Manchester by the Sea

***Manchester by the Sea*** is a 2016 American drama film

## Synopsis

A depressed uncle is asked to take care of his teenage nephew after the boy's father dies.

## Plot

The story takes place in the present while injecting the narrative with a series of flashbacks that inform the viewer about significant events from the past and the characters' motivations. The protagonist is Lee Chandler, a janitor and handyman in Quincy, Massachusetts, who lives a solitary life in a basement apartment.

The movie opens to various scenes of him performing a variety of tasks for the tenants of the apartment complex where he works. Even so, his interaction with the tenants is minimal. After being reprimanded by his boss for swearing at an irritated tenant, he gets into a drunken bar fight with two businessmen because he believes they were "looking" at him.

While shoveling snow, Lee receives word that his brother Joe has suffered cardiac arrest. Joe dies before Lee can get to the hospital, and Lee insists on being the one to tell Joe's teenage son, Patrick, about Joe's death. While making funeral arrangements, they learn that Joe's body cannot be buried until spring when the ground thaws, and it needs to be kept refrigerated until then, so Lee remains in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusettsuntil the delayed burial. While reading Joe's will with Joe's lawyer, Lee is shocked to discover that Joe named him Patrick's guardian.

During the scene, the viewer is shown — through flashbacks — that Lee once lived in Manchester with his then-wife Randi and their three small children, until his negligence while intoxicated led to a house fire that killed the children. No criminal charges were filed against him; however, after being questioned at the police station, Lee pulled a gun from a police officer's holster and attempted suicide. In light of these events, Lee remains reluctant to commit to the guardianship and unwilling to move back to Manchester, where the locals treat him as an outcast.

Even so, he is opposed to Patrick's reconnecting with his mother, Elise (who through flash-backs is revealed to have substance abuse problems and to have abandoned the family), and so Lee begins planning for Patrick to move to Boston with him. Patrick, who is deeply rooted in the Manchester community, strongly objects to the idea. Lee only commits to staying through the end of the school year.

Over time, Patrick and Lee reestablish their bonds, although conflict continues to arise between them when it comes to making decisions about Joe's boat, Patrick's girlfriends, and their future living arrangements. Over Lee's objections, Patrick notifies Elise of Joe's death by email, and she invites him to have lunch with her. She has found Christianity and sobriety with her fiancé, Jeffrey, but during an awkward meal with them, Patrick finds himself unable to connect with her. Patrick is further unsettled when Jeffrey emails him, insisting on being an intermediary in any future communication between Patrick and his mother. Additionally, Lee's positive comments about Elise's sobriety lead Patrick to believe that his uncle is trying to get rid of him, straining their relationship even more. As a result, Lee takes some steps to possibly extend his stay in Manchester, and he begins to seek ways to spend more time with Patrick.

One day, however, Lee runs into Randi, her newborn Dylan, and her friend Rachel. After Rachel leaves to get the car, a sobbing Randi expresses great remorse for her treatment of Lee during the divorce and asks him to have lunch with her. Despite being remarried, she confesses that she still loves him. He thanks her for her comments, but explains that "there's nothing there." When she insists that they reconnect and pleads with him not to "just die," he leaves before he can become emotional. Distraught, a drunk Lee picks a fight with strangers at a bar and gets knocked out, only to be rescued by George, a family friend. Lee awakens in George's home and breaks down in tears. At home, Patrick shows his uncle deference after observing Lee's battered state, as well as the pictures of his deceased children that he keeps in the bedroom.

Soon after, Lee arranges for George and his wife to adopt Patrick so the teen can stay in Manchester while Lee gets a new job in Boston. When Patrick asks Lee why staying is not an option, Lee admits that he "can't beat it." At this, Patrick cries and Lee comforts him. During a walk after Joe's burial service, Lee tells Patrick that he is searching for a residence in Boston with an extra room so that Patrick can visit whenever he wants. In the final scene, Lee and Patrick go fishing on Joe's refurbished boat that Patrick has inherited.