Summary: Kenneth Lonergan (writer/director) and Casey Affleck (actor) at The Landmark in West Los Angeles. Moderated by Pete Hammond (Deadline Hollywood) and film critic Leonard Maltin. Film synopsis: Manchester by the Sea, the story of a working-class family living in a Massachusetts fishing village for generations, is a deeply poignant, unexpectedly funny exploration of the power of familial love, community, sacrifice and hope. After the death of his older brother Joe (Kyle Chandler), Boston janitor Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck) is shocked to learn that Joe has made him sole guardian of his nephew Patrick (Lucas Hedges). Taking leave of his job, Lee reluctantly returns to Manchester-by-the-Sea to care for Patrick, a spirited 16-year-old, and is forced to deal with a past that separated him from his wife Randi (Michelle Williams) and the community where he was born and raised. Bonded by the man who held their family together, Lee and Patrick struggle to adjust to a world without him. Writer/director Kenneth Lonergan (You Can Count on Me) seamlessly weaves past and present together, crafting a tension-filled tale that deftly eschews sentimentality in favor of penetrating emotional insight.
