Manchester By the Sea stars Casey Affleck as a thirty-something, orphaned drifter, getting into bar fights and doing odd jobs to barely scrape by with no anchor or goal in life. Following a death in the family, he returns home to the small town he grew up in, where he's widely known as an infamous trouble-maker. At first he maintains a civil distance, but as they're staying together, he's pressured into reconnecting with his nephew who grew up with only one parent. He winds up taking his nephew to see the mother he'd never known, and it goes disastrously. Still, it turns out to be a necessary growing experience for the boy, they ultimately wind up bonding and we see the strength of the drifter's character hidden by all the flaws he wears on his sleeve. Though he ultimately [SPOILER technically, but not really, because it's clear this is the direction the story was always headed in. Like, don't worry; this won't ruin the movie for you if you haven't seen it] leaves the town and his nephew behind to return to the seemingly empty life he left behind despite being pleaded with to stay and live in their hometown, we know they'll see each other again, because they've grown together into a genuine, loving family. The supporting cast includes Matthew Broderick in a terrific, stuffy but scene-stealing comic role and Lonergan himself in an amusing and well-played bit part.
Look, I'm not criticizing either film by playing up their similarities. And obviously they're not strictly identical. You Can Count On Me also co-stars Laura Linney as the nephew's mother, whose subplot is almost as important as Ruffalo's. And the nephew character is now an older teen with more adult concerns, excellently played by Lucas Hedges, in Manchester By the Sea. Manchester also delves deep into the drifter's backstory, which is only touched on in exposition in You Can Count On Me, unveiling a deeper tragedy. They have unique scenes of humor and drama. I actually think it's a compelling return to the first film's themes by Lonergan, and the two films actually play even stronger together than as separate, unconnected works. Both deserved their Academy Award nods more than most of their peers, and I highly recommend the pair, especially if you've seen and enjoyed one, but not yet caught the other.
It seems crazy that You Can Count On Me has not been released on blu-ray, not even to coincide with the recent release of Manchester By the Sea. But at least the 2001 DVD from Paramount is widescreen and has some decent special features. The exact same thing can be said for Lions Gate's 2017 Manchester By the Sea release, except they did also release a blu-ray version. In fact, it's a combo-pack, so we can compare the DVD and blu.
Paramount's You Can Count On Me DVD isn't bad for being so old, at least it's anamorphic and uninterlaced. It's framed at a slightly off 1.77:1, with a slight pillarbox bar on the right-hand side, that was probably hidden in its day by TV overscan area. It looks soft and murky by today's standards and sure could use a nice boost to HD. The reflection on that lake looks pretty jittery in motion. It includes the option of a 5.1 mix or a 2.0 stereo track, both in Dolby, with optional English subtitles. Again, perfectly fine for 2001; it's just past its sell-by date at this point.
2017 Lions Gate DVD on top, and their blu-ray on the bottom. |
blu-ray left; DVD right. |
You Can Count On Me isn't exactly a packed special edition, but it has a small, somewhat satisfying selection of extras. The main asset is an audio commentary by Lonergan, who's a good guide through his work. There's also a brief featurette, which talks to Lonergan and the cast. It's short, but not overloaded with clips from the film, making it a bit more filling than many of its ilk. There's also the film's trailer, some bonus trailers and an insert.
And the situation is almost the same in Manchester. Lonergan's back with another audio commentary, which is about as good as the first, though frustratingly he never once mentions You Can Count On Me; suggesting this story was completely invented on its own by Matt Damon and himself, with no connection to any previous work. Okay. There's a similar featurette, as well, which gets some nice quotes from the cast and takes a look at the filming location, again without getting bogged down in promotional clips. This time we also get three deleted scenes, and again some bonus trailers. There's no insert (except for one of those digital download code sheets), but it does come in a slipcover. In fact, if you're a collector, you should know there are actually two alternate slipcovers out there. The one I have pictured above, and a newer repressing that swaps out the Golden Globes banner with one touting its Academy Awards instead.
So yeah, I heartily recommend both films; the Academy got it right in these cases. So if you haven't yet, definitely pick up Manchester By the Sea. And I don't know. Maybe if we hold a candle light vigil or something, we can get a nice 4k scan of You Can Count On Me from Criterion or somebody?
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