238. Finding The Way Back; movie review

FINDING THE WAY
Cert 15
108 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong language

Hats off to Ben Affleck.
It must have taken great bravery for him to play a character who has battled the same demons as he has done in real life.
Affleck has confessed that addiction to alcohol cost him his marriage and has had a deeply negative effect on his wider family.
Therefore, it must have been tough to portray hard-drinking Jack, the lead in Gavin O'Connor's Finding The Way Back.
Jack is a former basketball star whose family life is in ruins because he has turned to the bottle for solace after tragedy.
Out of the blue, the head of his Catholic high school (John Aylward) turns to him for help to fill the vacancy of coach to his former team. Initially, he swerves the opportunity but the lure of the game becomes magnetic.
Thus, he has a group of ill-disciplined teenagers to mentor with the help of an enthusiastic but ill-qualified assistant manager (Al Madrigal) under the beady eye of a clergyman (Jeremy Radin).
While he knows much about basketball and getting the best from his players, Jack's private life spills too often into the school and sporting environment.
Thus, the film becomes a battle between his desire to help the team improve and the addiction to drink which dulls a terrible trauma.
And while there are predictable moments in the movie, its makers do their best to avoid cliched answers.
I am not Affleck's biggest fan, particularly during the Batman years when he has been a sub-standard caped crusader while making other duff movie choices.
However, both Mrs W and I enjoyed his portrayal of Jack - a complex man whose anger is cover for deep hurt.
Hopefully, it has been cathartic for him to do so and will lead him to pick up a career and home life which are both in need of rebuilding.

Reasons to watch: Decent tearjerker
Reasons to avoid: A tad predictable

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 7/10

Did you know? More Americans play basketball than any other team sport, according to the National Sporting Goods Association, with over 26 million Americans playing basketball.

The final word. Ben Affleck: “There’s a lot of alcoholism and mental illness in my family. The legacy of that is quite powerful and sometimes hard to shake.” 

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