Ben Affleck’s Brother Casey Adds To His Resume With ‘Manchester By The Sea’
Ben Affleck’s brother may not be the most famous member of the family, but Casey Affleck has built a nice career as an actor in his own right. Many will likely remember Casey appearing on screen with his brother and Matt Damon in the 1997 hit Good Will Hunting. The younger Affleck, now 41, has continued to climb the latter since then.
After earning big roles in movies such as The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and Gone Baby Gone, the latter of which was actually directed by his brother, Casey is now receiving praise for his role in the new film Manchester by the Sea.
Manchester by the Sea is the third film directed Kenneth Lonergan, with You Can Count On Me and Margaret being the other two. Like the previous two films he directed, Lonergan wrote Manchester by the Sea as well. Lonergan also has writing credits for other well-known movies such as the comedy Analyze This, its sequel Analyze That, and Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York.
The film was produced by Matt Damon, who was once slated to direct the film as well as star in it, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
.@jimmykimmel hopes Casey Affleck wins an Oscar after ‘stealing’ Matt Damon’s role in ‘Manchester by the Sea’: https://t.co/S0vbH2vk0b pic.twitter.com/HFngyPiLO4
— Boston Magazine (@BostonMagazine) November 16, 2016
In Manchester by the Sea, Ben Affleck’s brother plays a character by the name of Lee Chandler. Per David Edelstein of Vulture, the character is generally described as being an introverted Boston-area custodian who often drinks and appears troubled for reasons that are unknown. Upon learning of the unexpected death of his older brother, Joe, Chandler is summoned to his hometown, which is elsewhere in Massachusetts.
The plot reportedly centers around Chandler later learning that he has been granted custody of his teenage nephew, Patrick, who is played by Lucas Hedges. Lee’s ex-wife Randi, who is played by Michelle Williams, also plays an integral role in the story. Lee’s brother is played by Kyle Chandler, and his appearances, which are said to come in the form of flashback scenes, make the presence of his character felt as well.
Manchester by the Sea is described as an emotionally-charged film. At Pilot Online, Lindsey Bahr writes of how the drama blends many different emotions together to help create a very sophisticated, well-told story.
” It’s hard to overstate the magnificence of Kenneth Lonergan’s ‘Manchester by the Sea.’ His third feature following ‘You Can Count on Me’ and ‘Margaret’ is one that swells with the spectrum of human emotion. Humor, anger, cynicism and love all crash into one another to create an elegant composition of image and sound that is filmmaking and storytelling at its best.”
Casey Affleck and Michelle Williams look like a couple at ‘Manchester by the Sea’ premiere https://t.co/0mgYe2PL1w pic.twitter.com/cUeF94cC40
— Boston Globe Arts (@BostonGlobeArts) November 16, 2016
As one might imagine, playing such a complicated role is not exactly an easy thing to do. People reported on the challenges that Casey Affleck faced while playing Lee Chandler, as well as the strategies he used to stay in the mindset of the fictional character he portrayed.
“Whenever it starts to feel easy, it makes me feel like I’m not doing all that I can do,” Affleck said in the People article. “It’s a great piece of material, and there are some really hard scenes in there. The first time I read it, I knew there would be a lot of challenging aspects to the performance. I was pretty focused the whole time and was very wary if we started having too much fun, then it might ruin the mood.”
Manchester by the Sea has already drawn plenty of praise as well. The Hollywood Reporter reports that it has already been nominated for a number of awards, with People suggesting that Ben Affleck’s brother and Williams are serious contenders for Oscars. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone believes it to be one of the year’s finest films.
You can catch Ben Affleck’s brother Casey in Manchester by the Sea in theaters on Friday, November 18. It has a runtime of 137 minutes and is rated R, according to IMDb.
[Featured Image by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images]
