MovieChat Forums > Manchester by the Sea (2016) Discussion > Should Lee have open up?

Should Lee have open up?

posted 8 years ago by travis (3)
6 replies | jump to latest

Really liked this movie for just the raw emotion and glimpse into someone's life flipped upsidedown. If anything happened to my kids I'd be completely broken like Lee.

I was waiting for a moment for Lee to open up or give those around him some perspective of why he is the way he is. They subtly addressed that toward the end when Patrick saw that he kept pictures of his kids. But does anyone else think there should've been a scene where Lee spilled his guts? Feel like it was a tense that just never got released. Maybe it wasn't suppose to and was rather suppose to feel more real.

[–] NotASpeckOfCereal (302) 8 years ago

Yeah, we got that (all we were going to get) in the end, when he finally told Patrick the honest reason he was making the decisions he was (going back to the Boston area, etc.), because he "just can't beat it".

That's it. Hang head in lap. Then get up and give Patty a hug. Fade to black. Roll credits.

It was a big let down to me and now I finally understood all of the surprise at Affleck winning the best Actor award.

I get that he was supposed to be character full of restraint. And it was truly a terrible thing that happened to him and the family, all piled on with the other family deaths and then strapped with the responsibility of Patrick.

If there were just a moment, just a glimpse where the actor showed us a nugget of turmoil on the face for an instant before suppression kicked back in (1/2 seconds out of a 137 minute film), that would have been enough for me to finally care and sympathise with this character in this sad tale.

Alas, they didn't cast an actor capable of that moment.

[–] brux (14840) 8 years ago

The problem with the movie was not the acting or the actors.
At least to me, the problem was the story, and the lack of focus,
the lack of a theme, a real point.

[–] Ronnoco (16) 4 years ago

If Lee had been able to open up and talk about his kids' death, at least a little bit, that would have been the beginning of his coming to terms with what had happened, and then he probably would have been able to beat it, and go on with his life. That was what Randi wanted him to do, when she asked if they could have lunch together. But Lee couldn't do that, it would have been too painful for him, he couldn't face it. He had too much pain, grief, and guilt. It's too bad, but that's the way he was. There are people like that, who just cannot bring themselves to open up about things. It's tragic, and it ruins their lives. I think I can sympathize with him anyway, though.

[–] Rory (1) 4 years ago

He did open up — he told his nephew “I can’t beat this”

That’s all he can do. There is no cure — there is no healing from something like that. As his ex-wife said “my heart will always be broken”.

It was a great film

[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

Exactly.

[–] Druff (1844) a year ago

I think most of the characters in the movie who know Lee's story get it. It's no secret that he made a mistake that caused the deaths of all three of his children, and that he genuinely and seriously attempted suicide the following day. I doubt any of them are confused or mystified as to why he is the way he is. They don't need him to open up about it.

Lee has to explain to Patrick because he's simply too young to get it. He and Lee bonded and he's hurt that Lee is effectively abandoning him to a degree, so Lee opens up just enough to reach out and help him understand why.

The only people who still don't get it and will never get it are some of the IQ 32 retards on this forum. "dude just get over it stop being such a pussy woulda been a better movie"