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The Way Back Review

Affleck turns in his most memorable performance in years.

By Kenneth BelliveauPublished 4 years ago 4 min read
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Films tend to try and blend reality with a flare of the dramatic so we don't feel that rush of realism and can escape from the hard hitting aspects of said reality. The Way Back is one of those films while it's themes are heavy and emotional you cannot help but feel connected to the humour that stems from the reality this film looks at.

Ben Affleck's Jack Cunningham is tasked with coaching a struggling Catholic High School Basketball team and his colorful language due to his struggles with alcohol are some of the film's strongest moments and lead to the biggest development within the teenage characters. It helps relay the message that within struggle we can still find strength. Within trying to do better we can accidentally be brutally honest with positive and often numerous results. His honesty with the team chaplain is what makes his struggle real and funny at the same time. I know that's an odd take when the film captures the realism of his struggle with absolute reality while trying to show us how day to day life works.

It has a very powerful second and third act where the first is designed at setting up Jack and his mundane day to day life and his struggles with alcohol the second shows us his mentoring and leadership qualities while the ever lurking Monster of his alcoholism is given a back ground seat until you know it will inevitably rear it's ugly head during the film's final stretch. It's that moment when you realize what led to his struggles and disconnect that hit hard. It's meant to do this. It's purely by design that there is almost zero mention of his child until it is designed to hurt his momentum from the second act. It's a gut punch and a real emotional one at that and that leads to a new level of understanding of the Jack that is presented during the film's first act. It's known that human beings often bottle their feelings and never face them and Jack is the embodiment of that on screen.

The Way Back works well because it allows Affleck the ability to display vulnerability when it mattered most. On the court he wanted the boys to seem as a hardass leader try to instill within them a drive to win while keeping his own demons close to his chest. He pushes everyone away that tries to indicate a struggle and really becomes emotionally drained by the third act. The only complaint really is the quickness in which the alcoholism is brought back and he finally realizes how much it is hurting him and those he loves the most. It spent a lot of time designing this character as flawed yet capable of functioning for the most part despite these flaws. Affleck could have given a performance for the ages had he been given a little more time to explore the grief, the anger and the frustration of his only positive thing being stripped from him. That's not to take away from the performance he did give it just seemed like a quick turn around to spend all this time investing in a character just to have it all come back and be dealt with during the last 15 minutes of the film as if it wasn't the thematic focus of the film to begin with.

Worthy of a recommendation if you are on the fence about watching this. There is not much that doesn't work in some way and it's a beautiful performance from Affleck that was much needed. He hasn't looked this polished since The Town and it's a friendly reminder that with a well thought out script and a good story Affleck is still one of the best in the game.

Acting- 8/10- While Affleck was memorable most of the other characters are throw away cutout characters who are designed to enhance his plot and not really developed to their full potential. That doesn't hurt the overall quality of the film as this is Jack's story but it does hurt the quality of performance given by the actors cast in the film.

Writing- 8/10- It's quick paced coming in at crisp 1hr45 minutes in length. There could have been a little more substance leading into the third act to try and open up more vulnerability. The ending comes up on the audience rather quickly and doesn't allow for us to fully invest in the descent to losing the coaching gig.

Directing- 8/10- Universally across the board this film comes off as a great story with emotional resonance and a solid performance from its lead actor. It's nothing grand in the format of the film or in the way the story is presented to the audience. It's quite simply just an emotional story designed for maximum effectiveness that takes no bold moves to try and set itself apart. While it stands in my opinion as enjoyable these themes and stories have been presented before in very similar ways.

Overall Score- 8/10- It lives and breathes on Affleck and his performance and he nails it. The story is designed to hit us hard and makes us feel for Jack. It effectively does that and does it well. The rest falls in line nicely and it finds itself being an enjoyable film while not standing above anything similar in nature.

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About the Creator

Kenneth Belliveau

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