Kenneth Lonergan

Film buffs will rarely be able to experience feelings as terrible and heartbreaking as those that emerge within us after seeing Manchester by the Sea . But it is not an isolated case. All of Kenneth Lonergan’s films revolve around an unfortunate event that has marked the life of his protagonists. Suffering, guilt, family strength and difficulties in overcoming the past are typical themes in Lonergan’s filmography, whose superb mastery of the trade has already earned him four Oscar nominations.

Born in New York on October 16, 1962, Kenneth Lonergan is the son of an Irishman and an Ashkenazi Jew, who divorced when Kenneth – the youngest of two brothers – was only five years old. Her father died young, her mother remarried, and he grew up with her and her husband on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, where he received a liberal, nonbelieving upbringing in the typical milieu of the Jewish intelligentsia of New York. New York. He studied at the Walden School, where he began writing short stories and later plays. At eighteen he gained recognition in a theater competition with the play “The Rennings Children.” And in the ’80s and ’90s he became part of The Naked Angels, a theater company where he teamed up with actors and writers.

In 1999, he premiered his first film script with A Dangerous Therapy , a dramatic comedy with a core story about a depressed gangster, a subject much exploited later in the series The Sopranos . And the following year he would finish the script for You can count on me , also his first film as a director. With unusual skill Lonergan narrated the story of two estranged brothers who had grown up on different paths after the sudden death of their parents in a traffic accident. The film, wonderfully performed by Mark Ruffalo (then unknown) and Laura LinneyShe earned two Oscar nominations in the actress and screenplay categories. Speaking of that film, Lonergan, who declares himself an atheist, affirms “that I shouldn’t worry about why God allows certain things. But it must be nice to know that he cares for him.” In addition, the year 2000 was especially happy for Lonergan as he married actress J. Smith-Cameron , with whom he has a daughter, Nellie.

But Kenneth Lonergan did not forget his first love, the theater. He continued to write works and obtain important recognitions in this field as well. Thus, he was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for “The Waverly Gallery” and for the Laurence Olivier Theater Award for “Lobby Hero” in 2003. He also achieved enormous success in 2002 on the London stage thanks to “This Is Our Youth”. That same year he signed the script for Gangs of New York , along with Jay Cocks and Steven Zaillian , and earned another Oscar nomination for the screenplay.

Lonergan took his time getting back in the credits of a movie. Almost ten years passed until she released a new work under her authorship, script and direction. Margaret is a sad film that deals with the vital crisis of a young woman ( Anna Paquin ) whose mistakes have forever darkened her horizon. Although it is an above-average film, the result is uneven, not as round as You can count on me , there was plenty of footage and the story lacked some containment. That does include an extraordinary job by the director’s wife, J. Smith-Cameron, in the role of the mother of the protagonist.

And in 2016 Lonergan returned with his most impressive and successful film to date, Manchester by the Sea , nominated for 6 Oscars, including film, screenplay and lead actor. More than in any of his previous works, Lonergan delves into boundless pain and misfortune. The protagonist, a man who carries a terrible past, a bitterness with which he can hardly breathe, will have to face another difficult situation when he is forced to take care of his niece. Casey Affleck ‘s work is one of those that make time.

Kenneth Lonergan is currently preparing the script for a television miniseries that adapts the  EM Forster novel “Howards End”, which has already been happily brought to the big screen by James Ivory .