FRIDAY,MARCH6,2020 | THEGLOBEANDMAILO NEWS | A
T
he Way Backis not a basket-
ball movie. It’s a grief/
booze/recovery movie. But
it follows a familiar playbook:
Our hero is down at the tip-off, up
at the halftime buzzer, has a
rough third quarter and then
drives hard to the end – though
the film dearly hopes that its big
finish is not the one you expect.
Jack Cunningham (Ben Af-
fleck), we are told many times,
was a Catholic League high-
school basketball god, player of
the year in ’93-’94 (reads the ban-
ner that dominates his former
gym). Guys in his Southern Cali-
fornia industrial neighbourhood
still talk about his 47-point game.
But when we meet him, he’s sep-
arated from his wife, Angela (Ja-
nina Gavankar), sullen with his
sister, Beth (Michaela Watkins),
and pounding booze around the
clock. His soap rack holds the
beers he swills during his morn-ing shower. He pours gin into his
thermos at his construction job.
He spends his evenings closing
down the local bar.
All of this is true to life, but be-
ing true to the life of an alcoholic
gets boring, since the disease in-
volves repetitive self-destruction.
The first act is slooooow.
Then out of the blue, Jack gets
a phone call from his alma mater,
Bishop Hayes High. Their basket-
ball squad is flailing (enrolmentdown, only 10 kids on the roster,
stuck in a losing streak), and now
the coach is sick. Can Jack sub in
and save them – and oh yes, just
maybe, save himself along the
way?
Things pick up in the second
quarter. Jack swears a blue streak,
to the chagrin of his assistant
coach Dan (Al Madrigal). But the
kids are receptive to his underdog
philosophy – always keep press-
ing. Do the little things right. Play
with a chip on your shoulder. Cue
the “We’re winning!” montage.
There are some fouls. Director
Gavin O’Connor (who previously
directed Affleck inThe Account-
ant) distinguishes the players in
only the most cursory ways: one
has a father who doesn’t support
his hoop dreams; one is a Lotha-
rio; one is called Chubbs (he also
dances funny). And what hap-
pens to all Jack’s drinking? We
never see him stop; there’s no
sweaty cold-turkey scene. But
suddenly he appears able to get
by fairly sober.
Until, that is, the beginning of
the third quarter, when we get the
big reveal, the family tragedy (a
wholly legitimate one, which I
won’t spoil) that split Jack’s mar-
riage and sent him to the bottom
of the bottle. After a party scenethat’s subtle but strong, Jack tells
Angela, “I never stop being an-
gry,” and fair enough. Still, it’s
time to cue the downward spiral;
Jack returns to booze, swears at a
ref and gets tossed from the
game, crashes his car, lands in the
clink.
Throughout, Affleck does his
best acting in years – charming
where he can be, a jerk when the
story requires it. He’s handed a
pair of monologues to explain his
backstory, and although they’re
too tidy (two words: daddy is-
sues), he finesses them. He’s not
playing himself in any way, but he
seems to know a lot about a guy
who was formerly on top, whose
drinking and denial cost him his
marriage and threatened a career
he loves.
The film clearly wants to take
Jack’s advice – to chip away at
home truths, to pay attention to
the little things – and often it suc-
ceeds. In the fourth quarter, it piv-
ots away from the sports-movie
playbook and sets the climax off
the court. It’s a solid effort. There
are guts here, just not quite
enough glory.SpecialtoTheGlobeandMailTheWayBackopensMarch6.Usingeveryclichéintheunderdogsports-teamplaybook
BenAffleck,centre,giveshisbestperformanceinyearsasanalcoholic
whobecomesthecoachofhisformerhighschool’sbasketballteam.Despiteafewfoulsin
characterdevelopment
andpredictableplot
tropes,BenAffleck
deliversintheleadrole
JOHANNASCHNELLER
REVIEWTheWayBack
CLASSIFICATION:14A;108MINUTES
DirectedbyGavinO’Connor
WrittenbyBradIngelsby
StarringBenAffleck,AlMadrigal
andMichaelaWatkins
★★½
A
t the end of Disney and
Pixar’sOnward, I was sud-
denly craving cheese puffs.
In fact, I even bought a small bag
as I headed home, pondering the
movie I just saw. The snack isn’t
really germane to the story – just
a quick plot point in the latter
half of the movie. But my pur-
chase reflects the impressive, im-
mersive experience of this ani-
mated feature. Like other Pixar
hits such asWALL-E,Up,Monsters
Inc.and theToy Storyseries,On-
wardis a delightful family movie
that packs an emotional punch.And, as far as I was concerned,
manifests itself in a physical af-
terthought.
Onwardtells the story of teen-
age elf brothers Ian (Tom Hol-
land) and Barley Lightfoot (Chris
Pratt), who embark on a quest to
connect with their dead father
and rediscover the magic forgot-
ten by the modern, suburban
world they live in.
There’s a distinctly eighties
vibe to the film, both in terms of
its animation and the storytell-
ing that unfolds. This may well
be becauseOnwardis inspireddirectly by writer-director Dan
Scanlon’s experience of growing
up with his brother, after their
father died in a car accident.
That personal connection of
dealing with grief and bereave-
ment clearly informs the movie.
Rather than plumbing into
depths of sorrow, however, it of-
fers up lessons in life and love, as
the two brothers rediscover the
bond that ties them together.
As a parent of two fairly sensi-
tive kids, who prefer to avoid
scary movies, I appreciated the
gentle and whimsical touch tothe magical world conjured up,
as well as the quick nods toLord
of the Rings. Another plus? No
overt attempts to add jokes for
the parents accompanying the
children. Just a good, solid and
tight script that was brought
alive by all the cast members, no
matter how small their part.
Go and watch the wonders of
Onward. Just stay away from the
cheese puffs afterwards.Special to The Globe and MailOnwardopens March 6.Pixar’slatestisawhimsicalfamilyfilmthatpacksanemotionalpunch
APARITABHANDARI
REVIEWOnward
CLASSIFICATIONG;109MINUTES
DirectedbyDanScanlon
WrittenbyDanScanlon,
JasonHeadleyandKeithBunin
Featuringthevoicesof
TomHolland,ChrisPratt
andJuliaLouis-Dreyfus
★★★½