ST. LOUIS — Once upon a time-well, two times actually-Ben Affleck was on top of the world in Hollywood.
Back in the late 1990's, he was an Oscar winner for the "Good Will Hunting" screenplay. For the people who think Matt Damon wrote that film, check the IMDB page of each actor to see which one has co-written several scripts and which has done little to no writing. That was all Affleck, folks.
But a series of bad starring roles and a very public relationship (and break-up) with Jennifer Lopez sent him spiraling, where even a solid tearjerker like "Jersey Girl" and underrated drama like “Changing Lanes” was dusted off the table at the box office.
But then Affleck met Jennifer Garner and adapted "Gone Baby, Gone" for the big screen, casting his brother Casey in the film-which big brother Ben also directed. Affleck followed that up with one of the best cops/robbers flicks from the past 20 years in "The Town," but he struck Oscar gold with "Argo," which won Best Picture.
He was on top of the world again but would get knocked off through a series of gambles. The first was portraying an older, angrier Batman in Zack Snyder's DC films, including a showdown with Superman and "Justice League." Affleck's "Live by Night," a Depression-era gangster flick, bombed at the box office. The comic movies were either critically destroyed and box office disappointments.
Even worse, Affleck's personal demons got in his way again. The drinking, addiction, and turbulent nature that had sent him to rehab twice wrecked his marriage to Garner, yet lent him sage knowledge about whether or not to write, direct, and star in a solo Batman film.
In a revealing and quite candid interview with this week, Affleck opened up about alcoholism, rebuilding his career, and what the biggest regret of his life is. For instance, when Affleck showed his rough draft for “The Batman” to a friend, they told him it was good but that getting it made would probably cause Affleck to drink himself to death.
But that wasn’t his biggest regret. For Affleck, that would be letting a healthy and lovely marriage with Garner slip away via his own demons and overwork. In one of the most honest parts of the interview with Brooke Barnes, Affleck breaks down the process of being an addict. “You’re trying to make yourself feel better with eating or drinking or sex or gambling or shopping or whatever. But that ends up making your life worse. Then you do more of it to make that discomfort go away. Then the real pain starts. It becomes a vicious cycle you can’t break. That’s at least what happened to me," Affleck said.
This particular struggle ties into Affleck's new film, "The Way Back," which opens on March 6. The project is co-written and directed by Gavin O'Connor, who worked with Affleck on the surprise hit, "The Accountant," back in 2016. Affleck plays Jack Cunningham, a former high school basketball star who makes a series of bad choices, which torments his life and destroys his family. A chance to coach his old team presents the opportunity for redemption for Jack, but will he want it enough to rehab the rest of his life?
If that's not art imitating life, I don't know what is. Affleck sought out the risk in taking this particular close-to-home role, saying the reward outweighed the risk and that it was "therapeutic" for him. If you've seen the latest trailer, it's hard not to acknowledge its power.
It's also hard to deny the parallels between Jack and Ben, two talented guys with passion who keep driving on the wrong roads, with the goal of simply making themselves feel better. A redemption story for the ages.
I've always admired and rooted for Affleck. Outside of being a likable presence on camera, he's just very authentic. In an age and arena of fake personalities and robotic answers, he's always come off as blunt and real about the life, the work, and everything in between. I thought he was great in "Good Will Hunting" and told everyone I knew to see him in the underrated "Changing Lanes," where he held his own with Samuel L. Jackson. He was a big part of the success for "Gone Baby, Gone" due to his selfless decision to cast his younger brother, and not himself, in the lead role. He drove "The Town" to what it was with his heartfelt portrayal of a guy tied to his past, and was the steady hand at the wheel in "Argo," "Company Men," "Gone Girl," and last year's "Triple Frontier."
If you don't think Affleck can act, that's your own taste. If you don't think he's talented, you're just wrong. In the right role, Affleck can shine. Cunningham was made for him, and O'Connor knew it. There is a scene in the film where Jack confesses to his ex-wife that he ruined their marriage, and it was palpable to the writer/director that the actor was pulling from his own life during that scene. "That was him," O'Connor told the NY Times.
When "Argo" won Best Picture, Affleck-who was snubbed for Best Director-said in his speech that when you get knocked down in life, all you have to do is get back up. Find a way, cling to a rope, and just restart. Like Sylvester Stallone said in "Rocky Balboa," you need to be able to take the hits while moving forward. Affleck has taken plenty of hits-and he’s still moving forward, thanks to friends in the industry like Bradley Cooper and Brad Pitt, and his ex-wife, Garner. In my opinion, he should have never played Batman; that was Snyder trying to throw a Hail Mary at Warner Brothers, who didn't let him make a sequel to "Man of Steel." Affleck looked tired, not enthused, and quite out of it during chunks of "Justice League." The suit didn't help.
Films like "The Way Back" are where Affleck belongs. Roles that force him to pull from his own life struggles, like a cook sweating over that master recipe in the kitchen, with the passion and true grit bleeding into the dish. You can see Affleck trying to figure something out in the trailers for the movie, pushing his way back to the top. If Affleck wasn't talented, he wouldn't have gotten off the canvas after the JLO debacle. Talent keeps you alive in this make-believe game that Hollywood insists on playing. If you have it, you have a chance.
Judging by the interview and the upcoming work, Affleck is fighting his way back this time with honesty. He's facing his past, and instead of it tearing down everything in his life, he's using it to rebuild his future.
