# Affliction (1997)

### reviewed by
Bob Bloom

     Affliction (1998) 3 1/2 stars out of 4. Starring Nick Nolte, James Coburn
    and Sissy Spacek.

Affliction is as depressing and cold as its New Hampshire winter setting.

Starring Academy Award-nominee Nick Nolte and Oscar winner James Coburn, this tale of a violent, dysfunctional family is powerful, disturbing filmmaking.

But what can you expect when you have a movie directed by Paul Schrader, who adapted a novel by Russell Banks.

Wade Whitehouse (Nick Nolte), is the police officer in Lawford, a small, economically depressed town where nothing really ever happens. Wade's job consists mostly of clearing the snow off the roads and acting as the school crossing guard.

Wade is a man who keeps his fury and frustrations bottled. He is in the midst of a custody battle with his ex-wife and even at this stage in his life he cannot stand up to his abusive, alcoholic father.

An eruption is imminent, and its catalyst is the shooting death of a New England big shot in what is supposed to be a hunting accident. Wade, though, sees conspiracy and sets out to prove that the man's death was murder.

Yet, the crime is really a secondary issue to Schrader.

Affliction is about a man who gets "to feeling like a whipped dog" that someday is "going to bite back."

And circumstances are bringing that day nearer.

Despite the love and comfort of Margie (Sissy Spacek), a waitress in a local restaurant, Wade cannot find peace.

He feels that if he can prove that a murder was committed and solve it, he will regain the respect of his daughter, the townspeople and, most of all, his father.

Coburn is Wade's father, Glen, a bully and a man who breathes violence like the rest of us breathe air. He is abusive physically and mentally and is non-repentent about his actions or lifestyle.

Coburn gives a brutal performance as Glen, a bitter drunk who only knows how to express himself with his fists. He spares no one. Glen is a monster, yet the joy of Coburn's performance is that you feel some pity for this man even though you should feel nothing but hate. His Oscar was deserved.

Nolte gives the performance of his career. He is a walking mound of rage, exploding suddenly, then subsiding and apologizing like a little boy caught stealing money from his mother's purse.

His Wade is a poignant, troubled man living in a climate of self-doubt created by his overbearing father.

But the real star of Affliction is Schrader. In films such as Blue Collar and Hard Core, he has created individuals who are outsiders, men who have difficulty connecting with the society around them.

An air of bleakness and tragedy hangs over Affliction. Like most of Schrader's works, it is not a feel-good movie, but it is powerful moviemaking from a man who has mapped the darkest terrain of the human soul.

Affliction is filled with despair, hopelessness and excruciating losers. You would not want to spend any time with these people, but watching them try to connect is a painfully fascinating experience.

Affliction will make you uncomfortable, make you squirm. And you will emerge from the theater saddened. And that is the power of Schrader's work.

Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, IN. He can be reached by e-mail at bloom@journal-courier.com or at cbloom@iquest.net.

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