Review of Affliction (1996) by Andrew V — 05 Feb 2010
Schrader readily gloms onto this material, given his own upbringing by an afflicted (Calvinist) father and qualified relationship with brother Leonard. So the subject clearly hit home. But this execution of Russell's novel is suffused with readymade bathos, caricatures rather than characters, and stark upcountry locales once again utilized to represent troubled white America.
Nolte is miscast, Spacek is given mere bones by Schrader's script, Coburn gets an Oscar for raising himself from an armchair and sneering. Read a Raymond Carver story instead.
This review of Affliction (1996) was written by Andrew V on 05 Feb 2010.
Affliction has generally received positive reviews.
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