The last time actor Ben Affleck and director Gavin O’Connor made a movie together, it was The Accountant. Will their follow-up, The Way Back, also become a future cable classic? Well, it’s an inspirational sports movie, about a once-promising athlete, now down-on-his-luck alcoholic (Affleck) who coaches a high school basketball team, so probably. It looks like Hardball, but with booze instead of gambling (time will only tell who the G-Baby is), meets Warrior, which, coincidentally, O’Connor also directed.
Here’s the official plot summary:
Jack Cunningham (Ben Affleck) once had a life filled with promise. In high school, he was a basketball phenom with a full university scholarship, when suddenly, for reasons unknown, he walked away from the game, forfeiting his future. Now years later, Jack is spiraling down, triggered by an unspeakable loss, and drowning in the alcoholism that cost him his marriage and any hope for a better life. When he is asked to coach the basketball team at his alma mater, which has fallen far since his glory days, he reluctantly accepts, surprising no one more than himself. As the boys start to come together as a team and win, Jack may have finally found a reason to confront the demons that have derailed him. But will it be enough to fill the void, heal the deep wounds of his past, and set him on the road to redemption?
The Way Back, which also stars Janina Gavankar, opens on March 6, 2020.
