Ben Affleck steps into the shoes of a high school basketball coach in the new inspirational sports drama “The Way Back,” releasing from Warner Brothers on March 6. In the trailer, which recently released, Affleck plays Jack, who walked away from a full basketball scholarship because of the pain caused by his father. The priest at his high school then turns to him to consider coaching the team he once led to victory as a player.
While the film has been rated R indicating content intended for adult audiences, the first preview seems destined to appeal to fans of other inspirational dramas such as “Remember the Titans” and “Hoosiers.” During the trailer, one player remarks, “You have to have faith.” A voice toward the end of the trailer tells Affleck’s character, “We can’t change the past, Jack. What we can do is choose how we move forward.” Also, in one stirring pep talk, Affleck rallies the team, telling them that the other team “don’t know what it’s like to get knocked down and have to get back up again.”
The official synopsis:
Jack Cunningham (Ben Affleck) once had a life filled with promise. In high school, he was a basketball phenom with a full university scholarship, when suddenly, for reasons unknown, he walked away from the game, forfeiting his future. Now years later, Jack is spiraling down, triggered by an unspeakable loss, and drowning in the alcoholism that cost him his marriage and any hope for a better life. When he is asked to coach the basketball team at his alma mater, which has fallen far since his glory days, he reluctantly accepts, surprising no one more than himself. As the boys start to come together as a team and win, Jack may have finally found a reason to confront the demons that have derailed him. But will it be enough to fill the void, heal the deep wounds of his past, and set him on the road to redemption?
“The Way Back,” starring Ben Affleck, Al Madrigal, and Michaela Watkins, releases March 6 from Warner Brothers. Watch the trailer below:
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