Ever had a lump stuck in your throat for 2 hours?

Ever held in a scream you wanted to scream but couldn't because you were afraid you couldn't stop?

Ever seen an actor not acting, not performing, just being?

Ever seen a director do his utmost to tear out your soul, stomp on it only to rebuild it in the most bitter sweet way imaginable?

Ever lost someone, wanting them back so badly, living becomes a chore?

Ever grieved?

Ever felt so much love and responsibility it becomes unbearable?

Manchester by the Sea shows us a life, a real life, in all its ugly beauty. It uses the power only the most exemplary pieces of art possess, the power to…

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After Manchester by the Sea, Kenneth Lonergan's third feature film, the world stopped spinning. Of course, such an inherently hyperbolic statement comes from a place of personal connection, the typical gushing praise of having just encountered an "experience", but truly, its root is in the world which was painted before me. It seemed no different initially: seagulls swooping through the harsh winter winds, snow cascading onto the salted pavement, operatic groups of tenors and baritones providing an extraordinary backdrop for the ordinary. Such an environment exists, and it is still, uneventful, misshapen in its fractured neighborhoods and streets. It is also familiar. Familiar to people who wander a snowy path in search of late-night groceries. Familiar to people who…

We all grieve, yet we grieve in many different ways. A death can make a family stronger, or destroy it. Some people never get over a loss. Others, find a positive out of a negative, and use their experience to educate and help others. I'm envious of those who've never experienced a significant loss. That's probably why it's not the end of the world for me when a celebrity dies. It's okay if you get upset when a famous person passes. I've been upset by celeb death, but it's nothing like losing someone you love more than anything. That's why I loathe the month of March. This March, it's the 10 year anniversary and the 4 year anniversary of the…

Continuing my streak of personal essays, I have found another film that so deeply affects and touches me that I can't not talk about it. I left the theater in my mother's arms, barely able to walk and not finding the strength to say what was wrong. I wasn't even sure what was wrong. But Manchester by the Sea is a beautiful film about grief and something that deeply resonated with me and my story of loss.

As said in my Speed Racer review, I lost my brother to a car accident in 2011. My dad was drinking and driving, causing the accident to occur. I was in the hospital for 2 weeks. I broke 7 bones, became cross-eyed, and…