10 Supporting Movie Characters Who Deserve Their Own Film

Kenneth Lonergan is a true actor’s director who has brought career best performances out of Mark Ruffalo, Laura Linney, and Anna Paquin. His most recent weepie, Manchester By The Sea, was a thespian’s paradise, with Oscar noms galore, including one for the always excellent Michelle Williams as Randi, ex-wife of Casey Affleck’s protagonist.

Williams only appears onscreen briefly, but the character of Randi is built up through dialogue and flashback methodically. We know that she and Affleck’s Lee broke up in difficult circumstances, and that there are things unsaid which are inevitably going to spill out.

When the two share the screen it’s one of the hardest hitting scenes, which is saying something for this gut punch of a film. Manchester By The Sea is built around a shared tragedy, and while it’s mostly even handed, the narrative is led by Lee - to see the story through Randi’s eyes, or to explore the character further, could be hugely powerful.

The world of the film is so bleak that it would be difficult to dip back in, but Randi is a fascinating presence brought delicately to life, and much is left - deliberately - unresolved.