Confession: I’ve never seen MARGARET.

I’ve read all of the mad love for it, heard every complaint about how its distributor left it lingering on a shelf and edited it to ribbons…but none of it has been enough to make me jump on it.

It’s hard to explain why, since I usually try to keep up with the critical conversation. Something about MARGARET though just didn’t grab me by the scruff and demand to be seen. So it goes that Kenneth Lonnergan is not what I’d call “a brand” just yet.

Perhaps this winter, MANCHESTER BY THE SEA will change that. Perhaps this film will finally nudge me towards MARGARET and get me to double-back to YOU CAN COUNT ON ME (which I’ve only seen once) while I’m at it.

Place your bets?