By Daniel Eagan
Translator: Qin Tian
Proofreading: Easy two three
Source: Film Comment (November 11, 2016)
Written and directed by Kenneth Lowagan, Manchester by the Sea tells the story of Lee Chandler (Cassie Affleck), a repairman who becomes the only guardian for his nephew Patrick (Ben O'Brien as Patrick as a child, and Lucas Hedges as young Patrick).
Manchester by the Sea
Set primarily in a seaside town in Massachusetts, Manchester by the Sea explores the discreet relationship between a man trying to piece together his broken life and a self-absorbed teenager. Lee is powerless to return to a home he does not want to return to, and he is forced to face the ordinariness of death—morgues, personal belongings, wills, maintenance of houses and boats—and the past he seeks to avoid. Patrick deals with grief by focusing on sports, his rock band, and girls.
In recent times, Manchester by the Sea has so often become a contender for various film awards that the film itself may have been flooded with hype. But no matter what you read about it, the film will still surprise you, in part because Kenneth Lowagan found the incredible knack for presenting the inner truth of the characters. It is his humor and insight that sets Manchester by the Sea apart from the cookie-cutter and contrived storylines of many films.
For months, Lonergan had been talking to different people about the film, and he needed to fight the cold November weather and his own tiredness. He spoke to us on the phone about Manchester by the Sea and his two previous works: I Do Your Thing (2000) and Margaret (2011).
Reporter: Let's talk about the scene where Lee and his long-lost ex-wife Randy (Michelle Williams) meet on the street, which is one of the key moments of the film.
Kenneth Lownargan: Yeah, it's a crucial scene. It was the first time they had actually talked about something since they had broken up a few years earlier, and this scene meant that Lee ended his attempts to get himself back to life there, and also from this moment on, he no longer tried to be the guardian of his nephew.
This is a very important scenario. What worries me is that I realize it's important, and if the scene hadn't worked out as well as it could, we wouldn't have had the good movie we have today. It's a very touching and very sad scene, and it still has love.
Both I and the crew knew that we wanted to spend half a day shooting this scene, so we had to schedule it several times. The shooting of this scene also means that the filming of the whole film has come to an end, which is a good result for all of us. Because I think cassie Affleck and Michelle Williams had been living in the role for a while and were comfortable with their respective characters.
We talked about how the scene was filmed the night before the shooting, the same way we treated all scenes. Therefore, in terms of the difficulty of completing this thing, it is quite easy. Both Cassie and Michelle are in the mood to prepare to leave separately. We had two cameras that day, so we shot it. Maybe it sounds easy, but it must be hard for them to maintain the emotions in their hearts again and again.
It's much easier for me than they are, that's for sure. Honestly, I don't know how they did it. I'm not trying to make it sound easy because I think the things they're facing are very difficult and I have to understand what's going on on the spot and hopefully my ideas will help them. But they have to go through the whole story, be those characters, and have a real feeling, even if the scene is fake. But since the two of them are not only talented, but also very professional and skilled, I don't really worry about the outcome being bad. I just wanted the scene to get to the point where it was written in the script.
Q: How did you and Cassie Affleck come to terms with the role of Lee Chandler?
Kenneth Lownargan: I think we have very similar points of view because we went through the whole shoot together. We had a very interesting time and got everything sorted out. In a way, it was a unique experience for both me and him.
He's like a relentless detective, with a million questions he wants to ask me, to know everything he can know — so he has the acting base to get into a play. He turned everything he had into the man, and I brought everything I could think of writing this novel, when I pretended to be Lee Chandler, to Cassie, hoping to help him.
So I think, at least I have an understanding of Lee in my heart that is useful for actors. But in a way, I'll also keep my distance from Cassie because he has to be Lee. At this point, Cassie and his loneliness had an impact on many other things.
Reporter: Did Cassie Affleck change your Lee in ways you didn't expect?
Kenneth Lowagan: The other actors in Manchester by the Sea are like this because each of them is different. They were never imagined in my head, because when I wrote the script, I wrote these characters according to my imagination. I mean if I imagine Cassie Affleck playing a specific role and you don't want to deal with that role, you want the actor to be that role, to do something you didn't expect, to say something you didn't know.
It's great when the boundaries of these actors' performances and yours align with both the story and the situation. I'm also happy to see them play such a role so fully, while still retaining all the points that are important to me. It's one thing to write a story, it's another thing to act out a story. That's why it's always so fun to work with great actors. They really put the acting into their lives.
Reporter: Do you think in the movie that Lee wants to be punished for the tragedy that happened?
KENNETH LOWAGAN: Well, I think so.
Reporter: This is also the case with characters in your other works.
KENNETH LOWAGAN: I didn't even notice that myself, but I see what you mean. When Sammy in "I Do Your Thing, You Can Rest Assured" asks a minister if she should be punished for having an affair with a married man, she asks bluntly, "Don't you think it would be better for you to tell me that I should be burned in hell?" The other person said no.
There is no doubt that Lisa in Margaret is also looking for someone to punish her for what she did. But she's also seeking some justice for what happened on the bus, justice for bus drivers. I think Lee, played by Cassie Affleck, felt more than once responsible for his mistakes when questioned by the police, or at least wanted to be in jail. Needless to say, he would have blamed himself for what had happened.
Margaret
Reporter: Does it make sense for you to make both Lee and Patrick Catholic?
Kenneth Lowagan: If they lived in Manchester by the sea, they were naturally Catholics. But, I don't know, if guilt is a theme, then it should be said that it is a psychological theme, not a religious theme. I wasn't acutely aware of that. I am not a religious person at all. I mean, I'm interested in religion, a phenomenon in human society, but I personally don't look for answers in religion. Therefore, it is unlikely that there is too much religious behind this film.
Do you think guilt is the driving force behind the narrative of Manchester by the Sea?
KENNETH LOWAGAN: That's not the main factor. Lee also lost his children and wife. It's not just that he did something that made him feel very guilty, but he suffered a huge loss and held the blame on himself. For a general audience, he may have a very similar story to a less responsible person like Lee.
Nor do I necessarily assert that guilt is also a major factor in I Do Things You Can Rest Assured. I think Sammy feels a little guilty about a lot of things, but everyone feels guilty about certain things. I think the gist of this story is that she's in a dilemma – she has to save her brother and protect her son.
And guilt won't be the dominant factor in Margaret's narrative. It may be a motivating factor, but it won't be the cause. I think it's about the size of the world and the many different ways of looking at things, about how one person's voices, desires, and feelings can disappear into such a symphony woven by the same factors while other people are just trying to live their own lives.
Now, the stories in these movies may all have to do with my guilt about certain things, but that's not what I wanted to write. Of course, Manchester by the Sea speaks more directly about this. But I can also say that it is also a film about sadness, loyalty, acceptance and love.
But I always tend to write about people who feel guilty inside. In many of the works I write, those characters are people who fight against death and steal their lives, and always think that they are guilty. But this was entirely accidental, or entirely driven by my own mind. I don't subconsciously think about what's behind what I'm writing, and what's behind it isn't always the funniest thing in it. But these elements are definitely present in my work.
I think the psychological source that motivates writing is not always consistent with what is written. Of course I want the content to be just as interesting, but I think the thoughts in my mind have to be consistent with the content, otherwise what is written will give people a false feeling. That's why I'm not going to ignore the guilt in the characters, and the presence and weight of any guilt in the film, because it's obviously a big part of the work. But I think it's only part of it, not even the most interesting part.
What I'm really interested in is that people are struggling with situations that are bigger than they are themselves, and that these situations are overwhelming to them. And the differences in experience, the diversity of human experience, for example, why does a person have to live only one life while his neighbors live very different lives in every way? I never stopped thinking about it, it fascinated and confused me at the same time and left a deep impression on me.
Reporter: Do you think there is any solution to grief?
KENNETH LOWAGAN: I don't think so, maybe time is the cure for calluses, or looking for some other emotion in your life. As you get older and grow, more and more time passes between what you have and what you lose.
Reporter: In your films, you used opera, and it has extraordinary emotions. In Manchester by the Sea, you also use works like Handel's Pastoral Symphony from Messiah. Can you talk about how music plays a role in your work?
Kenneth Lowagan: There's no opera in Manchester by the Sea, but there's a lot of opera in the extended version of Margaret, and that's the most important thing, especially in that film, and I think the emotions in the opera can reflect the experience of adolescence.
Moreover, life itself does not mean anything to the people who live in it. When your boyfriend leaves you, or your husband leaves you, or you die of tuberculosis, it's an operatic tragedy. At the same time, it is also a fairly accurate reflection of people's own experiences, and at the same time inevitably a little ridiculous.
The musical theme of the opera also runs through a play I wrote called The Starry Messenger, which touches on the same idea that imagining your own life as a bigger story is not wrong.
The music for Manchester by the Sea includes sonatas by oboe and piano from Handel's Messiah, some choral music by Jules Masné, and the soundtrack by Leslie Barber. These musical works are not about the human element in the story, but about the eternal beauty that will haunt us above and around us no matter what happens. Sometimes it appears in an indifferent way, and sometimes it exists in a way that makes you feel very permanent and warm.
Reporter: In general, was the filming process of "Manchester by the Sea" difficult?
Kenneth Lowagan: The pressure is okay. The filming of any film is stressful because there is still a lot to do under the constraints of time and money. We were under-planned from the start – it might have been better if we had figured it all out before we set off. It became a day-to-day process, but in the end everything went well. The shooting cycle was eventually extended by four days. We don't spend millions of sets on every scene. We only did this once or twice during the whole shoot, and we weren't very extravagant.
The role of stress is to keep you focused, no matter what problems occur throughout the day, no matter how busy the shooting is each day, which is very difficult. Luckily, creative questions are the first and most significant when shooting every day, so they divert your attention from everything else. And then when I get back to my accommodation, I start to exclaim, "Oh my God, we don't have enough time, we'll never be able to catch up on the shooting schedule." Wait a minute.
At this stage, I tend to see all the things I don't like, the things I wish I could do better. But we're working very hard, and I'm relieved.