Memories inevitably double-back and cross-reference in the minds of habitual SBIFF-goers over the years, the now 32 year history of which is a vast and slowly growing tapestry of experiences in our rich little town. A few years back, Ben Affleck — then-recently anointed as a director of no small gifts — was given a tribute night at the Arlington, and he acquitted himself with suavity and charming ease.
His brother Casey is a brother of another character, a certain introspective nature that resists spotlight and show biz glitz — and undoubtedly feeds into his understated but masterful acting. Nobody expected him to spring to life, Hollywood style at last night’s Arlington “Cinema Vanguard” tribute, also a nod to his Manchester by the Sea co-star, the marvel Michelle Williams, and he delivered on those expectations, as he suffered through two things he doesn’t like to do (according to Manchester writer-director Kenneth Lonergan — talk about his work or watch his work.
But no matter: What Affleck has brought to his art requires no further explanation or show biz tap-dancing. As we’ve seen in just a few choice roles over the last decade — The Assassination of Jesse James, in which he played “Coward” Robert Ford, Gone Baby Gone (directed by his brother), and especially his masterpiece so far, Manchester by the Sea, possibly the greatest and most mesmerizingly subtle, human — and yes, sad — American film of 2016.