The Way Back

THE GIST: A once promising basketball player spends his free time drinking himself into a stupor. When offered the chance to coach the basketball team at his old school, he reluctantly accepts. It might be his last chance at getting his life back on track.

The premise of The Way Back often underpins sports themed movies: a ragtag team can't seem to find its winning streak until the right coach comes along. What makes this movie different, and better, is that the central story is not really about the team but the coach, and Ben Affleck does an excellent job of portraying the despair affecting this man's entire existence.

I've read that while filming, Affleck was actually going through a crisis of his own (his divorce), which led him to abuse alcohol. He himself has admitted that his real life experience largely informed his performance.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The movie is pretty bleak for a lot of the running time, but it feels real and Affleck makes the coach relatable. It's also based on a true story, which I always consider a plus.

Grade: 7