The Way Back

Whenever a new basketball movie comes out, I am always curious to see how the game is portrayed and what elements are used to differentiate the film from its predecessors. Upon watching, I discovered that The Way Back is not a purely basketball film but a story of a man stumbling through life and using the sport as a branch to prevent him from hitting the ground.

Ben Affleck puts a on compelling performance of a man battling his demons and despite basketball managing to bring some happiness into his life, he can never trully heal his scars. Considering how difficult it is to get creative with sports movies, through its narrative, this film manages to put its own touch which will make basketball fans enjoy the grit, realism and attitude towards the game. Music deserves a separate mention as it adds impact to the dramatic nature of the film.

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There is no doubt Ben Affleck did a GREAT job... but this is probably the only thing I will remember about the movie. The story completely lacks of originality, neglects the side characters and tends to stereotype and simplify the main character.

Finding The Way Back is an incredible drama that's emotional and powerful, managing to use an extremely familiar narrative effectively. Ben Affleck gives a phenomenal and personal lead performance that's easily one of his best. Al Madrigal and Janina Gavankar are both great and all of the young cast are all really good. Gavin O'Connor's direction is excellent, it's extremely well filmed and well paced. The music by Rob Simonson is fantastic.

Greetings again from the darkness. So much beer and booze. It would be easy to classify this latest from writer-director Gavin O'Connor as a sports movie. After all, he has given us two excellent ones in MIRACLE (2004) and WARRIOR (2011). However, as with those two films, there is much more going on here. This is about grief and addiction, and the difficulties in mending a life in tatters.

Jack Cunningham likes his morning shower. It helps get him prepare for a day of construction work and get over a late night of drinking. What's unusual about his morning routine is that he drinks a beer while taking his morning shower, and then fills his Yeti with gin as he takes his post at the building site. Jack is played by Ben Affleck, who has returned to the screen with a serious acting gig after his fling as Batman. Of course, anyone who even casually keeps up with Hollywood gossip knows Mr. Affleck and his character here have in common a drinking problem. In fact, the actor filmed this immediately after his latest rehab stint. It's quite possible that the collision of real life and fiction explain why this is Affleck's best performance in many years (at least since HOLLYWOODLAND in 2006). He re-teams here O'Connor, who directed him in THE ACCOUNTANT (2016).

Jack is a former high school basketball star whose life has turned out much differently than expected. His construction job is beating him down, alcohol abuse is slowly destroying him, and he recently split with his wife Angela (Janina Gavankar) after a tragedy. Has he hit rock bottom? It's likely he thinks so. As happens so often in life, an opportunity presents itself. The head Priest at his former catholic high school asks him to step in as basketball coach after the current coach has a heart attack. The team is terrible, and has been that way since Jack graduated 25 years ago. After a painful-to-watch evening of decision-making, Jack accepts the job.

As you would expect, it's a team of misfits who have little concept of teamwork. Affleck excels as a coach who evaluates the talent he has and devises a strategy to not only improve individual player performance, but also inject the philosophies of teamwork and cohesion and commitment. He does this with the help of Algebra teacher slash Assistant Coach Dan (Al Madrigal, "I'm Dying Up Here"), who appreciates what Jack brings to the position, but is also protective of the boys and the school mission.

Jack manages to stay sober while coaching, but we see how fine that line is for an addict. Life suddenly rears up and plops an emotional situation that is simply too much form him to handle. It's here when we realize that while it appeared coaching the team gave Jack a glimmer of hope for a better life, it also allowed him to ignore the personal issues and relationships that had driven him to the bottle. The basketball scenes are the most fun to watch, but it's the realistic life elements that elevate the story. It's excruciating to watch Jack re-telling glory days stories to his 'buddies' at the local neighborhood bar, only to be helped home by the same old man who used to carry his father home from the same bar. The perpetuation of misery is a story that is all too relatable for many.

Jack's good qualities are evident when he's prodding ultra-quiet point guard Brandon (Brandon Wilson) into taking on a leadership role and thinking of his future, but that's contrasted with his inconsiderate treatment of his sister Beth (Michaela Watkins) and Father Mark (Jeremy Radin), the team/school Chaplain. It's the two sides of Jack that so clearly resonate with those who have experienced addiction. This is a guy who botched his college/basketball opportunity, but managed to build a new life, only to have it snatched away in the cruelest way possible. It's imperative that he come to grips with all of that in some place other than the bottom of a beer mug.

The outstanding screenplay comes from Brad Ingelsby (OUT OF THE FURNACE, 2013), and with director O'Connor and the cast, the film has a throwback to the 70's feel ... gritty and realistic. This is not the smirking, strutting stud we are accustomed to seeing with Affleck. He seems immersed in the role and brings an understanding to the struggles, the rehab, and the importance of a support system. Redemption played a huge part in the classic HOOSIERS (1986) and most every other rag-tag sports team in movies, and THE WAY BACK shows us there really is no going back ... instead, we must deal with life in order to move on.

The Way Back is a movie that is quite enjoyable especially if you are a fan of sports movies and love basketball. Ben Affleck gives a strong performance which feels very personal to him. This element heightens the film even more, it has a lot of things that you would find in the sports genre such as: Motivational scenes which make you feel good and make you want to support the characters. It doesn't oversimplify the game of basketball as well, the way they use strategies and plays feel like something you would actually see in a huddle of a high school basketball game and as a former assistant coach for a school basketball team I found that to be a really cool element. The way it handles the drama aspects outside of basketball and the real reason as to why the character is an alcoholic I found to be quite compelling and it felt quite emotional at times.

The film has a couple of drawbacks with the main one being that this is a little too cliched at times, a lot of tropes that you would see in sports films happen in this one, and I noticed that a lot of elements on the coaches interactions with the players were a little too similar to coach carter, which was a film that handled those elements better. Also the acting apart from Affleck for the most part was sub par, especially in the first act. The run time felt a little too long as well due to the fact that there were a lot of sub plots, I think it could have been better if they would cut some of them out to create a more tighter storyline.

Overall, I had a good time with the way back, i think if you're not a fan of the genre you wont find anything new here. However if you love sports, basketball and typical films in this genre you will have a good time like I did, and the awesome Ben Affleck performance is a bonus.