Review: “Affliction” and a Conversation With Paul Schrader

Alex Gervais ’28

Exec. Opinion and Design Editor

On Thursday, March 5, Cinestudio hosted an evening with Paul Schrader. The event began with a brief reception in the Cinestudio lobby, serving a surprisingly delicious spread of maple glazed meatballs, mini buffalo chicken quesadillas and bruschetta. 

The feature film of the night was a Schrader cult classic, “Affliction.” The film was adopted by Schrader from Russell Banks’ 1989 novel by the same name. It’s a movie about small town policeman Wade Whitehouse, played by Nick Nolte (“Tropic Thunder,” “Cape Fear”), coping with lifelong trauma, a frigid New England winter and a suspicious hunting accident. Whitehouse has to traverse a complicated, abusive relationship with his father played by James Coburn (“Monsters Inc,” “Charade”), all while trying to reconcile his relationship with his daughter played by Brigid Tierney (“Paperboy,” “Levity”). The film provides a realistic look into the truly townie New England, the places and the people that for so long were left behind in our region’s development. It artfully portrays the crazed insanity the unrelenting frigidness of winter can bring upon all of us. The plot is absolutely a slow burn, but ultimately crucial to understanding the characters on a deeper level.

The film was followed by a Q&A featuring filmmaker and director of “Affliciton” Paul Schrader (“First Reformed,” “Mishima”), actor and film producer Caerthan Banks (“The Sweet Hereafter”) and film producer Linda Reisman (“Affliciton,” “Leave No Trace”). The best way to describe Schrader is how he referred to himself: “prickly.” The now 79 year old director and screenwriter wore a bright yellow raincoat and gave gruff, but ultimately insightful answers to many of the questions posed to him. He seemed to have a magnetic grip over the room itself, most in the theater truly aware that they were listening to the advice of not just any campus speaker, but an industry legend.

The panel was mainly focused on Schrader, the audience asking him questions both about the movie but also his broader catalog of work. Yet, I was dismayed with Schrader’s response to the final audience question he was posed with. He was asked about how young screenwriters are supposed to compete in a world where AI is now normalized and studios are shying away from hiring recent graduates. Instead of offering any real advice, Schrader lauded AI, calling it “very, very good” and went on a tangent about AI generating a music video about his dog. He readily admitted he uses AI in his work, a stance that has gotten him into trouble in the past and is a distinct break from many creatives in the industry who view it as a threat to their art. As someone whose thoughts on AI ‘art’ are well documented in the pages of the Tripod’s opinion section, all I have to say is that I will absolutely not be watching any AI movie, even if Paul Schrader directed it. 

But what the night was about wasn’t AI, or “Affliction” or even really Schrader himself, it was about community. I’m someone who has a mostly consumer relationship with film: I see a movie, I log it on my Letterboxd and I move on with my life. I am absolutely no director, the last time I made anything even resembling a movie was a PSA promoting a change in school holiday policy for a civic action class in high school. What I experienced was a room of people who have nearly the opposite relationship, being creators over consumers. It was inspiring to see Cinestudio full of great minds and great artists, dreamers envisioning their next big project asking one of the best to ever do it for advice on how they should get it done and devoted fans trying to understand the psyche of the man who made so many of the movies they enjoy. The cinema brings people together, transcending academics and enjoyment and becoming a field of its own, a bastion of creativity for a world that is becoming increasingly devoid of it.