''Affliction'' is a 1997 American
neo-noir
Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates literally to English as "black film", indicating ...
crime
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
directed and written by
Paul Schrader
Paul Joseph Schrader (; born July 22, 1946) is an American screenwriter, film director, and film critic. He first received widespread recognition through his screenplay for Martin Scorsese's ''Taxi Driver'' (1976). He later continued his collabo ...
. Based on the 1989 novel of the same name by
Russell Banks
Russell Banks (born March 28, 1940) is an American writer of fiction and poetry. As a novelist, Banks is best known for his "detailed accounts of domestic strife and the daily struggles of ordinary often-marginalized characters". His stories usua ...
, the film stars
Nick Nolte
Nicholas King Nolte (born February 8, 1941) is an American actor. He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for the 1991 film ''The Prince of Tides''. He received ...
,
Sissy Spacek
Mary Elizabeth Spacek (; born December 25, 1949) is an American actress and singer. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and nominations for four Briti ...
,
James Coburn
James Harrison Coburn III (August 31, 1928 – November 18, 2002) was an American film and television actor who was featured in more than 70 films, largely action roles, and made 100 television appearances during a 45-year career.AllmoviBi ...
, and
Willem Dafoe
Willem James Dafoe (; born July 22, 1955) is an American actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Willem Dafoe, various accolades, including the Volpi Cup for Best Actor, in addition to receiving nominations for ...
.
''Affliction'' had its world premiere at the
54th Venice International Film Festival
The 54th annual Venice International Film Festival was held between 27 August to 6 September 1997.
Jury
The following people comprised the 1997 jury:
* Jane Campion (New Zealand) (head of jury)
* Ronald Bass (USA)
* Véra Belmont (France)
* ...
on August 28, 1997, and was released in the United States on December 30, 1998, by
Lions Gate Films
Lionsgate Films (formerly known as Cinépix Film Properties) is an American film production and film distribution studio, headquartered in Santa Monica and founded in Canada, and is the flagship division of Lionsgate Entertainment. It is the lar ...
. The film received positive reviews from critics, who mostly lauded the performances of Nolte and Coburn. At the
71st Academy Awards
The 71st Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best of 1998 in film and took place on March 21, 1999, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p ...
, Nolte was nominated for
Best Actor and Coburn won for
Best Supporting Actor. It earned six nominations at the
14th Independent Spirit Awards
The 14th Independent Spirit Awards, honoring the best in independent filmmaking for 1998, were announced on March 20, 1999. It was hosted by Queen Latifah.
Nominees and winners
Films that received multiple nominations
Films that w ...
, including
Best Feature.
Plot
Rolfe Whitehouse begins the film, announcing the story of his brother Wade's "strange criminal behavior" and subsequent disappearance.
Wade Whitehouse is a small-town policeman in
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
. On
Halloween
Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...
night, Wade meets his daughter Jill, but he is late and the evening is overshadowed by disharmony. Jill eventually calls her mother, Wade's ex-wife, to come and pick her up. When his ex-wife finally arrives, Wade shoves her lover against their car and watches them drive away with Jill. Wade vows to get a lawyer to help gain custody of his daughter.
The next day, Wade rushes to the scene of a crime. Jack Hewitt, a local hunting guide, claims that Evan Twombley, with whom he was hunting, accidentally shot and killed himself. The police believe Jack, but Wade grows suspicious, believing that the man's death was no accident. When he is informed that the victim was scheduled to testify in a lawsuit, his suspicion slowly turns into conviction.
A while later, Wade and his girlfriend Margie Fogg arrive at the house of Wade's alcoholic father, Glen Whitehouse, whose abusive treatment of Wade and Rolfe as children is seen in flashbacks throughout the film. Wade finds his mother lying dead in her bed from
hypothermia
Hypothermia is defined as a body core temperature below in humans. Symptoms depend on the temperature. In mild hypothermia, there is shivering and mental confusion. In moderate hypothermia, shivering stops and confusion increases. In severe h ...
. Glen reacts to her death with little surprise, and later gets drunk at her wake and gets into a fight with Wade.
Rolfe, who has come home for the funeral, suggests at first that Wade's murder theory could be correct, but later renounces himself of this presumption. Nonetheless, Wade becomes obsessed with his conviction. When Wade learns that town
Selectman Gordon Lariviere is buying up property all over town with the help from a wealthy land developer, he makes the solving of these incidents his personal mission. Suffering from a painful toothache and becoming increasingly socially detached, he behaves more and more unpredictably. He follows Jack, convinced that Jack is running away from something and is involved in a
conspiracy
A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...
. After a car chase, a nervous Jack finally pulls over, threatens Wade with a rifle, shoots out his tires, and drives off.
Finally, Wade is fired for harassing Jack and trashing Lariviere's office. He collects Jill from her mother's house, where his ex-wife furiously castigates him over his plans to sue for full custody. At a local restaurant, he attacks the bartender in front of his daughter. Then Wade takes Jill home to find Margie leaving him. Wade grabs Margie and begs her to stay, but Jill rushes up and tries to stop the fight. In response, Wade angrily pushes Jill, giving her a bloody nose forcing both her and Margie to drive off.
Wade is then approached by Glen, who congratulates him for finally acting as a "real man". The latent aggression between the men culminates in another fight in which Wade accidentally kills his father. He burns the corpse in the barn, sits down at the kitchen table and starts drinking.
Rolfe's narration reveals that Wade eventually murdered Jack and left town (possibly to Canada, where Jack's truck was found three days later), never to return. Rolfe relates that the town later became part of a huge ski resort partly organized by Gordon Lariviere, but having nothing to do with either Jack or Twombley. Rolfe concludes that someday a vagrant resembling Wade might be found frozen to death, and that will be the end of the story.
Cast
*
Nick Nolte
Nicholas King Nolte (born February 8, 1941) is an American actor. He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for the 1991 film ''The Prince of Tides''. He received ...
as Wade Whitehouse
*
James Coburn
James Harrison Coburn III (August 31, 1928 – November 18, 2002) was an American film and television actor who was featured in more than 70 films, largely action roles, and made 100 television appearances during a 45-year career.AllmoviBi ...
as Glen Whitehouse
*
Sissy Spacek
Mary Elizabeth Spacek (; born December 25, 1949) is an American actress and singer. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and nominations for four Briti ...
as Margie Fogg
*
Willem Dafoe
Willem James Dafoe (; born July 22, 1955) is an American actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Willem Dafoe, various accolades, including the Volpi Cup for Best Actor, in addition to receiving nominations for ...
as Rolfe Whitehouse
*
Mary Beth Hurt
Mary Beth Hurt (''née'' Supringer; born September 25, 1946) is an American actress of stage and screen. She is a three-time Tony Award-nominated actress.
Notable films in which Hurt has appeared include ''Interiors'' (1978), ''The World Accordi ...
as Lillian Whitehouse
* Brigid Tierney as Jill Whitehouse
*
Holmes Osborne
Holmes Osborne (born November 7, 1947) is an American character actor who has worked in film and television, including notable roles in ''That Thing You Do!'' (1996), ''Donnie Darko'' (2001) and ''Southland Tales'' (2007).
Career
Prior to pursui ...
as Gordon LaRiviere
*
Jim True-Frost
Jim True-Frost (''né'' True; July 31, 1966) is an American stage, television and screen actor. He is most known for his portrayal of Roland "Prez" Pryzbylewski on all five seasons of the HBO program ''The Wire'', as James Woodrow in '' Treme ...
as Jack Hewitt
* Tim Post as Chick Ward
*
Christopher Heyerdahl
Christopher Heyerdahl (born September 18, 1963) is a Canadian actor who portrayed Alastair in '' Supernatural,'' the Wraith Todd in ''Stargate Atlantis'', Sam in ''Van Helsing,'' "Swede" in ''Hell on Wheels,'' and Marcus in '' The Twilight Saga ...
as Frankie Lacoy
*
Marian Seldes
Marian Hall Seldes (August 23, 1928 – October 6, 2014) was an American actress. A five-time Tony Award nominee, she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for '' A Delicate Balance'' in 1967, and received subsequent nominations ...
as Alma Pittman
*
Janine Theriault
Janine Theriault (born 1975) is a Canadian actress known for her work in the films '' Bleeders'' (1997), ''Owning Mahowny'' (2003), and '' Relax, I'm from the Future'' (2022), as well as the TV series ''A Nero Wolfe Mystery'' (2001–2002), ''MVP ...
as Hettie Rogers
* Paul Stewart as Mr. Horner
*
Wayne Robson
Wayne Robson (April 29, 1946 – April 4, 2011) was a Canadian television, stage, voice and film actor known for playing the part of Mike Hamar, an ex-convict and sometime thief, on the Canadian sitcom ''The Red Green Show'' from 1993 to 2006, as ...
as Nick Wickham
*
Sean McCann as Evan Twombley
* Sheena Larkin as Lugene Brooks
* Penny Mancuso as Woman Driver
Production
According to Paul Schrader, he came across a paperback copy of the novel in a bookstore and bought it after he was "grabbed" by its first sentence. After he finished reading the book, Schrader bought the film rights from Russell Banks.
The director said in an interview with ''
Filmmaker
Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...
'' that he identified with the characters in the story: "I had a very strong father and an older male sibling. My father was not abusive, he was not alcoholic, but there were enough similarities. I came from that part of the country with long cold winters, so I knew these people, and I knew their violence."
[ Although it has been compared to his previous films (e.g. '']Taxi Driver
''Taxi Driver'' is a 1976 American film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Paul Schrader, and starring Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, Peter Boyle, Leonard Harris, and Albert Brooks. Set in a decaying and ...
'', ''American Gigolo
''American Gigolo'' is a 1980 American neo-noir crime drama film written and directed by Paul Schrader, and starring Richard Gere and Lauren Hutton. It tells the story about a high-priced escort in Los Angeles (Gere) who becomes romantically ...
'' and ''Light Sleeper
''Light Sleeper'' is a 1992 American crime drama film written and directed by Paul Schrader and starring Willem Dafoe, Susan Sarandon, and Dana Delany. Set in New York City during a sanitation strike, the gritty neo-noir film stars Dafoe as a high ...
''), Schrader has stated that the ending of ''Affliction'' was what made it different from them: "One of the differences between things that I have written and Russell's book is that I tend to end my pieces on a kind of grace note, and this one has none. I like some sense of moral grace. But ''Affliction'' is pretty bleak at the end."[ He also added, "I view the film as a collaboration between myself and Russell Banks."][
Nick Nolte was Schrader's first choice for the role of Wade Whitehouse. Schrader told ]Charlie Rose
Charles Peete Rose Jr. (born January 5, 1942) is an American former television journalist and talk show host. From 1991 to 2017, he was the host and executive producer of the talk show '' Charlie Rose'' on PBS and Bloomberg LP.
Rose also co-an ...
that he envisioned Nolte in his mind while he was writing the script. According to Schrader, he offered Nolte the part five years before filming began, when the actor had become a bankable star following his success with the box office hits ''The Prince of Tides
''The Prince of Tides'' is a 1991 American romantic drama film directed and co-produced by Barbra Streisand, from a screenplay written by Pat Conroy and Becky Johnston, based on Conroy's 1986 novel ''The Prince of Tides''. It stars Streisand a ...
'' and '' Cape Fear'', both released in 1991. Although Nolte was interested in playing Wade, Schrader could not afford him at first. It was not until five years later when Nolte agreed to do ''Affliction'' for less money.[ However, Nolte claims he initially turned it down because he was working on other projects at the time and that he was not ready to portray the role.] It was Nolte who brought ''Affliction'' to the attention of Bart Potter, the head of Largo Entertainment
Largo Entertainment was a production company founded in 1989. It was run by film producer Lawrence Gordon and was backed by electronics firm Victor Company of Japan, Ltd. (JVC) in an investment that cost more than $100 million. The production c ...
.[ Nolte told Rose that by the time the five years passed by, "I think I understood Wade better." Schrader also admitted that the five years of preparation helped Nolte's performance.][ In addition to acting in the film, Nolte also served as one of its executive producers.][
Nolte claims that he was the one who convinced Sissy Spacek, whom he worked with in '' Heart Beat'' (1980), to appear in ''Affliction'' alongside him.][ According to Schrader, it was Spacek's husband ]Jack Fisk
Jack Fisk (born December 19, 1945) is an American production designer and director.
As a production designer, he is known for his collaborations with Terrence Malick, designing all of his first eight films including ''Badlands'' (1973), ''Days o ...
who came up with the idea of having the characters of Wade and Glen Whitehouse lick salt off their hands to show how similar the father and son are to each other.[
Schrader told ]Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
that he gave the part of Glen to James Coburn because he was bigger than and could "convincingly dominate" Nolte. When Schrader encouraged the actor to prepare for the role, Coburn reportedly said in response, "Oh, you mean you want me to really act? I can do that. I haven't often been asked to, but I can."[
Schrader claimed that Willem Dafoe wanted to play the part of Wade.][ Dafoe himself would admit, "I knew I couldn't play Wade Whitehouse whether Nick Nolte was around or not." Schrader instead offered Dafoe the role of Rolfe Whitehouse, and the latter accepted it because he loved the novel. According to Dafoe, Schrader showed him the novel during the making of '']Light Sleeper
''Light Sleeper'' is a 1992 American crime drama film written and directed by Paul Schrader and starring Willem Dafoe, Susan Sarandon, and Dana Delany. Set in New York City during a sanitation strike, the gritty neo-noir film stars Dafoe as a high ...
''.[
''Affliction'' was filmed in ]Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, with principal shooting starting in February 1997. Although first presented at the Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...
on August 28 the same year, ''Affliction'' did not see a theatrical release until some time later in most countries. After a limited release in New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
in December 1998, it saw its regular US release in January 1999.[''Affliction''](_blank)
in the Internet Movie Database
IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...
.
Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, ''Affliction'' has an approval rating of 88% based on 50 reviews from critics, with an average rating of 7.60/10. The consensus reads, "Dark and bleak, the 'kick-ass' performances, especially Nolte's 'effective' portrayal of an abused soul, is the reason to see this film." On Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film has a score of 79 out of 100 based on 39 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Critic Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
of the ''Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
'' gave the film 4 stars. Janet Maslin
Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for ''The New York Times''. She served as a ''Times'' film critic from 1977 to 1999 and as a book critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000 Maslin ...
in ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' wrote "ick Nolte
Ick or ICK may refer to:
* William Ick, (1800–1844), botanist
*Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, a single-celled parasite. Also known as Ich
*Inhibitor cystine knot
*Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest
*Trains in the Netherlands, Intercit ...
gives the performance of his career in Paul Schrader's quietly stunning new film ..Like '' The Sweet Hereafter'', a more meditative and elegant but less immediate, volcanic film, ''Affliction'' finds the deeper meaning in an all too believable tragedy."
In a negative review in the '' Time Out Film Guild'', Geoff Andrew called the film a "sensitive but rather dull adaption of Russell Banks' novel ..the narrative's too unfocused and low-key really to engage the heart or mind."
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Affliction (1997 film)
1997 films
1997 drama films
1997 independent films
1997 thriller films
1990s English-language films
1990s mystery drama films
1990s mystery thriller films
1990s thriller drama films
American independent films
American mystery drama films
American mystery thriller films
American thriller drama films
Films about father–daughter relationships
Films about father–son relationships
Films about alcoholism
Films about brothers
Films about child abuse
Films about dysfunctional families
Films about mental health
Films about police officers
Films based on American novels
Films based on American thriller novels
Films directed by Paul Schrader
Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award-winning performance
Films scored by Michael Brook
Films set in New Hampshire
Films shot in Montreal
Films with screenplays by Paul Schrader
Fratricide in fiction
Hunting in film
Largo Entertainment films
Lionsgate films
Murder mystery films
1990s American films