[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”Row” make_fullwidth=”off” use_custom_width=”off” width_unit=”on” use_custom_gutter=”off” gutter_width=”3″ padding_mobile=”off” custom_margin=”|||0px” allow_player_pause=”off” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” make_equal=”off” parallax_1=”off” parallax_method_1=”off” parallax_2=”off” parallax_method_2=”off” column_padding_mobile=”on”][et_pb_column type=”1_4″][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image” src=”http:\/\/mckeestory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/manchester-by-the-sea.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” animation=”left” sticky=”off” align=”left” force_fullwidth=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Works \/ Doesn’t Work” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” text_font_size=”14″ use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider admin_label=”Divider” color=”#dddddd” show_divider=”on” divider_style=”solid” divider_position=”top” divider_weight=”1″ hide_on_mobile=”on” height=”20″]<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text admin_label=”Verdict” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” text_font_size=”14″ use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_blurb admin_label=”Reason 1″ url_new_window=”off” use_icon=”on” font_icon=”%%202%%” icon_color=”#81d742″ use_circle=”off” circle_color=”#eaeaea” use_circle_border=”on” circle_border_color=”#dd3333″ icon_placement=”left” animation=”off” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_icon_font_size=”off” header_font_size=”18″ body_font_size=”14″ use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n
Inciting Incident via Flashback:<\/strong><\/p>\n Most stories unfold chronologically and so cause and effect happen in that order. The first scenes set up the protagonist\u2019s life and arouse curiosity about the future: \u201cWhat will happen to this character?\u201d These set-up scenes build to the story\u2019s first major event, the Inciting Incident, this powerful cause triggers the effects that play out in the scenes that follow.<\/p>\n The genius of MANCHESTER BY THE SEA reverses cause and effect, putting the effect before<\/strong> the cause, the cause after<\/strong> the effect.<\/p>\n When the film opens, we meet the protagonist, Lee Chandler (Casey Affleck), living a deeply troubled, virtually masochistic life. But we don\u2019t know why, and so we naturally wonder, \u201cWhat happened to this guy?\u201d When our curiosity reaches the boiling point, the film flashes back to the Inciting Incident.\u00a0This stunning turning point reveals the cause for Chandler\u2019s silent torment and raises the major dramatic question: \u201cWill he survive this tragic trauma or be destroyed by it?\u201d <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_blurb admin_label=”Reason 2″ url_new_window=”off” use_icon=”on” font_icon=”%%202%%” icon_color=”#81d742″ use_circle=”off” circle_color=”#eaeaea” use_circle_border=”on” circle_border_color=”#dd3333″ icon_placement=”left” animation=”off” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_icon_font_size=”off” header_font_size=”18″ body_font_size=”14″ use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n Superb Execution of the Evolution Plot:<\/strong><\/p>\n The film dramatizes\u00a0a rich, complex tale of the soul-destroying power of guilt.\u00a0The\u00a0event revealed in the flashback hollows out the protagonist’s humanity and launches a character arc that evolves from the negative (an unlivable inner life) to the positive (a livable inner life).<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_blurb admin_label=”Reason 3″ url_new_window=”off” use_icon=”on” font_icon=”%%202%%” icon_color=”#81d742″ use_circle=”off” circle_color=”#eaeaea” use_circle_border=”on” circle_border_color=”#dd3333″ icon_placement=”left” animation=”off” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_icon_font_size=”off” header_font_size=”18″ body_font_size=”14″ use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n Memorable Character:<\/strong><\/p>\n As in other wonderful films like 45 YEARS\u00a0and the more recent 20TH CENTURY WOMEN, Kenneth Lonergan\u2019s work unfolds like a novel by compelling us into the abyss of the protagonist\u2019s unspoken turmoil, but does so by implication, not explanation.\u00a0In other words, the story\u2019s spine of action runs through the subtext, not the text, and therefore calls for an actor who can bring the unsaid and the unsayable to life without the aid of on-the-nose dialogue. Casey Affleck\u2019s brilliant portrayal of the war within earned his Oscar nomination and my applause.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_blurb admin_label=”Further Explanation” url_new_window=”off” use_icon=”on” font_icon=”%%216%%” icon_color=”#1e73be” use_circle=”off” circle_color=”#eaeaea” use_circle_border=”on” circle_border_color=”#dd3333″ icon_placement=”left” animation=”off” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_icon_font_size=”off” header_font_size=”18″ body_font_size=”14″ use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]<\/p>\n And finally for you writers:<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019m frequently asked questions about the placement of a story\u2019s first major event: \u201cCan the inciting incident happen in the backstory? If so, could I flashback to it? Or, could I just leave it there and only imply it?\u201d All such questions get the same answer: \u201cOf course.” A writer can tell her story any way she likes, so long as she knows why she\u2019s telling the story her way and how her choices make her story all the better.<\/p>\n