‘Foregone’ by Russell Banks
Tale
Leonard Fife, one of the sixty thousand draft dodgers and deserters who fled to Canada to avoid serving in Vietnam, shares all his secrets to debunking his myth.. This marks the second time Paul Schrader has directed one of Banks’ novels for the screen, following his adaptation of Affliction (1997)..
Well, you’d be wrong
Film Junk Podcast: Episode 961: In a Violent Nature + TIFF 2024 (2024). With a stellar cast like Richard Gere, Uma Thurman, and Michael Imperioli, you’d think you’d have the star power to make a better film.
Paul Schrader "experimental" in a film that looks like something a first-year film student would make
Schrader claims to have been friends with the war protester/filmmaker on whom the film is based, but who needs enemies with friends like this? Richard Gere’s character becomes increasingly unpleasant, and as he angrily speaks to everyone around him, he gradually loses the ability to express himself with words as he mutters as he descends into darkness.
In other words, he becomes more like Paul Schrader today
Do yourself a favor and skip this, even while streaming I can’t imagine it would be better if you could pause it and leave the room. There are more important things to do than watch this sad excuse for a movie.