OVERLAY REPORT

Based on internal knowledge of the production and interviews with the cast and director, the answer is that there was virtually no improvisation of lines in Manchester by the Sea. While Casey Affleck’s performance feels incredibly raw and spontaneous, it was actually the result of strictly following a very precise script by writer-director Kenneth Lonergan. Here are the specific details regarding the "lack" of improvisation: ### 1. Kenneth Lonergan’s Playwright Background Kenneth Lonergan is a highly acclaimed playwright (This Is Our Youth, The Lobby Hero). Like many playwrights-turned-directors, he views his scripts as musical scores. He famously scripts every "um," "uh," stutter, and overlapping line of dialogue. Casey Affleck has noted in several interviews that he was required to stick to the text exactly as written, which is unusual for a modern film production where "finding the scene" through improv is common. ### 2. The "Scripted" Stutters The naturalistic, bumbling way that Lee Chandler (Affleck) speaks—his inability to finish sentences or his awkward pauses—was not improvised by Affleck to show character grief. Instead, Lonergan had written those specific hesitations into the screenplay. Affleck had to memorize the specific number of "ums" and "likes" in a sentence to match Lonergan’s rhythmic vision. ### 3. The Freezer Scene There is a famous scene where Patrick (Lucas Hedges) has a panic attack after seeing frozen chicken fall out of the freezer, which reminds him of his father's body in the morgue. While the physical action of the chicken falling was a practical element they worked with, the dialogue between Lee and Patrick during this high-tension moment was strictly scripted. Affleck and Hedges spent significant time rehearsing the specific timing of their overlapping arguments to ensure they hit the beats Lonergan wrote. ### 4. The Police Station Scene In the devastating scene where Lee Chandler is being questioned by the police and attempts to grab a officer's gun, the dialogue is sparse and functional. Affleck’s performance is deeply physical, but the dialogue—or lack thereof—was dictated by the script. The "I can't beat it" line (the emotional climax with Michelle Williams later in the film) was also delivered exactly as written. ### 5. Affleck’s Initial Resistance Casey Affleck has admitted that he initially found this restrictive. He prefers a more fluid, improvisational style (as seen in his work with directors like Gus Van Sant). He reportedly tried to change lines or offer alternatives during the early days of shooting, but Lonergan insisted on the written text. Affleck eventually realized that the "music" of Lonergan's dialogue provided the character's internal logic, and he stopped trying to improvise. Summary: If you see a moment where Casey Affleck seems to be searching for a word or trailing off, it is almost certain that the "searching" was written on the page by Lonergan. The brilliance of the performance lies in Affleck’s ability to make a rigid, hyper-specific script feel like a man making up his thoughts in real-time.