FFWD Weekly
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| Film by FFWD Staff Affliction I’ve always thought Paul Schrader’s script for Taxi Driver was way overrated. When he did Blue Collar (which his new film Affliction mirrors very much) and the horrible American Gigolo, I thought my suspicions were confirmed: Schrader’s supposed talent was smoke and mirrors. Then he turned things around by writing and directing Cat People, a beautifully realized stylistic remake of the ’50s horror classic. Every five or six years during the past two decades, Schrader has reappeared as writer (City Hall) and writer/director (The Comfort of Strangers) in films that are affecting but often flawed. Obviously working with a restricted budget in Affliction, Schrader concocts a very downbeat heavy melodrama based on a novel by Russell Banks (The Sweet Hereafter). I have not read the novel and therefore cannot say what is missing here, but to me, the whole thing just washes over too thinly. There is not enough here for a good drama. It’s obviously a work of the heart by Schrader who, whatever his intentions, makes the mistake of letting the cat out of the bag too early. The very simplistic theme of violence begets violence (the lead’s – played by Nick Nolte – volatile temper comes from his father) is played up too early and Schrader is left with nowhere to go by the end of the second act. Also, Schrader has never been good with actors and most of this very reputable cast give their worst performances in some time. Nolte, who I like very much, is right over the top here. He plays a loser, no doubt, but by the film’s end, we have absolutely no empathy for him whatsoever, a fatal flaw in a character-driven piece like this. But, I don’t want to suggest that Affliction is not without its merits. The gritty cold wasteland feel of Lawford, New Hampshire (though the film was shot mostly in Quebec) casts a frigid spell over the viewer, something Schrader obviously intended. There is an element of truth to the storytelling and Schrader stays clear of studio formula. My guess is that Schrader will return to doing more commercial films because it’s becoming increasingly more obvious that he does that better than low-budget labours of love. |
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