The Way Back

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.

This is a story about a man, approaching middle age, and out of the blue being asked to step in as head coach of a mediocre high school basketball team. That the man is an alcoholic battling his demons is the real story.

Ben Affleck is in the lead role as Jack, working in construction, separated from his wife and still grieving from the death of his young son just a few years earlier. His routine is to stop at the local bar after work and often being helped home, walking distance away, by a regular patron.

Jack had been a statewide basketball star in high school but gave up the chance to play in college at Kansas and a potential pro career. Because of issues related to his dad. And now his old school is asking him for help with the team.

This is a really good movie but hard to watch at times. Affleck himself has been on a similar path so his performance is very authentic. In a 5-minute extra on the disc he explains how his own battle with alcoholism entered into the characterization. My wife and I watched it at home on DVD from our public library.

The dialog, acting, the characters, production value, etc. of this movie were excellent. It is a very honest representation of a man suffering with grief and alcoholism.

However, it suffers from being a retread of many other similar movies. You can trace the story arc easily and predict what will happen throughout. You also shouldn't go into this movie thinking it is a 'sports' movie, while basketball coaching serves as a vehicle of redemption, you could have written the same movie about someone taking a job teaching a class or working with special needs kids.

Finally, be warned that this is a very 'heavy' movie. There are a few lighter scenes, but >80% of the movie is dramatic and played for an emotional punch.

Worth a watch for Affeck's performance.

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.

Jack Cunningham (Ben Affleck) is an alcoholic construction worker separated from his wife Angela (Janina Gavankar) after a devastating tragedy. He is convinced to coach his alma mater Catholic high school Bishop Hayes basketball team. It's the site of his greatest glory where he threw away his potential and started a descent into addiction.

As a sports underdog story, this is very standard and straight forward. The most non-standard aspect of that happens at the end when it stops short. It's also very stripped down. The kids would normally get more screen time. Only one kid gets a functional character progression. Mostly, this is compelling for Ben Affleck playing a struggling alcoholic and director Gavin O'Connor trying to strip him down to the studs. My only complaint about his part is that he needs to show his self-destructiveness more overtly in the beginning. He should start in a bad place and then recover over the movie until he starts backsliding. It doesn't need to be a mystery.