(1999, Citadel)

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Michael’s next music-for-cinema assignment arrived in the form of Affliction, a new film directed by Paul Schrader (American Gigolo, Cat People). The film’s difficult emotional landscape forced the composer onto new musical terrain; Michael wrote mournful legato melodies for strings and French horn in an effort to depict the toxic relationship between father (an especially evil turn from actor James Coburn) and son (an equally bent Nick Nolte).

Once more, much of the film’s music was composed in Michael’s home studio during his residency in Palo Alto. The Turtle Island String Quartet, based near Michael in the Bay Area, animated his string charts with appropriate degrees of gravitas and foreboding. Jason Lewis, who had previously supplied percussion on some of Michael’s collaborative projects, also lived nearby and became a key player in the score.

Press Reviews

“Throughout, a celestially eerie score by Michael Brook tracks the action, keeping even the most violent of moments in perspective with the big picture.” -Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly

“Hard to imagine, but Michael Brook’s score for Affliction is just as dark and probing as the Russell Banks novel this movie was based on. Using electric guitars and synthesizers, Brook creates a haunting and dissonant soundscape that continues to unsettle even after the music is over.All told, it’s sinister stuff. Beautiful, but unrelenting.” -Jason Verlinde