When one looks at the different kinds of movie genres in film, sports dramas is typically a successful and safe one as audiences tend to gravitate to the inspirational messages behind them as they not only glorify the games the stories are based around, but carry with them hard-hitting life messages that audiences can connect with at the films core.
The Way Back proves to be no different as the film is not just about sports, but shows the struggle regarding addiction with it carrying themes pertaining to battling alcoholism, addiction, experiencing loss and grief, and also finding personal redemption and newfound purpose through the game of sports. For the films main actor Ben Affleck, the role felt like the ideal one for the actor/director as he's apparently struggled with alcoholism off-screen throughout his life, which he cites as contributing to his real life divorce much like the character he plays in the movie. For Affleck,
The Way Back proves to be a story about self-reflection and life struggles, while also showing how one can make a difference in other people's lives through bettering their own. In the case of Affleck's character, he finds a newfound purpose as well as a chance to help others by coaching a basketball team consisting of young teenagers struggling to find their own footing in life. The end result isn't anything groundbreaking by any means nor anything different than what audiences have seen before, but there's enough heart, noble-intentions behind telling the story, and powerful acting shown here to make it an experience worth seeing as the film is well-balanced in terms of delivering on it's sports premise, while going deeper with it by showing that newfound purposes and comebacks are attainable to those struggling with their own demons.
The plot for
The Way Back centers around a former high school basketball phenomenon Jack Cunningham (Played surprisingly well by Ben Affleck in one of his finest acting performances, if not the best), who walked away from the game as well as being separated from his wife (Played by Janina Zione Gavankar) due to addiction regarding alcohol, reluctantly accepts a coaching job at his old high school to oversee a basketball team in desperate need of coaching, both on and off the court, while giving him his one last shot at redemption. On paper,
The Way Back feels similar to other sports dramas with similar plots structures such as
Coach Carter in terms of the new coach looking after the young teams interests both on and off the court, while leaving an impact on them. The main difference with the storyline for
The Way Back is the more personal approach that the film takes in regards to the coach's own struggles. The film makes no efforts to sugarcoat the fact that Cunningham's character is a flawed individual in desperate need of help as he harbors alot of pain and regret in his life that he's shown to have trouble coping with. The film does a good job of showcasing Affleck's characters personal struggles in regards to battling alcoholism with the audience growing to care about his recovery when he chooses the team over going for another typical after work drink at the bar which generally ends with him being carried up the steps of his house. The audience becomes connected with this character so much that they feel the impact, as well as the disappointment and sadness when his character suddenly relapses with the audience knowing very well what it means for his job with coaching the young basketball team. It's those little subtle moments which give power to the story along with making the audience invested in Jack's road to recovery along with his job as the teams coach. The film isn't without the typical faults of being a sports drama as the story tends to feel a bit familiar to audiences at times, as well as being a tad predictable. What makes the film work are the strong performances from its main cast along with directing that's both well-handled and steady adding realism to the story.
The Way Back may not be anything original in terms of the story it presents, but it packs enough of an emotional punch to make the audience feel something for both the characters and story with it ultimately being an inspiring film about second chances and hope.
Outside of the films notable directing and writing, the soul of the movie lies within the performances of its main cast with Ben Affleck in particular delivering a powerful performance as coach Jack Cunningham. For Affleck, this role is a self-reflection of his own struggles and he plays it as such. Not being well-known for his strength in regards to acting (He's a much better director and writer off camera), Affleck manages to rise to the occasion and portray a flawed yet decent person whose hurting internally after losing both his son as well as his marriage falling apart because of his addiction. He brilliantly conveys the characters struggles with trying to restructure his basketball team to become winners while slowly backing away from alcohol as his team is shown inspiring him to become a better person. Although it might be a little too close to home in regards to Affleck playing the part, he makes his performance convincing, relatable, and eye-opening. This is easily his strongest acting performance since
Gone Girl. In the supporting roles, Al Madigral shines as Dan, assistant coach to Jack who helps him get more comfortable into the role of coaching while trying to keep him on the straight and narrow. Madigral does well with showing likability for his character as he genuinely wants Jack to succeed at coaching the kids. Janina Kavankar impresses as Jack's separated wife Angela with the audience seeing that she still cares about Jack along with sharing the same pain he feels over the loss of their son. Her scenes with Affleck are effective and powerful as the performances of the two say a whole lot about their characters dynamic without showing everything prior. Other notable supporting roles are John Alyward as Father Devine, the pastor who offers Jack the opportunity to coach the basketball team based off his experience of playing the game in his youth. The rest of the supporting cast does well in their roles, particularly the young actors that make up Jack's basketball team including Brandon Wilson as Brandon Duerett, Charles Lott Jr. as Chubbs Hendricks, Will Ropp as Kenny Dawes, Hayes MacArthur as Eric, Fernando Luis Vega as Sam, Melvin Gregg as Marcus, Lukas Gage as Eddie, and Ben Irving as Bobby. As a whole, the cast does very well working together along with delivering strong performances that are believable while adding both realism and heart to the story. Each performer involved feel like they genuinely believe in the story they're telling while having something to say about the themes its conveying to audiences through their characters. For Affleck, this is some of his strongest acting yet with a serious case of it being his best performance yet, marking a complete turnaround from the days of starring in flicks like
Armageddon,
Reindeer Games, Pearl
Harbor, and
Daredevil.
In terms of the films directing, director Gavin O' Connor handles the story with a steady hand, allowing the actors to breathe life into their roles. He gives the film a docu-drama style atmosphere that not only enhances the realism of the story, but makes the films dramatic moments hard-hitting. The audience seeing Affleck's character struggle with alcoholism along with his eventual relapse, is tough to watch at times and genuinely unsettling because of how well Connor sets up the character for the audience to grow connected with. The films sports scenes involving the teams playing basketball are well-shot, though they come across as looking like scenes from any other by-the-numbers basketball story. The films biopic approach in regards to presenting its story with both its docu-style cinematography and strong acting both go hand in hand in ultimately making the film as effective as it ultimately comes across as being. At 108 minutes,
The Way Back moves at a fairly consistent pace allowing the audience enough time to witness Affleck's character ponder over his decision to coach the kids while showing the relationship that he forms with them as their instructor and friend both on and off the court. The films score by Rob Simonsen is both powerful and moving with the music enhancing the emotion that's being poured onto the screen by the acting performances of the cast. It can be argued that Gavin O' Connor filmed this one to look no different than the traditional sports drama on the surface, but he takes a detour from those films with his more personal and risk taking portrait of an individual whose surrounded by sadness and grief that can be seen through Affleck's performance (Particularly in the eyes). While his directing isn't anything groundbreaking to right home about nor will win him any major awards, Connor succeeds in setting up the appropriate atmosphere for the story, that feels just right with the performances dominating the film.
The films screenplay by Brad Ingelsby works in regards to building a solid foundation for the story, as well as the character of Jack Cunningham. The script gives Affleck much to work off in terms of playing the part with him being able to inject some of his own real life struggles into the character. The film plays more like an addiction drama than a typical sports film which makes it distinctive from films such as
Coach Carter and
Hoosiers. The scripts strongest aspect is how relatable the story feels as many of those watching it will be shocked to discover how close to home this feels for them. The film is more of a story about battling addictions and finding redemption through second chances rather than just being about a sport. The use of basketball and the team in the story is put in second place to Affleck's characters arc, though nonetheless proves to be effective in regards to showing the impact that both the team have on Cunningham as a coach with making him want to be a better person and him caring about his team whether they're on the court or off it. Although the young members of the team aren't as well-developed and explored as Affleck's character as the film largely revolves around his arc, the moments where they're developed work well in regards to not only expanding on his journey but the films message as a whole. An example is the subplot involving Jack befriending Brandon's character and trying to encourage his father to show up at his games despite feeling he's throwing his life away with playing Basketball. A scene that does a solid job of setting up this dynamic while demonstrating the films brilliance is one which shows Cunningham giving Brandon a ride home after noticing him walking alone on the side of the road. During their drive, Jack learns that Brandon's mother is dead and his father cares for his younger brothers, largely contributing to the reason behind not attending his games. Whereas a minimal subplot in the film, it proves effective and ultimately works in regards to establishing that Jack understands the desperation his players have for wanting to be apart of the game, as well as needing a positive influence in their lives. The script is not just about showing how the power of addiction and fighting against it can be challenging, but also that a person can ultimately leave a positive influence on another persons life and ultimately change it for the better in some cases (As evidenced by the closing scene in the film showing the surprise twist with Brandon and his father later). The film also manages to carry moments of humor that are cleverly placed throughout the film that helps balance out the dramatic moments to where the film doesn't become too depressing to watch. As far as the writing goes,
The Way Back does well for the most part in telling a tale about one's personal struggle and how the road to redemption though possible, is not an easy one but one that's certainly worth taking as well as ultimately rewarding as evidenced by the scene where Affleck's team win a critical game later in the film with his reaction shown as being an emotional one of both self-satisfaction and deep pride for his team and what they accomplished.
As a film that could've easily fell into the trap of being a cliched and traditional sports drama that lacks a soul,
The Way Back fights and ultimately proves itself to be something more than just a film about basketball, but also about what people endure on and off the court while using the game as a form of liberation and soul- searching. The one aspect about the film besides the strong performances, that makes it work is its heart along with the sincerity behind both the filmmakers and actors intentions to bring this story to the screen. The film serves as a testament regarding the power of addiction and how redemption or getting the opportunity to make things right not just for oneself but for others, are not out of the realm of possibility nor too late to achieve. As the film shows, everyone has their own personal issues to overcome but as
The Way Back shows, it's how they choose to handle those issues that decide their future. While it doesn't fall under the category of being a great film, the film serves as being a story that's well told with strong directing, writing, and acting that feels well-balanced with a main star behind it desiring to make a point through his character that addiction is an extremely hard process to beat but wanting to help others find purpose and healing in their lives is worth overcoming such obstacles if it means making a difference in the lives of others. With his own basketball team, Jack Cunningham not only taught them to be better players in the end, but boosted their confidence while being shown to heal family rifts along the process.
The Way Back is not just a sports movie, it serves as a story about loss, grief, redemption, hope, and receiving chances to make up for past mistakes. It's a story that's about falling down, being able to get back up, and keep moving forward. In a time where the world has become a more dark and cynical place, a story as powerful and inspiring as Jack Cunningham is needed as a reminder that change is always possible in the face of despair but only through hard work and perseverance.
Final Verdict: For those looking for a solid sports drama while wanting a story that goes a bit deeper beyond just a traditional sports themed film,
The Way Back glorifies the sport of Basketball while going a bit further with a plot involving social themes, which feel relevant to today's society hitting both the soul and heart with it's powerful message regarding redemption.
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