well and Mrs Chandler remained estranged.

After his hit with "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", Broderick went on to enjoy success with "Biloxi Blues", in 1988 where he played the role of Eugene Jerome. Another success was "Glory" in 1989, where he played opposite Denzel Washington. Combining his movie work with roles in the theatre, Broderick voiced the role of the adult Simba in "The Lion King" and won favourable reviews for his role in the 1999 comedy "Election" where he starred opposite Reese Witherspoon.

Answer: To distract Jill so Patrick could have sex with his girlfriend.

Patrick went inside to talk to the lady, but Lee was so shut down from his situation, small talk on his part was impossible. In a delicious twist, Mom went upstairs and interrupted the young couple to beg Patrick to get his uncle out of her house because of the conversation impossibility.

It was a measure of Lucas Hedges' acting ability, that despite poor treatment of his uncle and the moral ambiguity of having two girlfriends, we still felt sympathy for this character's plight.

Answer: False

Lee has made arrangements to move back to Quincy and for Charlie (Joe's fishing partner) to adopt Charlie until he finishes school and turns 18.

Right at the end of the movie he explains to Patrick why he cannot come back to Manchester By The Sea, "I can't beat it. I can't beat it. I'm sorry". It is only then that we realise the enormous burden this man has carried and the whole movie unfolds in those few words.

This truly was one of the most profound acting performances I have ever seen. In such a tour de force performance Casey Affleck was the favorite for the 2017 Best Actor and he indeed won same. Affleck's performance was remarkable. This seething wreck of a man could not get over the death of his children or the guilt for causing their death.
This movie had six Oscar nominations including Best Movie. I personally believe Michelle Williams and Lucas Hedges must have come close to converting their Best Supporting nominations into statuettes.