Affliction
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Film Description
Tense and compelling adaptation of an acclaimed novel. Nolte is at his superb best as smalltown cop Wade Whitehouse, trapped in a dead end job in a remote rural community. The core of the film is the central relationship between Wade and his violent, abusive father Glen (an Oscar winning Coburn). A bleak morality fable enriched by the beautifully shot winter landscape.
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Review by cj
on 7th June 2000
Schrader's tense and compelling adaptation of Russell Banks' acclaimed novel features Nolte at his superb best as smalltown cop Wade Whitehouse, trapped in a dead end job in a remote rural community, divorced and with an 8 year old daughter, and increasingly convinced his best friend is responsible for a suspicious death during a hunting accident. The core of the film, however, is the central relationship between Wade and his violent, abusive father Glen (an Oscar winning Coburn in his finest role for years). A bleak morality fable enriched by stunning performances and a beautifully shot winter landscape. "Compelling - Nolte's magnificent performance is worth every moment of its Oscar nomination" The Times.
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Review by Ezekiel Lee
on 4th May 2006
There are few Hollywood actors who can play depressed, disturbed, disillusioned or completely damaged characters better than that man Nick Nolte. Well maybe there are others but none could generate more empathy with the audience than him, considering his repertoire of dysfunctional performances in "The Good Thief", "Simpatico", "Mulholland Falls", "Cape Fear" and "Lorenzo's Oil" to name a few.
It is precisely his convincing screen personality that makes this 1997 Paul Schrader (of "Raging Bull" and "Taxi Driver" fame) effort an excellent watch. Set against the rather Fargo-esque backdrop of an icy New Hampshire small town, this is a bleak story about a redundant policeman who is forced into self-introspection as every department of his life seems to collapse before his eyes. Told through the narrative of his brother (Willem Defoe), we see him go through a murder investigation, a custodial dispute for his daughter and an ongoing dissension with his alcoholic and abusive father (James Coburn). As events unfold, we are compelled to believe that is harder than we thought it was to escape the early formative experiences that shape one into who one is.
If "Ghost Dog" is alienation and "Auto Focus" is obsession, then this film is definitely detachment and distance. It discusses the survival mechanisms that underpin a damaged person's decisions in everyday life. We cannot help but hate Nolte's character for the loser that he is, and yet sympathise with him for the good man he can actually be. I love this movie for its top-notch concoction of uneasy texture. The sketchy flashbacks can evoke many unwanted memories within your consciousness, should you be unlucky enough to have gone through similar childhood agony in your life. The pace is slow and slowly consuming, like the dark fire that this film embodies to chilling perfection. Praise to the scriptwriters and to the director for bringing out the best in the big name casts! Sissy Spacek and Willem Defoe are not peripheral at all to the story and their performances are just as impressive as Nolte and Coburn. If I had to complain about something, then maybe I would suggest that Defoe's moralistic summary at the end should have been done as an opening prologue instead. That powerful closing scene can stand on its own without words and would no doubt win some short film award if shown alone.
An intense psychological study of desperate men, this is superior to most dramas of the same ilk and unsurprisingly resulted in the two Oscars that Nolte and Coburn picked up for best actor and best supporting actor respectively. For those who have read the Russell Banks novel from which this is based, I would definitely say this is a satisfying screen adaptation which will not disappoint. For the price, "Affliction" is a stolen pleasure.
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