65Manchester by the Sea (2016)

In another entry from Kenneth Lonergan, his protagonist suffers after making a mistake from which he can never recover, but must somehow come to accept. But the film isn’t simply bleak; as in real life, there is lightness and humor mixed in with the sorrow. “I’ve never seen there being a tremendous dividing line between comedy and tragedy,” Lonergan said to an audience at the New York Film Festival. “Even if it’s the worst of the worst, it’s not happening to everyone. It might just be happening to you, or to someone you know, while the rest of the world is going on doing things that are beautiful, or funny, or material, or practical.” With this script, he embraces it all without judgment.