Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
A former basketball all-star, who has lost his wife and family foundation in a struggle with addiction, attempts to regain his soul and salvation by becoming the coach of a disparate ethnically mixed high school basketball team at his alma mater.
Ben Affleck delivers a raw, physically committed performance that elevates familiar material about addiction and redemption. The plot follows well-worn sports drama and recovery story beats without subverting expectations, keeping Novelty low. Affleck's embodiment of a man drowning in grief and alcoholism is genuinely exceptional — the film earns its Above Average acting score through his nuanced, unglamorous work. Cinematography is competent and appropriately gritty but unremarkable. The ending resists a tidy triumph, opting for a more honest, open-ended resolution that fits the film's tone without being particularly memorable.