After premiering at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, Kenneth Lonergan’s acclaimed new film Manchester by the Sea is finally opening in US theaters. Over the course of its 9-month festival circuit run, the film has become an audience & press favorite and a hot contender for awards season. Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck) is a brooding, irritable loner who works as a handyman for a Boston apartment block. One damp winter day he gets a call summoning him to his hometown, north of the city. His brother’s heart has given out suddenly, and he’s been named guardian to his 16-year-old nephew. As if losing his only sibling and doubts about raising a teenager weren’t enough, his return to the past re-opens an unspeakable tragedy. The film also stars Michelle Williams in a breath-taking and award-worthy performance. The soundtrack album elegantly blends original score by Toronto-based composer Lesley Barber and classical music pieces by masters such as Georg Fridric Handel and Charles Massenet. Fresh off her invitation to join the Motion Picture Academy, Ms. Barber delivers, what most will consider, her best work to date. Beautifully harmonized vocal performances, recurring at key intervals, represent only one of the many memorable moments of her achievement. A much-deserved Academy Award Nomination for this sumptuous score would come as a surprise to no one.
