Watched in the cinema

Director Gavin O'Connor and Ben Affleck already worked together on the last film "The Accountant". Back then, the Hollywood star impersonated an autistic math genius with combat experience who works for the underworld. Their new work "The Way Back" (in the German version "Out of Play") is a bit more down-to-earth and everyday. The former star player has turned into a wreck that only gets going thanks to an enormous consumption of alcohol. Especially at the beginning, the film shows how beer and co. have become a constant companion, when people constantly reach for a glass or bottle - out of pure automatism.

At first you might think that "The Way Back" is one of those films in which people who are at their lowest point pull themselves together and find themselves again in one way or another. Triggers can be other people, a new love is high on the list. Maybe it's also a drastic experience, which leads to the desire to get a grip on oneself again. Here it's the sport instead, combined with the possibility to give young players the chance of a life he could have had himself, if things hadn't gone completely different. What caused him to throw everything away, which is not clear at the time, will only be revealed little by little, like other backgrounds.

What's unusual is how "The Way Back" basically connects two stories with each other. One is about Jack and his attempt to lead a normal life again - a character drama. The other one is the fight of the underdogs, which is always popular in the sports world, who defy all odds and triumph over the favorites. Both is good, is made for some uplifting feel-good cinema, that suggests: "You can do anything if you put your mind to it." The beautiful old American dream, which is now completely outdated in economic terms, but still has enough appeal on a personal level.

In fact, one should not hope to gain new insights from this. Screenwriter Brad Ingelsby doesn't even try to break away from the usual conventions. Apart from Jack's backstory, which at the beginning still leaves many question marks, you pretty much know what to expect during the course of the movie. There is also a lack of the courage for a real ugliness, which such an addiction can bring along. "The Way Back" does show how hard it is for Jack to find control and inner peace. However, O'Connor shuns to put too much on the audience. He looks into the abyss without really daring to go deep, the drama isn't a new "Leaving Las Vegas" in this respect.

Nevertheless, it is worth seeing, especially thanks to Affleck's strong performance. The actor, who himself had to struggle with excessive alcohol consumption for quite some time and therefore regularly ended up in the gossip press, used the movie to also process his own experiences. This sometimes has something slightly voyeuristic about it, when you don't know exactly where the boundaries between private and professional life run. But it's also authentic, contributes significantly to the fact that you keep your fingers crossed for the failed existence up there on the screen, that you are happy about every glimmer of hope and despair of the setbacks that such a topic brings along, as it were by definition.