Kyle Chandler

[9] Not since 1980’s Ordinary People have we had such a genuinely affecting movie about loss and mourning. In Manchester by the Sea, a man with a tortured past discovers he is the legal guardian of his late brother’s teenaged son. Casey Affleck is remarkable and nuanced in the lead role, playing a character who has repressed his feelings for so long that the mere …

[8] Cate Blanchett headlines as the title character in this Todd Haynes (Safe, Far from Heaven) adaptation of a Patricia Highsmith novel. She’s perfect in the role, functioning as the beguiling older woman who catches the curious fancy of a younger woman, played by Rooney Mara. Their cautious, burgeoning relationship is the focus of the film, one under distressing scrutiny from boyfriend and husband characters …