Best Actor in a Supporting Role 2016: Lucas Hedges in Manchester by the Sea

Lucas Hedges received his first Oscar nomination for his performance as Patrick Chandler in Manchester by the Sea.

Manchester by the Sea is a flawed but effective film about a man who, after his brother's death, has to take care of his teenage nephew. Let's start with the things I felt didn't really work: I think that the screenplay occasionally focuses on subplots that are really not that interesting, and perhaps the time spent on them could have been used to analyze further some other characters such as Randi; as it is, the movie doesn't quite earn its running time and I felt that a better editing could have been made; thirdly, I thought the soundtrack was especially weak as it feels either misplaced or overbearing or downright bad. Still, there are other things that partly make up for those inadequacies, as there are some truly well written scenes in it and there are some powerful performances to be found. Ultimately I liked it although I wouldn't quite rank it among the years' very best movies.

Lucas Hedges plays Patrick, Lee's (Casey Affleck) nephew. I would say it's an extremely difficult role as Patrick, despite facing the terrible tragedy of losing a father, is not at all a likeable character: he often acts like a self-centered jerk to be perfectly honest, and, especially considering the huge amount of screen-time the character gets it's a very hard task for an actor to realistically portray an obnoxious character without actually delivering an obnoxious performance. I would say that Hedges succeeds completely in this aspect of the character as he never sugar-coats Patrick's behavior and he is not afraid of making him appear selfish and insensitive - at the same time he never reduces him to a one-note douchebag and is quite realistic in his depiction of his character's unpleasant personality. He definitely conveys the impression that is much more to Patrick behind his hostile behavior and in doing so he earns the rare moments in the movie in which his character breaks. There are not many scenes in which the character deals directly with his emotions, but when he does he is very effective and in the remaining scenes he subtly suggests those hidden feelings: for example, he is very effective in the moment in which Patrick finds about his father's death - being in the company of his friends, he doesn't show many emotions but in his eyes Hedges still conveys his devastation as he quickly realize what Lee is going to tell him. I particularly like the scene in which his character looks at his father's dead body for a second and then turns away saying "Okay let's go" - it's a very short scene and not one of the movie's more emotionally charged ones, but behind his nonchalant delivery Hedges manages to portray a boy who isn't quite able to cope with the reality. His full breakdown comes later on in the movie and as I mentioned above I feel Hedges actually earns this moment as he had been very effective previously at portraying his character's internalized grief and while I can see why it could feel a little overcooked to some I personally found myself affected by it and I thought Hedges did quite a strong job at showing his character's messy, confused reaction towards the sudden, devastating situation around him. Another particularly effective scene for me was Patrick's meeting with his estranged, alcoholic mother (Gretchen Mol): Hedges is very moving at showing through is quietly shattered reactions how Patrick's hopes are slowly crushed during the tense, uncomfortable lunch and he brings the needed emotional impact to his futile attempts to connect with her. 

I would say though that his performance is not entirely consistent and there are some moments that are a bit weaker than others - not really because of his performance, but rather because the character is involved in a subplot that really is nothing more than a waste of the movie and in my opinion should have been cut completely from the movie. This storyline focuses on Patrick trying to have sex with his girlfriend, despite having another girlfriend (with each girl being unaware of the existence of the other): I would say that Hedges is still far more than decent in those scenes, but the subplot doesn't really go anywhere and ends up being extremely pointless. While I don't fault Hedges for this, I found his performance to be much less engaging and interesting in this segment and he can't save this supposedly entertaining (?) subplot from being a complete nothing. Unfortunately those unimpressive scenes detract a little bit from his otherwise excellent work, though in his defense I'll say that he is definitely not to blame and he is probably what prevents those scenes from being downright terrible.

One of the best elements of his performance is instead his chemistry with Casey Affleck. In the flashback involving Lee and then child Patrick, the two are shown sharing a very warm and loving relationship. In the present scenes, Affleck and Hedges are both very good at showing that there is still affection between them but that their connection is severely strained by Lee's now detatched nature. As the movie progresses, both actors are very good at showing how the two characters manage to get closer again - a lot of things have changed and of course their mutual pain will always somehow affect their relationship, but towards the end of the movie I felt both actors did very well at showing a certain tenderness and welcome peace in their interactions. Hedges in particular is very moving in the scene in which Lee reveals he is going to leave town - it's a quietly sad scene and Hedges is extremely moving at portraying his character's disappointed reactions to the news. But then he is also fantastic at the very end when Lee tells him that he'll have a room for him in his house so that he can visit him any time he wants - it's probably one of the few moments in the movie that is close to being optimistic, and Hedges' reaction certainly makes the moment pack the needed emotional punch. 

Overall, I think this is a very effective performance from Lucas Hedges. His performance is a little hindered by the screenplay, especially regarding the subplot involving Patrick's two girlfriends, but otherwise I thought he gave a terrific depiction of his character's reaction to his own grief and his chemistry with Casey Affleck couldn't be more perfect. Ultimately the strength of his performance completely overshadows the few less impressive moments and he still remains one of the movie's strongest assets. 

4.5/5