Directed by Gavin O’Connor
Written by Brad Ingelsby and Gavin O’Connor
Starring Ben Affleck, Janina Gavankar, Al Madrigal and Michaela Watkins
Running Time: 1 hour and 48 minutes
MPAA Rating: R for language throughout including some sexual references

by Rosalie Kicks, Old Sport

“I’m fine. I appreciate it, I’m fine.”

When I graduated from film school my plan was gutsy, but simple: I would move to Los Angeles, California, assume a minimal lifestyle and become a film director. In order to accomplish this, prior to my expedition to the left coast I rid myself of all non-movie related paraphernalia. My wardrobe would be limited to polka dot shirts and striped pants… I was hoping this would be a diversion tactic of sorts when I pitched my zillion dollar evil dollz epic to Spoolberg. How could a producer worry about a budget when they are more concerned with the conflicting patterns of stripes and dots? I wasn’t willing to do anything to get my movie made, but I was willing to sleep on a lawn chair if need be. There is nothing more important than the picture, not even sleep. Rest and relaxation shall come when I am dead. Unfortunately, the dead part almost became a reality. Similar to the character Jack Cunningham (Ben Affleck) in The Way Back, I almost found myself with a one way ticket to coffin comfort via alcohol.

Hidden in Gavin O’Connor’s pseudo-sports drama, The Way Back, lies a compelling, relatable story about a person that is seeking their purpose. Jack is essentially the town drunkard. A lonely barfly who has succumbed to a monotonous life that consists of Saturday night drunk dials to his ex-wife, being carried home by an elderly regular bar patron/friend and flopped blacked out in his bed. When he receives an unexpected (clearly unwanted) call from his former high school looking for a new basketball coach, Jack takes this as just another reason to turn to the bottle for the answer. Understand, his life is very full…. full of beer. (Un)Fortunately for him old people are relentless and eventually he has found himself courtside.

Initially with resistance, Jack takes the job. Frankly, it doesn’t seem to really be getting in the way of his other social activities, as there are none. There are bumps at first, but eventually he trades his after work drink for a good night’s rest and his lunch break tippling time, instead, is used to sketch out game plans. This movie is not doing anything remarkable, yet I found it to be made rather well and the story to be worth telling. Despite how it is being sold via trailers and teasers, this is not your basic misfit sports team that finds how to work together to succeed. The focus here is Jack and Ben Affleck gives a truly effective performance as a hopeless guy that has cashed out on life but manages to see that it is never too late to turn it around. He is a reminder of the impact that one person can have. At one point, Jack informs the players that if they are going to start winning games, they have to get all the little things right. Slowly but surely the team pulls it together and learns that the small choices we make end up having a larger impact. The same could be said for Jack and his life.

Jack’s journey to recovery does not come without hardships. However, when one has a purpose in life, the road can seem a bit easier. Without direction, it is understandable to feel lost. This was the part of the tale that hit home for me. Much like, Jack when my stint in Los Angeles ended with me drowning in my own misery figuratively and literally, I not only strayed from my calling as living my life as a piece of film, I fell down a black hole. I landed in a world in which movies didn’t exist. When my friend Francis brought me into Moviejawn and reminded me that the only thing that matters is movies, I was revived. I was shown my purpose. Jack misplaced the thing in his life that brought him joy and replaced it with an activity that not only caused sadness but suppressed it. He never faced his past mistakes, trauma or missteps. He drowned his issues with liquid courage. There is a line in the film, “We can’t change the past - instead choose how you move forward.” It took Jack a while to understand this. It is often seen as simpler to band-aid a problem rather than just resolving it, but in the end, it if it isn’t taken straight on, our past will find a way to haunt us.