MANCHESTER BY THE SEA Trailer Rides Wave of Critical Praise

Emerging out of Sundance early this year as a critical favorite, Manchester by the Sea follows Casey Affleck, who finds himself the unexpected guardian of his teenage nephew.

The first trailer leans heavily on the critical praise, which makes it hard to get a true sense of the atmosphere, but it certainly looks to be carefully established gloom with hints of something more enlightening.

The official synopsis reads, in part: "Taking leave of his job, Lee (Casey Affeck) reluctantly returns to Manchester-by-the-Sea to care for Patrick, a spirited 15-year-old, and is forced to deal with a past that separated him from his wife Randi (Michelle Williams) and the community where he was born and raised. Bonded by the man who held their family together, Lee and Patrick (Lucas Hedges) struggle to adjust to a world without him."

Kenneth Lonergan (Margaret) wrote and directed. The film heads to U.S. theaters beginning on November 18. The trailer is embedded below.