mawkish ˈmȯ-kish adjective
: effusively or insincerely emotional
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The word mawkish has appeared in eight articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on Feb. 18 in “Ben Affleck Tried to Drink Away the Pain. Now He’s Trying Honesty” by Brooks Barnes:
Toward the end of “The Way Back” (spoiler alert) Jack has a powerful interaction with his ex-wife (Janina Gavankar, “The Morning Show”). He is in rehab at this point, and, when she comes to see how he is doing, he offers her an unflinching apology.
“I failed you,” he says. “I failed our marriage.”
It’s rough stuff, especially when watched through the prism of everything that has gone on with Affleck offscreen. You can’t help but think about similar conversations that he must have had with Garner.
“It was really important, without being mawkish or false, that he make amends to her — that he take accountability for the pain that he and only he has caused,” Affleck said.
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