urbanlegend23 The main thing that pushed me to finally watch "Affliction" was to check out the Oscar-winning performance by James Coburn. Correct me if I'm wrong, but at the time, this legendary actor scooping up Best Supporting Actor over more the more heavily favored Ed Harris ("The Truman Show") was something of a surprise. Personally, I would've still selected Harris on that ballot, but there can be no doubt that Coburn's skin-crawling turn as an alcoholic, abusive father is also deserving of recognition. He makes this character – who could've been an absolute cartoon – feel completely three-dimensional, and shares a palpable familial chemistry with on-screen son Nick Nolte (also excellent). Coburn's imposing and unpredictable presence ensures the film is infinitely more interesting every time he appears on screen.Director Paul Schrader establishes a believable small town atmosphere in the film's first hour. The snow-coated, winter setting adds an atmosphere of detachment and bleakness entirely fitting to the journey of the main character.However, I'd be lying if I didn't say I found "Affliction" to be an overly slow-paced film, lacking in narrative drive. Even the 'murder mystery' aspect (along with it's "is-that-it?" resolution) does not do much for the plot. There is also heavy-handed and unnecessary voice-over narration. Bizarrely it is delivered by Willem Dafoe, who doesn't show up in the film for quite some time, and when he does, doesn't leave much of an impression. It would've been better to omit the narration altogether.I wouldn't entirely dissuade audiences from checking out "Affliction" – but it is likely to frustrate the mainstream audience expecting more of a murder-mystery thriller. Schrader has opted instead for an introspective character piece, which is certainly going to satisfy some (including, as it happened, the critics, who lavished praise upon this film), but frankly it is going to flat-out bore many viewers.

SnoopyStyle Wade Whitehouse (Nick Nolte) is a small town sheriff in New Hampshire. He's out with his daughter Jill on Halloween. He has a troubled relationship with her and his ex-wife Lillian. He is known as a drinker. Local Jack Hewitt guides a wealthy outsider to hunt for a prize buck. Jack claims that he accidentally shot himself but Wade is suspicious of the death especially since he's suppose to testify in an organized crime case. Wade and his girlfriend Margie Fogg (Sissy Spacek) visit his abusive father Glen (James Coburn) and find his mother dead in the freezing house. Wade's brother Rolfe (Willem Dafoe) and sister Lena return for the funeral. I don't always like narration and this opening narration really puts me off. It emphasizes to me the novelized nature of the movie which highlights the story's unfocused meandering nature. Nick Nolte is terrific and the cast is full of top notch players. It's nice to see James Coburn still acting with power. I need the movie to be more focus. There's a murder mystery and quickly, it's taken over by a dysfunctional family drama. It seems to be a constant pitfall for all adaptations from novels. The transfer from the page to the screen is not always smooth.

dansview Stay away from this one unless you are entertained by psychological character studies and loads of psychically dark atmosphere. I am, so I loved it.It will remind you of the Paul Newman/Bruce Willis film Nobody's Fool. This is a variation on that theme, which is about a loser guy stuck in his ice cold hometown with nothing but bitter memories of his failure and an alcoholic father.But in the Newman film, the guy had come to terms with who he was. He was taking it in stride. In this one, the dad is still alive, so the memories are more vivid, and they're driving the guy crazy.I love the dynamics of a small town, and this one portrays them well. Everyone is like family, for better or worse. He goes into a bar and young guys are telling some story about his childhood. What are the odds? In a small town, they are high.It also follows the other movie in the trend of having one main guy who generates all the business for the town. It's usually a builder and someone who owns a lot of land and businesses. In this one, it's a French Canadian guy. It's not clear if he came down years ago from Quebec (which is where this one was filmed by the way). The setting is central New Hampshire, about a half hour north of Concord, the capitol.Besides the dark, unforgiving landscape and weather, what really makes the film, is Nick Nolte's convincing conveyance of desperation. We get the sense early on, that we have walked in on his downward spiral.Everyone thinks he's a loser, including his ex wife, his daughter, his employer,his dad, and his friends, but he has a soul mate to turn to in the darkest hours of the night. It's his little brother in Boston. These phone calls are his refuge, because only his brother can relate to what he's been through. He was there.One flaw is that we never hear what this guy has been doing since high school, yet he's in his 40's. He mentions having been in "the service," but that's it. In this movie he is a lackey for the guy who runs the town. How long could he have been doing that? I want to know if he ever had a long term job or profession, and also what his drunken old dad used to do for a living. That would round out the character development.Dysfunctional families and guys who dig huge holes for themselves usually do not resolve things happily. You find yourself asking why this guy doesn't just move to a bigger town and get a normal job and start fresh. But then you realize that his troubles will follow him wherever he goes, because they are in his head.I could take or leave the narration. Willem Dafoe has an intriguing voice, which is I'm sure part of why he was chosen for the brother/narrator role.I suppose it would be better without it, because it makes it seem like you are watching an episode of The Waltons,albeit a desperately dysfunctional version.James Coburn was fine. His role was repetitive,but he did it adequately. I don't think it was a huge challenge to play a drunk. Sissy Spacek was also not called upon to stretch too far. I don't know why a native to New Hampshire would have a Texas accent, but I guess it is supposed to double for a small town, rural accent nationwide.

kenjha The sheriff of a frigid New Hampshire town investigates a shooting. The apple does not fall far from the tree. That is what the title refers to. Raised by an abusive father, a man turns out to be a lousy husband and father. The script is sloppy and disjointed, with too many secondary characters crammed in. It moves in fits and starts, but never really settles in and finishes with a whimper. Nolte has some good moments but too often seems to be sleepwalking, delivering his lines in a barely intelligible low growl. Spacek and Dafoe are fine, but neither gets much screen time. Coburn is interesting if a bit too cartoonish in his Oscar-winning role of the father from hell.