A Familiar Face: The Way Back
It’s fitting that The Way Back opens on Ben Affleck’s character working construction. Like the skyscrapers towering over city blocks that have scaffolding around them for ages, Jack Cunningham (Ben Affleck) requires more than a quick fix in hopes of assimilating back into society.
Director Gavin O’Connor is no stranger to the sports-drama film. With his takes on Miracle (2004) and Warrior (2011) he has shown his understanding of what makes a great sport-drama. Seeing the downtrodden rise to the occasion. An outcast finding his or her place in the world. An eclectic group of players from the “super-star”, to the funny one, to the token white kid, all learning to stop thinking of themselves, but to start thinking of each other. That is in spades in this film and arguably its weakest point. But where does The Way Back shine?
Ben Affleck give a performance to be reckoned with in The Way Back. Drawing from real life experiences you see Ben put his heart and soul into this film. Jack Cunningham is a character who could have had it all but threw it away for the wrong reasons. A man who has continuously been knocked down in his life, and who has gotten tired of getting back up. Being their second time working together (previously on the 2016 action-thriller The Accountant) Ben and Gavin have a rapport with one another that allows them to truly dive into this character study. Director Gavin O’Connor and Cinematographer Eduard Grau frequently shoot Jack through doorways, windshield, and on handheld to show our protagonist’s ever faltering world. Like when trying to focus after a few drinks with friends, the camera sways from side to side, overshoots its target and frequently must readjust, trying to zero in on Ben Affleck’s performance. Its clear that Ben was working from within in this picture, this is a nuanced performance, he isn’t saying “Look at me! Look at how amazing I am as a drunk” but instead is shedding light to a side of him that has frequently pushed aside, which is what I think this film’s message truly is about.
Grief, pain, sadness. All these things can define a person. Its how we take these hardships and move on with our lives that truly shape the people we are to become. The Way Back shows us what can happen when we don’t unload our pain, when we always try and carry it with us. We struggle, we make mistakes, and we find ourselves right back where we started. This film is a message to all of those still holding on to their pain that letting go, isn’t saying goodbye. Its moving forward.
With a third act “twist” (which I use lightly) The Way Back is able to separate itself from all other sport-dramas, but at the end of the day this is a character study of how we handle our greatest lows and attempt to rise to greatness.