The Way Back
The Way Back
Starring Ben Affleck, Al Madrigal, Michaela Watkins, Janina Gavankar
Directed by Gavin O'Connor
Jack Cunningham (Ben Affleck) is plagued with issues both from his own making and the hard knocks life threw at him, and tries to find solace in drinking - a lot. He's a known regular at the local watering hole, and when he's not getting drunk there and carried home, he's getting drunk at home alone as well, so much so it'd obvious to his entire family of his problems, but he doesn't choose to find another solution.
Then he gets a phone call from Father Devine (John Aylward) - and I must say that's the best name for a man of the cloth ever - and wants him to coach his alma mater's basketball team: a ragtag group of kids who haven't won a championship since Jack played for the team. Jack reluctantly agrees and discovers that the kids have real talent, but he has to almost literally beat it out of them. As he begins to get through to the kids and form them into a team, he also faces his own past demons in hopes of bettering not just his life, but the lives of the players as well.
What I Liked:
Ben Affleck has gone on the record in saying this is his most personal role, as the actor himself has struggled with alcoholism for years. You sense the real struggle Jack goes through, because Ben has gone through them in his own life, and really stands out as the main focus of the film. Surprisingly, it's not really about the kids on the team, but how Jack can manage to crawl his way back from the pains of the past and really make something of himself.
Gavin O'Connor has a knack for directing sports films that also drive home a deeper meaning, such as his work with "Miracle" and especially "Warrior" has shown us, and he continues to do so here. The basketball games are like action spectacles, with fantastic camera work and especially soaring scores that add an electricity to the film and really pulls you in, making you feel like a spectator yourself.
The film tells a compelling story on dealing with grief, and the negative ways to do it. Jack hides his pain behind alcohol, but it's clear that not even that can numb the pain in his heart. His life is pain, and there's very little joy to be had in his past, and you really feel the emotional weight that Ben Affleck carries on his shoulders for his performance, and learn that coming back from a hard life isn't easy.
What I Didn't Like:There was several subplots that the film tries to tell, and while the emotional resonance does hit, it doesn't hit as hard as it should've if the movie only focused on one issue, and in doing so it really dampens the performances around Affleck, reducing them to mere plot points to aid Jack's path to redemption.
The film follows the traditional sports tropes that you find in films like this, and results in an outcome you already know well before going in. There's no new territory to tread here, and if not for Affleck's passioned performance, would've become a typical story that would've been easily forgettable.
We don't get much insight into the lives of the youth that Jack coaches, and only get a glossed-over version of most of their stories when they're introduced. You don't sense any real depth or change in their lives - or even any purpose for them to do so - and instead are just relegated to perform the typical task of misguided youths who learn to play as a team, but don't really feel any tension between them, unlike other sports films like "Coach Carter" or "Remember the Titans."
Overall:Led by a powerful, personal performance by Ben Affleck, "The Way Back" serves as a fantastic redemption story layered by a basketball underdog tale that maintains the typical status quo for films like this.
The Score: A
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