Affleck are relative newcomers or
character actors, lending credibility to
proceedings. As such, any sense of star
wattage is dialled right down, as the
director leans more towards a
character study in the vein of the
Charles Bukowski-scripted Barfly.
Staying closer to the basketball court
also marks the film out from other
rehab dramas. There are no cliched
scenes of characters sitting in a circle
unpacking their problems.BACKBOARD JUNGLE
O’Connor also mines impressive
performance from his youngsters,
who can act almost as well as they can
shoot hoops. Among the standouts are
Brandon Wilson as a talented-but-
reserved player and Will Ropp as a
cheeky charmer. You can expect to be
seeing more of them in the future.say, Sam Taylor-Johnson’s A Million
Little Pieces, O’Connor’s film has a
more fairytale element to it, of the
sort common to any number of sports
films. But, smartly, screenwriter Brad
Ingelsby, who co-wrote Scott Cooper’s
highly credible Out Of The Furnace, does
not equate success on the basketball
court with recovery. Instead the idea
of self-improvement, and the
dedication it takes, lingers.
O’Connor, meanwhile, largely
manages to hold back on the
sentiment. It helps that aroundWhile Finding The Way Back works
as a triumph-of-the-underdog
story, what you’ll ultimately take
away is Affleck’s work. After the
middling Bat-Fleck years, it’s
heartening to see him deliver
something straight from his soul.
It feels like a return to an earlier
phase of his career when he was
making dramas like Boiler Room,
Changing Lanes and Good Will
Hunting. Maybe the fact that Affleck
can identify with some of the issues
involved adds to the performance,
but he really does give it every
ounce he’s got. James MottramTHE VERDICT
A film that works both as a sports
drama and a study of trauma,
addiction and recovery.PREDICTED INTEREST CURVE™
THRILLED
ENTERTAINED
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RUNNING TIME 0 20 40 60 80 108CannedFridge raidSwearing
Team talkE.R. Fired VictoryGAMESRADARCOM/TOTALFILM APRIL 2020 | TOTAL FILM