Affliction
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DVD details
Actor: Brigid Tierney, Holmes Osborne, Jim True-Frost, Nick Nolte, Tim PostBrand: Lions Gate
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 114 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-05-20
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Lions Gate
DVD Reviews of Affliction
DVD Review: With a little more silence this movie would have been perfect...
Summary: 4 Stars
I want to start by saying that on paper, `Affliction' is one of the most impressive character studies I've ever had the privilege of reading. The novel, written by Russell Banks (that author I keep touting as the greatest American writer of all time), is an outstanding piece of literature; a marvelous study of the slow progression of anger, pain, misery and ultimate insanity. On paper, `Affliction' is a masterpiece; on the screen, `Affliction' is merely a good movie.
It is a good movie, don't get me wrong, but this is not a great movie.
The problem lies in the pacing, so honestly I guess I can heap all the blame on director Paul Schrader. The thing about the novel is that Banks has this beautiful way of allowing his characters to stew in their own predicaments. There are long passages that seem to just build more tension and cast more darkness over the story and the characters within it. I think back to what Atom Egoyan did with `The Sweet Hereafter', allowing the sweeping views of the snow covered town to bring to life the `stillness' of Banks novel. He complemented the script with his expert direction. `Affliction' seems a little too rushed. The script is impeccable, much like `The Sweet Hereafter', changing very little in adaptation and staying very true to what Banks originally penned.
I can't help but think that this film would have been perfect had it added about thirty minutes of silence; interjecting random scenes of serene camera movement throughout the bustle of the story to establish the mood needed to elevate this film and bring it to the novel's level.
The film tells the story of Wade Whitehouse, a man pushed to the edge of his very sanity thanks to the people all around him. He lives in the same small town in which he grew up. He works the same dead end thankless job he's worked almost all his life. He's tormented by memories of an abusive childhood and he's struggling to win the war against his ex-wife over the affections of their daughter Jill. A series of events (an accidental death of a well respected man and the death of Wade's mother) start a domino effect almost, causing Wade to drift rapidly into the depths of insanity.
The film lacks the emotional impact the novel did, for the novel allowed us time to appreciate the mental deterioration overtaking Wade, and it gave us enough background in order to understand it. Here, his freefall seems almost too sudden at times.
Performance wise though, this is a goldmine. I am not a fan of Nick Nolte. I find his breed of overacting to be a hindrance to the films he inhabits. In fact, aside from his rather surprisingly controlled performance in `Cape Fear' I have hated everything he's done. This though, is a masterclass. Honestly, the fact that this is Nolte floors me. He has such deep understanding of Wade's character (maybe even more so than Schrader) and he exhibits that knowledge in every movement he makes. He delivers such a grounded and emotionally rich performance here; I'm stunned. James Coburn won the Oscar for his sadistic portrayal of Wade's abusive father, and while I'm not sure I'd hand him the Oscar I do believe he is marvelous here. Sissy Spacek is not the face I pictured when reading the novel, and so casting her as Margie seemed a bit off, but she works wonders with the part. These performances feel so small yet hit you very hard. They work far better than the film itself.
In the end I have to say that this is a very good movie, and if you have not read the novel you may even consider this a great movie. I was expecting a little more time invested in establishing the dark serenity that comes from reading Banks' work, so I was disappointed with Schrader direction.
Still, the film is a solid B, but the novel is an A+.
Description of Affliction
AFFLICTION - DVD MoviePaul Schrader's Affliction, adapted from the novel by Russell Banks (The Sweet Hereafter), charts the slow descent of small-town sheriff Wade Whitehouse (a raspy, gruffly restrained Nick Nolte) into violence, the legacy of the corrupt love of an abusive, alcoholic father. The story ostensibly centers on a hunting death on the outskirts of town, but as Wade digs into what may or not be a conspiracy, his personal life spirals out of control. James Coburn, who deservedly won an Oscar for his mocking, sneering performance, is Wade's father, who jumps back into the cycle of abuse when Wade moves in to care for the aging man. Chronicling the story in distant, dispassionate tones is Willem Dafoe as Wade's younger brother Rolfe, who "escaped" his father's legacy in a world of books. Schrader has made his reputation revealing the scarred psyches of American men trying to reconcile the contradictions of masculine fantasy and social reality, as in his screenplays for Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, and in Affliction he creates his most poignant and powerful work. The quiet beauty of the snow-blanketed New Hampshire setting (using Canadian locations) and Schrader's restrained yet intimate cinematic style builds the underlying emotional tensions until they explode in startling close-ups, revealing the repressed fear, rage, and helplessness cracking through Wade's carefully maintained façade. As Rolfe's narration coolly analyzes his brother's affliction, he reveals his own: an emotional remove so complete that he's edited himself out of his family history. The legacy of abuse leaves no one untouched. --Sean Axmaker
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