The welcome return of sad Ben Affleck

In The Way Back, the Hollywood A-lister returns to his underdog comfort zone

In a world with so much access to gossip, we should be accustomed to what we know (or think we know) about the "real" lives of movie stars bleeding into their work, creating a hybrid of their on-screen and off-screen personas. But it's still striking to watch the opening moments of The Way Back and notice all the ways it looks like a portrait of Sad Ben Affleck: His heftier frame, a five o'clock shadow that's blossomed into a full beard, casually heavy drinking, and even glimpses of elaborate tattoos peeking out from his sleeves. It's a little more intimate than something a paparazzi might capture (he's seen sipping on shower beers) and depicted with more dingy-looking artistry (a muted, gritty texture to the cinematography), but the parallels are inescapable.

Not that Affleck has been trying to escape them. His playing of an alcoholic former high school basketball star in Gavin O'Connor's The Way Back, out Friday, has dovetailed with press profiles that cover his own real-life attempts to stay sober, especially in the aftermath of his divorce. Jack Cunningham, his Way Back character, is separated from his wife, and not so different from a character he played around this time last year in Triple Frontier — another guy who cracks beers in his car with major Divorced Dad energy.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Jesse Hassenger

Jesse Hassenger's film and culture criticism has appeared in The Onion's A.V. Club, Brooklyn Magazine, and Men's Journal online, among others. He lives in Brooklyn, where he also writes fiction, edits textbooks, and helps run SportsAlcohol.com, a pop culture blog and podcast.