The Way Back

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Im not the greatest fan of inspirational sports dramas, but I also never disliked one. They all follow this storytelling formula that everyone recognizes, but its always successful. The protagonist is a miserable human being due to some tragic past. He gets another shot at life, usually an underdog situation, and he ultimately overcomes whatever challenge is thrown at him, including his addictions if he has any. Everyone lives happily ever after, and the viewer leaves the theater with a smile because thats how it makes us feel.

Its incredibly easy to root for an underdog trying to raise its level and to reach something it never believed i...

The Way Back (2020) is a return to form for Ben Affleck following an aimless second half of the previous decade specifically his ill-advised stint in the DC Universe. In this drama directed by Gavin O'Connor and written by Brad Ingelsby (co-writer of the excellent Out of the Furnace), Affleck plays Jack Cunningham, a former high school star basketball player turned alcoholic construction worker who reluctantly accepts a coaching job at his alma mater.

How do we know he's an alcoholic? Well, drinking beer in the shower is certainly not a good sign (and there are many others), but its mostly Affleck, who not only looks and sounds but for all intents and purposes is the part, turning in a cathartic, demon-exorcising performance.

The cen...