The Way Back Review: 5 Ups & 2 Downs

4. Ben Affleck's Powerful, Restrained Performance

Considering the personal nature of this film's story, it was a given Affleck would turn out a good performance. Yet, his work here really illustrates just how talented he is, utilizing what's on the script and making Jack an authentic, genuine person anyone could know in real life.

He avoids turning Jack into a caricature of a person at any point, which, given the way other movies often handle characters suffering from alcoholism, is a breath of fresh air. What you get instead is a realistic person who is an alcoholic, but that's not all he is. Affleck gives Jack a true sense of humanity and charm. Even in those rougher moments where he loses his cool and curses somebody out, Affleck never loses you or your empathy towards his plight.

Jack is much more than a brazen, foul-mouthed coach. He's a man who is dealing with great loss and is attempting to cope (poorly). Affleck gives this role every bit of him and it pays dividends for the film as a whole. It's a performance that never goes over-the-top either. No 'going for the Oscar' scenes, no dramatic emotional shouting matches, just an impressively-restrained, well-balanced portrayal all-around.