Nolte could have based his oddly sympathetic performance on the image of a sick animal scrounging for food and shelter along deserted country roads.
Affliction (1997)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:43
Fresh:37
Rotten:6
Average Rating:7.5/10
Consensus: Dark and bleak, the "kick-ass" performances, especially Nolte's "effective" portrayal of an abused soul, is the reason to see this film.
Runtime: 1 hr 55 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Based on the novel by Russell Banks, AFFLICTION is a sobering, absorbing psychological study of the precarious relationship between an abusive father and his two sons. Wade Whitehouse (Nick Nolte)... Based on the novel by Russell Banks, AFFLICTION is a sobering, absorbing psychological study of the precarious relationship between an abusive father and his two sons. Wade Whitehouse (Nick Nolte) is a middle-aged ineffectual sheriff in a small New Hampshire town, where he and his brother, Rolfe (Willem Dafoe), were raised. When events shatter the quiet of his small town, Wade is forced to confront the past and reexamine his life, attempting a reconciliation with his abusive, alcoholic dad, Glen (James Coburn), by moving back home to look after him. This quietly intense, haunting, and beautifully filmed story unfolds against the harsh snow-white backdrop of a town where everyone knows each other. But more than anything, it is the brilliant performances of its cast that mark this film. [More]
Starring: Nick Nolte, James Coburn, Sissy Spacek, Willem Dafoe
Starring: Nick Nolte, James Coburn, Sissy Spacek, Willem Dafoe, Mary Beth Hurt, Jim True
Director: Paul Schrader
Director: Paul Schrader
Producer: Linda Reisman
Composer: Michael Brook
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Reviews for Affliction
Schrader has skillfully turned Banks' novel into a compelling character study.
Arguably Scharder's strongest film in years, Affliction is a powerful reverie on family curse, how incontrollable anger, drinking, and violence almost inevitably pass on from one generation to the next.
Affliction is a shattering film, a dose of bracing naturalism based on Russell Banks' most lacerating novel.
One wonders why Dafoe is even in the movie. But Nolte is, and that's what enriches Schrader's bleak drama.
A terrifying movie that faces the truth of cruelty and its everlasting results.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 95% 95% | Star Trek |
| 14% 14% | The Ugly Truth |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 86% 86% | A Christmas Tale |
| 60% 60% | Paper Heart |
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