Review of Affliction (1996) by Richard S — 06 Jun 2007

This film can be quite difficult to sit through, but by the end it guarantees the viewer to think about the (possible) morals it raises.

Nick Nolte gives an excellent performance, and as in most Schrader-written films, we are led to sympathise with the protagonist - but only up to a point. The childhood flashbacks in particular give us some idea and explanation of the two brothers anger towards their father. Although, towards the end of the film (in the garage), I first thought that both Paul Schrader and Wade had lost the plot by this point, but the epilogue is a brilliant, thought-provoking sequence that justifies the previous 90 minutes or so. How much are we like our fathers? Are their sins revisited on the children?

Hardly repeated viewing material but definitely worth watching.