The Way, Way Back (Film)

Many people are referring to “The Way, Way Back” as the feel-good movie of the summer, and while it is deserving of such an accolade, it goes further than simply being ‘feel-good’. It is a coming-of-age story of sorts (more a ‘coming-into-your-own’ story really) and follows the life of a teenage boy named Duncan, played by Liam James, during a summer vacation to a beach-house owned by his mother’s new boyfriend Trent (Steve Carell). 

Liam spends the majority of the film’s early scenes with a look of permanent glumness on his face, but this is justified by his circumstances and his surroundings. The film opens with Trent giving Duncan a patronising speech, in which he belittles and undermines him, accentuating his external character flaws. Steve Carell is very impressive as Trent, displaying a great deal more versatility than a lot of his contemporaries, as the character is more fleshed out than simply being a horrible step-father-type figure. 

Duncan’s circumstances don’t improve for quite some time, he is the odd one out in any situation, whether it be amongst other teenagers or adults acting like teenagers. His mother, played by Toni Collette, upon noticing his dour expressions, makes weak attempts to include him in activities, pressuring him into enjoying himself, but it has already been made abundantly clear that Duncan is in need of an escape.

Eventually Duncan sets out on his own and discovers a nearby water park named Water Wizz, which becomes his safe-haven where he can escape from the emotional trauma of the beach-house. He is accepted by the manager Owen (Sam Rockwell, who almost steals the entire film) who actually takes the time to get to know Duncan and treat him like an equal. Gradually Duncan is also accepted by the other staff at Water Wizz, and from there the film parallels his separate lives; the one where he is an insecure outcast, and the one where he is accepted.

Liam James does an excellent job as Duncan, as it can’t be an easy job to play such a character and remain engaging. The performances from the supporting cast are pretty solid too, as the script allows for a lot of the secondary characters to have arcs of their own. Toni Collette and Steve Carell (who previously worked together in “Little Miss Sunshine”) give strong performances at the heart of the beach-house storyline, and concurrently in the Water Wizz storyline Sam Rockwell and Maya Rudolph bring depth to their characters (as well as their relationship) beyond Owen’s eccentric behaviour. Allison Janney also provides some memorable moments as Trent’s self-obsessed neighbour.

One thing that I particularly liked about “The Way, Way Back” was the open-ended manner with which it finished. A lot of issues weren’t resolved by the time the credits came around, and problems still existed within the lives of the characters, but they had been through such a journey that there was a strong feeling of optimism at the end. This allowed the film to feel much more real, honest and believable. There’s a scene towards the end of the film, in which both of Duncan’s separate worlds come into contact with one another, which was very nicely handled, and lead nicely into bringing the story full circle.