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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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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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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Sean Axmaker Stream on Demand Jun 15, 2017

It's like watching the disintegration of a psyche under a microscope as cracks in Wade's facade erupt into tremors of violence.

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Lisa Schwarzbaum Entertainment Weekly Sep 7, 2011 A

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Rob Nelson City Pages, Minneapolis/St. Paul Aug 21, 2009

Nolte could have based his oddly sympathetic performance on the image of a sick animal scrounging for food and shelter along deserted country roads.

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Jim Lane Sacramento News & Review Aug 7, 2008 4/5

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Ted Murphy Murphy's Movie Reviews Jan 11, 2007 A-

Schrader has skillfully turned Banks' novel into a compelling character study.

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Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Jun 12, 2006 4/5

Well acted by Nolte and Coburn, Schrader's strongest film in years is a powerful reverie on family curse, how incontrollable anger, drinking, and violence almost inevitably pass on from one generation to the next.

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Philip Martin Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Jan 8, 2005 A-

Affliction is a shattering film, a dose of bracing naturalism based on Russell Banks' most lacerating novel.

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Judith Egerton Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) Jul 7, 2004 3/4

One wonders why Dafoe is even in the movie. But Nolte is, and that's what enriches Schrader's bleak drama.

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Dragan Antulov rec.arts.movies.reviews Feb 11, 2004 4/10

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Jeffrey M. Anderson Combustible Celluloid Jan 17, 2003 3.5/4

A terrifying movie that faces the truth of cruelty and its everlasting results.

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Nick Davis Nick's Flick Picks Jan 10, 2003 C+

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Ella Taylor L.A. Weekly Oct 2, 2002

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David Nusair Reel Film Reviews Sep 25, 2002 2/4

Despite some great performances, Affliction never really takes off.

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Jeffrey Westhoff Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL) Aug 30, 2002 3/4

The heart of Affliction is Nick Nolte's searing performance.

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Marty Mapes Movie Habit Aug 21, 2002 3/4

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Edward Guthmann San Francisco Chronicle Jun 18, 2002 3/4

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