Dialogue and characters are relatable to viewers


                     Claire Folger, Courtesy of Amazon Studios and Roadside Attractions.


Even when the dialogue can claim to be "authentic," characters in films express themselves with greater clarity and greater fullness than ordinary people do in everyday life.

Two current films, however, show characters trying to cope with the complexities of life and their own humanity, often through silence, in a manner which is truly realistic and compelling.

MANCHESTER BY THE SEA tells the story of Lee Chandler, a man whose tragic past dooms him to be unable to move beyond his own sense of guilt and grief and connect with others except in outbursts of anger.

He has to deal with the complex fallout of his brother's death, most notably being required by his brother's will to assume guardianship of his 16-year-old nephew, a situation which neither of them welcomes.

As the film unfolds, the audience is plunged into a workaday world in which people find themselves trying to cope, to deal with grief and loss, fragile relationships, and practicalities. They are presented in all their humanity, so that the audience feels that they know them.

Indeed, most of them are probably able to identify with them or know people very like them. As they fumble their way through the syntax of life, they move us simply because their attempts to connect remind us of ourselves.

Their attempts to express their emotions and their inadequate attempts to cope are, like life itself, lit with occasional flashes of humour. Here there are no heroes and no villains, just ordinary people doing what ordinary people do. The result is gripping and impactful.

A wonderful cast, led by Casey Afleck As Lee and Ben O'Brien as his nephew, performs brilliantly.

Written and directed by Kenneth Lonergan with gentle understatement, MANCHESTER BY THE SEA is a masterful film, though viewers must be warned that there is sexual content and considerable use of objectionable language.

The B.C. rating is 14A. Warning: coarse language.

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The same must also be pointed out with regard to MOONLIGHT, written and directed by Barry Jenkins. Here viewers are introduced to a world familiar to few of us, the ghetto of Miami, but also to characters to whom they will be able to relate in all their humanity.

The film presents three stages in the life of Shiron, in each stage brought to life by a different actor. As a boy, Shiron's life at home is a torment as he tries to deal with his drug-addicted mother, while at school he is relentlessly bullied as he tries to come to terms with the fact that he is gay.

Into his life comes Juan, a drug dealer, who takes a genuinely fatherly interest in the boy and tries to help him to find himself. As his personal life gets even darker, the film follows Shiron through his adolescence and eventual adulthood.

Clearly the film, dealing as it does with the black experience in a particular setting, is foreign and grimly fascinating, as the characters try hard to express themselves in inadequate words and in silences.

The three actors who portray Shiron perfectly convey the agony and torment of the man in a way which is emotionally convincing. The supporting cast, including Naome Harris as Shiron's mother, Mahershala Ali as the boy's mentor, and Janelle Monae as the mentor's partner, acquit themselves superbly.

At the same time, Jenkins has been able to give the audience a superb sense of place and era, so that viewers are able to relate to the characters in all their common humanity.

Once again, however, prospective audience members must be warned that there is sexual content and considerable use of objectionable language. As with MANCHESTER BY THE SEA, these aspects of the film lend it authenticity and are by no means sensationalized.

Both films are truly masterful in their ability to capture the lives of ordinary people in a manner which is rewarding for the audience. Undoubtedly both films will be prominent contenders in the upcoming awards season.

The B.C. rating is 14A. Warning: coarse language, sexually suggestive scenes.