Affliction

A dark exploration of working-class family relationships, “Affliction” stars Nick Nolte as Wade Whitehouse, a divorced New Hampshire sherif who is dealing with a spoilt petulant daughter, a furious ex-wife, and a increasingly hostile alcoholic father (James Coburn). When a hunting accident occurs in his township, Wade suspects murder and sees an opportunity to make a hero of himself and finally receive the respect of both his daughter and his father. But as the investigation becomes murkier and Wade finds powerful forces aligned against him, he begins to spiral out of control and to give into the violence and alcohol abuse that is his family legacy. Paul Schrader’s thriller, like his entire oeuvre, is as much a study in repression and masculine resentment as it is a conventional murder mystery. Wade is a classic archetype of a fool, a man who always wishes to do good, but whose abuse as a child has led him to distrust women, himself, and to react with violence and anger whenever his authority is challenged. The bleakness of Wade’s life is rooted in the history of his parent’s relationship and even the counseling of his sympathetic girlfriend (Sissy Spacek), and his estranged brother (Willem Dafoe) cannot offer him any hope. James Coburn won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in this film and the entire cast is informally excellent. Based on the novel by Russell Banks.