Contents

AFFLICTION


Wade Whitehouse is frightened to death of following in his father's footsteps.

1997




Affliction (1997)  

Directed by 
Paul Schrader    
  
Writing credits 
Russell Banks   (novel) 

 
Paul Schrader    
  
Cast (in credits order) complete, awaiting verification  
Nick Nolte ....  Wade Whitehouse  
Brigid Tierney ....  Jill  
Holmes Osborne ....  Gordon LaRiviere  
Jim True ....  Jack Hewitt  
Tim Post ....  Chick Ward  
Christopher Heyerdahl ....  Frankie Lacoy (as Chris Heyerdahl)  
Marian Seldes ....  Alma Pittman  
Janine Theriault ....  Hettie  
Mary Beth Hurt ....  Lillian  
Paul Stewart (II) ....  Horner  
Sissy Spacek ....  Margie Fogg  
Wayne Robson ....  Nick Wickham  
Sean McCann ....  Evan Twombley  
Sheena Larkin ....  Lugene Brooks  
Penny Mancuso ....  Woman Driver  
Danielle Desormeaux ....  Elaine  
Charles Powell ....  Jimmy Dane  
Donovan Reiter ....  Short-Haired Local  
James Coburn ....  Glen Whitehouse  
Brawley Nolte ....  Young Wade  
Michael Caloz ....  Young Rolfe  
Joanna Noyes ....  Sally Whitehouse  
Marcel Jeannin ....  State Trooper  
Susan Almgren ....  Mrs. Gordon (as Susie Almgren)  
Steve Adams (I) ....  Mel Gordon  
Willem Dafoe ....  Rolfe Whitehouse  
Martha-Marie Kleinhans ....  Lena  
Mark Camacho ....  Clyde  
Ralph Allison ....  Reverend Doughty  
Eugene Lipinski ....  J. Battle Hand  
  
Produced by 
Eric Berg   (co-producer)  
Frank K. Isaac   (co-producer)  
Nick Nolte   (executive)  
Josette Perrotta   (line)  
Barr B. Potter   (executive)  
Linda Reisman    
  
Original music by 
Michael Brook    
  
Cinematography by 
Paul Sarossy    
  
Film Editing by 
Jay Rabinowitz    
  
Casting 
Ellen Chenoweth    
Kathleen Chopin    
  
Production Design by 
Anne Pritchard    
  
Art Direction 
Michel Beaudet    
  
Costume Design by 
François Laplante    
  
Make-up Department 
Bob Pritchett ....  hair stylist  
Diane Simard ....  key make-up artist  
  
Production Management 
Josette Perrotta ....  production manager  
  
Assistant Director 
Pedro Gandol ....  assistant director  
Burtt Harris ....  assistant director  
Francine Langlois ....  assistant director  
  
Sound Department 
Sylvain Arseneault ....  boom operator  
Patrick Rousseau ....  sound mixer  
  
Special Effects 
Louis Craig ....  special effects co-ordinator  
  
Other crew 
Claude Beauchamp ....  clapper loader  
Mikey Bertrand ....  key grip  
Christian Biron ....  transport  
Monique Champagne ....  continuity  
Marie cailher Chartrand ....  assistant property  
Michel Chauvin ....  unit manager  
Jean Courteau ....  gaffer  
Céline Daignault ....  location manager  
Attila Dory ....  still photographer  
Mathieu Décary ....  focus puller  
Denis Hamel ....  property master  
Juli-Ann Kay ....  casting assistant  
Carl Lessard ....  graphics designer  
Shari Schwartz ....  music editor  
Arnold Shuster ....  negative matcher  
Robert Stecko ....  camera operator  
John Stowe ....  wardrobe supervisor  
Patricia Sztaba ....  negative matcher  
Stan Sztaba ....  negative matcher  
  
 
 
 


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AFFLICTION
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1999 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****):  *** 1/2

Better bring an extra wrap with you to AFFLICTION, as the snowy New Hampshire landscapes and the chilling story will likely send some shivers up your spine.

Russell Banks, a master at creating character studies set in the frozen north, has had his second novel in as many years adapted for the screen. About a year ago, Atom Egoyan's adaptation of Banks's THE SWEET HEREAFTER was number two on my best of the year list. This time writer and director Paul Schrader, whose previous pictures include LIGHT SLEEPER and TOUCH, brings Banks's AFFLICTION to the screen.

In what would seem certain to be an Academy Award nominated performance, Nick Nolte plays Wade Whitehouse, a policeman of sorts. Actually, being the small town's law enforcement officer is only one of his jobs. He's also the school crossing guard and a snowplow operator, and he's not taken seriously as a cop. Even his speeding tickets are liable to be refused by the local scofflaws.

The story starts ominously on the night before the opening of deer season. Wade, who has been married twice to the same woman, is now a divorced dad. His daughter reluctantly accompanies him to a Halloween party that night, but she soon begs to go home to mom, played by Mary Beth Hurt, whom you probably will not recognize.

The next day, Wade's buddy, Jack Hewitt (Jim True), is hired to accompany an out-of-town hunter, who is then killed in a hunting accident. Doubts about what really happened occur only to Wade, making him persona non grata with the local establishment.

Attempting to resolve this mystery, if it is one, is half of the story. The other, and more compelling aspect, is Wade's relationship with his father, Glen, played in probably the best performance of his life by James Coburn.

A violent alcoholic, who is so mean that he literally freezes his wife to death, Glen has treated his family vilely all of his life. Glen apparently learned his family values from his father. ("My old man was a real man who didn't let women push him around.") Glen is infamous around the small town where they live, with people at bars still telling stories about his abuse of his kids.

Nick Nolte, who usually plays strong, macho characters, shows us his vulnerable side. Although firmly rejecting his father's values, he has the family demons flowing strong in his blood. His drinking is getting worse and his temper seems in danger of exploding.

To make matters worse for Wade, he has a horrible toothache throughout most of the movie. With no dentist appointments available, a red-faced Wade claws at his face as if he will scrape his entire jaw away with his bare hands, he is in so much pain. Like the recent movie, INSOMNIA, in which lack of sleep affected the detective's judgement, the toothache begins to alter Wade's.

Wade's brother Rolfe (Willem Dafoe) believes that, when he was a child, he successfully avoided his father, so he wasn't "affected." Wade casts doubts on his brother's claim. At any rate, Rolfe is a teetotaler and the family's Rock of Gibraltar, when he is around. (He wisely left town years earlier.) Their sister, who appears briefly, is a born-again Christian, a role that is relegated to caricature.

Dafoe is good but underused on the screen. He is also the narrator, which is the script's biggest mistake. The narrator simply isn't needed, and the lines he is given tend too often to turn a profound scene into a trite one with the narration's pomposity.

Sissy Spacek has a wonderful small part as Wade's supportive girlfriend. Spacek doesn't get much screen time, just enough to make you wish directors would cast her more often.

Paul Sarossy's cinematography is stunning. The snow and the gray skies all have a dreary and foreboding steel-blue cast to them. The tragically sad movie contains some powerful performances. While it isn't quite in the same league as the last Russell Banks adaptation, it is a marvelous and moving film in its own right.

AFFLICTION runs 1:53. It is rated R for violence, profanity and one scene of dope smoking. The film would be fine for mature teenagers.

Email: Steve.Rhodes@InternetReviews.com Web: www.InternetReviews.com


Have I Seen This Movie: Yes
And What Did I Think?: Nick Nolte and James Coburn give great performances here in this rather bleak and drab movie. Nolte was nominated for best actor and Coburn won for best supporting actor at the Academy Awards for their roles here. Nick Nolte plays a cop in a small town who investigates a murder and gives a good performance here. James Coburn plays his abusive father and comes off as a real nasty guy. Willem Dafoe does a lot of narration as the other brother and shows up at the mothers funeral. I didn't think the narration was necessary though. The movie could have just played itself out. Although there are a few good performances here, the movie itself is really depressing and bleak looking. The small town wintery town just looks full of despair and hopelessness. At some points the movie drifts on and will make you lose your focus on it. It is worth renting or watching on cable, just be warned that it will make you feel rather empty at the end, so if you want something that will make you feel good, pass this over.

I give Affliction 3 out of 5 stars.

Review written July 16, 1999

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