MANCHESTER BY THE SEA | FAMILY MOVIE REVIEW INFORMATION FOR PARENTS AND KIDS

"MANCHESTER BY THE SEA"
(2016) (Casey Affleck, Lucas Hedges) (R)

QUICK TAKE:: Drama: A man must contend with having to return to his former town following his brother's death that's suddenly left him as the guardian of his teenage nephew.

PLOT:

Lee Chandler (CASEY AFFLECK) once lived in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts with his wife, Randi (MICHELLE WILLIAMS), and their kids. But they're now divorced and he lives in Boston where he works a thankless job as the superintendent for a residential building.

When he gets word from his friend George (C.J. WILSON) that his brother, Joe (KYLE CHANDLER), has passed away from a chronic health condition, Lee returns to his former town where he informs his 16-year-old nephew, Patrick (LUCAS HEDGES), of his father's death.

Lee assumes that once he gets his brother's affairs in order, he'll return to Boston, but then he learns that Joe named him as Patrick's guardian. And with that teen's alcoholic mother, Elise (GRETCHEN MOL), out of the picture, Lee figures he has no choice but to uproot his nephew and take him down to Boston.

But that doesn't sit well with the teen, what with having all of his friends in Manchester-by-the-Sea, being on both the hockey team and in a band, and having two girlfriends -- Silvie (KARA HAYWARD) and Sandy (ANNA BARYSHNIKOV) -- who aren't aware of him seeing the other.

From that point on, Lee tries to figure out what's best for him and his nephew, all while dealing with memories of past events that changed his life forever.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: Older teens might if they're enticed by the award buzz about the film, or if they're fans of anyone in the cast.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R: For language throughout and some sexual content.

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