Affliction

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Affliction

R,

1999,

1h 53m,

Drama

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Watchlist

Watchlist

88%

48 Reviews

Tomatometer

72%

5,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

88%

Tomatometer

48 Reviews

72%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

In a small New Hampshire town, washed-up cop Wade Whitehouse (Nick Nolte) has a troubled past, an abusive father (James Coburn), the contempt of his ex-wife (Mary Beth Hurt) and an unimpressive streak as a lawman. When hunting guide Jack Hewitt (Jim True) reports a businessman's accidental death during a hunting trip, Wade believes he has a chance to turn around his life, if he can prove it was murder. Increasingly obsessed, Wade begins to lose his composure during the investigation.

Critics Consensus

Dark and bleak, the "kick-ass" performances, especially Nolte's "effective" portrayal of an abused soul, is the reason to see this film.

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Richard Corliss

TIME Magazine

Apr 1, 2019

There are too many of these men in life, and not enough films that tell their sad tales. That gives Affliction a therapeutic worth.

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Ed Gonzalez

Slant Magazine

Aug 17, 2001

2.5/4

Overwrought metaphors abound in Paul Schrader's ham-fisted Affliction.

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Jan 1, 2000

4/4

Nick Nolte is a big, shambling, confident male presence in the movies, and it is startling to see his cocksure presence change into fear in Paul Schrader's Affliction.

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Mitchell Beaupre

Paste Magazine

Jun 24, 2024

10/10

Affliction hones in on masculinity and the demons that men inherit from one another.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Apr 22, 2024

3.5/4

Nolte is phenomenal in what’s a career performance, but he was absurdly beaten for the Best Actor Oscar by the buffoonish Roberto Benigni for that extended Hogan’s Heroes episode.

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Deborah Hornblow

Hartford Courant

Jan 2, 2018

3.5/5

"Affliction'' stands as one of [Paul] Schrader's finest efforts, but the real star is [Russell] Banks, who tells a small story with universal implications and explores the devastating affliction of violence between men.

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Finn L

May 3, 2017

Quite excellent; phenomenal turns from Coburn and Nolte, not to mention excellent direction by Paul Schrader.

Poe P

Jan 14, 2008

Affliction is a work of realist art rich in quotidian detail, a Grimm fairy tale about a community under siege, and a lament for a good man gone bad for nothing.

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Paul Schrader

Director

Nick Nolte

Wade Whitehouse

Sissy Spacek

Marge Fogg

James Coburn

Glen Whitehouse

Willem Dafoe

Rolfe Whitehouse

Mary Beth Hurt

Lillian

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Synopsis

In a small New Hampshire town, washed-up cop Wade Whitehouse (Nick Nolte) has a troubled past, an abusive father (James Coburn), the contempt of his ex-wife (Mary Beth Hurt) and an unimpressive streak as a lawman. When hunting guide Jack Hewitt (Jim True) reports a businessman's accidental death during a hunting trip, Wade believes he has a chance to turn around his life, if he can prove it was murder. Increasingly obsessed, Wade begins to lose his composure during the investigation.

Director: Paul Schrader
Producer: Frank K. Isaac, Linda Reisman
Screenwriter: Russell Banks, Paul Schrader
Distributor: Lionsgate Films
Production Co: JVC Entertainment, Largo Entertainment
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 15, 1999, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 1, 2009
Box Office (Gross USA): $6.3M
Runtime: 1h 53m
Sound Mix: Dolby, Surround

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