A very good movie

I already saw this movie but since it was a while back and since I have this movie on DVD, I was quite eager to check it out again. First of all, Paul Schrader, who got his breakthrough after writing ‘Taxi Driver’ and also ‘Raging Bull, allegedly two of the best movies directed by Martin Scorsese, had a rather convoluted career as a director but I have always been intrigued by his work. Even though ‘American Gigolo’ might be his most famous movie, I believe that ‘Affliction’ is actually his best flick or, at least, it is his best one I have seen so far from this director. Anyway, it did reach a wide critical acclaim when it was released. Indeed, it is basically a very dark story dealing with some rather unlikable characters and, even though, the story was intriguing, the characters were above all fascinating, thanks to some solid writing by Paul Schrader himself and some impressive performances by Nick Nolte and James Coburn (they would be both nominated at the Academy awards and James Coburn would even win). Eventually, this movie was about the mental meltdown of the main character, who had been basically emotionally crippled from his childhood, and he was beautifully played by Nick Nolte who was basically born to play such guys. Anyway, to conclude, even though this movie tends to be overlooked and forgotten, it was actually really good and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

8/10