“I can’t beat it.” – Manchester By The Sea (2016)
Yes, I put Manchester by the Sea on this list twice (deal with it). Lonergan’s masterpiece was considered by many to be the most realistic and depressing film of the last year (I’d go on a limb to say the decade), so it’s earned another spot here.
We already know Lee’s situation; his decision on whether or not to be Patrick’s guardian is the film’s main focus. But it’s not as easy as just moving to Manchester and starting a new life; he’s had a life here, a life that he ruined, and now his old home town is plagued by the memories of his torturous mistake. However, it’s not like he can just pack Patrick up and drag him to Boston. The boy has a popular social life: he has two girlfriends and a job, he’s in a band, and there’s the fact that the city of Manchester is all he’s ever known. Realizing that there’s only one way for both him and Patrick to get what they want, Lee tries finding someone else to be his guardian.
These interactions are what make Lucas Hedges’ performance so vital; at the beginning of the film, Patrick is content with the idea of another guardian. He wants to stay in Manchester, and he doesn’t really care how it happens. But towards the end, by the time this scene comes rolling around, he interprets Lee’s hesitance as an insult, that he must be the reason why his uncle wants to leave.
Lee and Patrick sit at the dinner table when Lee tells him that he got a job in Boston and that a family friend, George, is going to adopt him. Patrick can’t believe that his uncle, the only real family he has left, is going to bail on him, despite Lee’s insistence that he will still be involved. “Why can’t you just stay?” He begs. Lee knows now that he needs to give Patrick the actual reason, which, so far, he has been tentative to provide. “I can’t beat it,” he tells his nephew. “I can’t beat it.”
The simplicity of that expression says more than a thousand words (much like Affleck’s entire performance); this is the climax of the film. Lee isn’t strong enough to get past the horrors of his actions, and though he wants to care for his nephew, the idea of making another terrible mistake outweighs all else. Patrick, though not happy about it, gets the message, and Lee walks over and gives him a hug, it’s all he can give.
