Affliction . Tucson Weekly . 03-01-99

Affliction

DIRECTED BY: Paul Schrader

REVIEWED: 03-01-99

Writer/director Paul Schrader became a legend for his extremely quotable script for Taxi Driver. His work since then has been uneven, and, when left to his own devices, he tends to create overly ponderous and pretentious films like Cat People and Light Sleeper. It's not that those were bad films, it's just that they should have been better. Affliction is in this same category. It has a half-dozen plots, none of which are deeply explored or well-resolved. On the other hand, Nick Nolte, James Coburn, Sissy Spacek and Willem Dafoe all turn in compelling performances. It's a claustrophobic, human film about the emotional breakdown of a small-town, New Hampshire police officer, but it's deeply unsatisfying on the level of story and script. While it's nice to see that more films without aliens or dinosaurs are being made, it's also nice that there are better choices in that realm than this slightly-above-average effort.

--DiGiovanna

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Other Films by Paul Schrader
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