Review: The Way Back

Image courtesy of Warner Bros.

Gavin O'Connor's "The Way Back" follows some of the very typical formulaic turns you might expect in an underdog sports story - but it's surprisingly more than that, fueled by a strong leading performance by Ben Affleck and a secondary story about grief that often overshadows the picture's sports element.

Affleck, who in recent years has received more attention for his directorial work than his appearances in front of the camera, gives his best performance in years as Jack Cunningham, a former high school basketball star who hasn't done much in his life after those glory days - other than work the occasional construction job, screw up his marriage and drink himself into oblivion every night, whether at home, where he keeps a refrigerator well-stocked with beer, or at a local dive bar.

Jack hasn't become an alcoholic for the sake of it. There's a tragedy lurking beneath the surface that's pretty easy to spot before it's actually addressed - but when it is, you'll be surprised how it's not used for melodramatic purposes, but rather to flesh out Jack's troubled character.

Jack's saving grace is getting called - somewhat out of the blue - by the Catholic school where he played high school ball to come coach the school's struggling team. In fact, the team is so bad that it hasn't won a championship since Jack himself played during the mid-1990s.

There are a few elements that are slightly askew in the picture: the team's turnaround seems to miraculously happen quickly as soon as Jack shows up to coach them, and the team's players are somewhat nebulous. Regarding the first issue, the picture insinuates that the talent was there all along, but perhaps not the discipline, so the quick turnaround of the team's fortunes threatens its believability.

Regarding the second issue, the players mostly exist to serve the purpose of Jack's story, with the exception of soft-spoken point guard Brandon (Brandon Wilson), who Jack gets to know while driving him home from practice. The young man's father never attends his games, and while Jack wants Brandon to be the team's captain, he tries to teach him assertiveness. There's also a team flirt and another guy with attitude who gets cut from the team, but later apologizes and comes back. In other words, the players mostly exist as figures, rather than characters.

However, "The Way Back" focuses more of its attention on Jack's troubles, and finds a good amount of success in delivering an intriguing and often moving film around them. And yes, the actual sports sequences - which tend to be the main draw for these types of films - are actually pretty exciting. There's a sense of urgency and realism to them that make them compelling, rather than the overdramatized types of scenes that often accompany sports pictures.

All in all, "The Way Back" is a pleasant - although its subject matter often isn't - surprise. It features the best performance in some time by its lead actor, tackles weighty subject matter but isn't bleak or without hope, includes some genuinely exciting sports sequences and is inspiring without working too hard for it.