Rating: 
Summary: Affliction (1999)
Review: Director: Paul Schrader
Cast: Nick Nolte, Sissy Spacek, James Coburn, William Dafoe, Jim True, Mary Beth Hurt.
Running Time: 114 minutes.
Rated R for language and mild child abuse.Director Paul Schrader's account of the troubles that child abuse can bring to those afflicted much later in life--the everlasting affect that the criminality and brutality of the fear it can cause. "Affliction" is not an uplifting film and it tends to drag throughout, but it can at times be very powerful and depressing. Small-town New Hampshire constable Nick Nolte investigates an accidental shooting that he believes to be murder; meanwhile, his personal life deteriorates as he is haunted by a horrific childhood terrorized by a drunken, abusive father (played brilliantly by James Coburn, who would earn an Oscar for the role). The story twists and turns between two themes, but mainly gets tangled and disjointed by the end of the film. Schrader does not seem confident in choosing to focus more on the murder conspiracy or the father-son relationship between Nolte and Coburn. While Coburn's performance was celebrated, Sissy Spacek is very good as Nolte's wife and William Dafoe is perfectly casted as the concerned, loving brother. The final result of "Affliction" is melodramatic, slightly bleak, and overall implausible; however, the excellent roles carry this motion picture from the gutter and heighten it as a moderately effective drama.
Rating: 
Summary: AFFLICTION!
Review: From director PAUL SCHRADER, the man who wrote the scripts for "Taxi Driver" and "Raging Bull," comes this POWERFUL DRAMA about VIOLENCE in the male world! Adapted from RUSSELL BANKS' novel "The Sweet Hearafter," this film features a couple of powerful performances by NICK NOLTE and JAMES COBURN (in his OSCAR winning role)! Nolte plays Wade Whitehouse, a small town cop whose life of failed relationships, hard drinking and repressed agression is about to EXPLODE! Coburn plays his ABUSIVE FATHER in a first-rate SUPPORTING CAST that includes Sissy Spacek, Willem Defoe and Jim True! The Nation's Film Critics picked Nolte as BEST ACTOR n 1998 in what is far and away is best performance. He might be an OVERLOOKED actor, but do not overlook this OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE!
Rating: 
Summary: Will love forever as a classic
Review: I loved this movie, and still watch it from time to time. It's a brilliant character study. I'm from New Hampshire, and there are many Wade Whitehouses running around there.
James Coburn really makes the film, though. His Oscar was most worthy. Some of his lines are so incredibly tasteless, they're almost funny, in a sick kind of way.
This is a film that will go over a lot of dumb people's heads. Woe to them.
Rating:
Summary: A Haunting Film
Review: I saw this movie several years ago and it has stayed with me ever since. Whenever I think about the truly great films I've seen, and would like to see again, this one always makes the list as great, but I have avoided watching it again because, depending upon your childhood, it is extremely disturbing. Beware anyone who has experienced life with an abusive parent, you will see the fear and despair come to life before your eyes. James Coburn and Nick Nolte portray this type of hellish relationship with stunning realism. I have read reviews from those who, apparently, couldn't really believe that parents and children could have such a relationship. Not so, friends. This is a scathing, searing, film -- with no bullets or exploding cars. You have been warned.
Rating: 
Summary: Definitely not a date-flick.
Review: I'll say this: this film is pretty good for Schrader, which means that a director with a better sense of pacing would have done this material much better. But, we got what we got. It's certainly devoid of sentimentality: perhaps Schrader's best virtue is that he doesn't pander to an audience. The proceedings are in-your-face and austere in the extreme. I'm still unsure what to think of Mr. Nolte's performance: it's the same old Nolte performance, only with more misery. But here, that just might be okay. Wish he'd get his voice-box operated on, though -- it's getting hard to understand what he's saying. All in all, that Mt. Rushmore face and gravelly voice in all that misery might be more than most folks can stand for a duration of 2 hours. As for Coburn, call that acting job one-note all you want, but you'll probably won't forget it any time soon. While I commend the fact that there's no overblown "confrontation scene" (like I said, Schrader never panders), the ancillary subplots, i.e. the hunting accident and the devious manuevers of a local real estate developer, are pedestrian at best and irrelevant at worst. Wade is what matters; if you can't come up with a good plot device, don't bother. Also: perhaps because of Nolte's performance, I never felt all that in touch with Wade emotionally -- with the one exception of that primal "tooth" scene. Besides that scene, we only see him the way others see him, which is unfortunate because he would make a terrific character study. Ultimately, that distance harms the film and makes this an incomplete experience.
Rating:
Summary: BORING!!!
Review: I've tried to watch this film three or four times and could never get through it. It was soooo slow and dull. I never cared about any of the people and it was just over the top depressing. I understand that some people feel tgar it may be some great acting and a very upscale film, but it really did nothing for me.
Rating: 
Summary: BORING!!!!
Review: I've tried to watch this film three or four times and could never get through it. It was soooo slow and dull. I never cared about any of the people and it was just over the top depressing. I understand that some people feel tgar it may be some great acting and a very upscale film, but it really did nothing for me.
Rating:
Summary: Undoing the Damage
Review: It really unnerves me when someone comes along and dismisses a work like Affliction with nothing but a few words, especially when their "review" appears twice with two different ratings. Granted this movie isn't for everyone, but if you like gritty character studies with a great deal of depth then this film will not fail to capture your attention. Nick Nolte, Sissy Spacek, and the late, great James Coburn give some of the best performances of their lives in Affliction and the direction is top notch.
Paul Schrader wrote Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver, wrote and directed American Gigalo and Light Sleeper. If you've enjoyed these introspective films you'll no doubt find something very special in Affliction. It can be a difficult film to watch, but only because the reality of the characters' situations is so overwhelmingly affecting.
If you're looking only for escapist, feel-better films or Hollywood blockbusters loaded with special effects then, by all means, avoid this film. If, however, you're looking for an intense film that treats its characters as real people in real situations then pick up Affliction at once. It's simply one of the best American films of the past decade and you owe it to yourself to see it.
Rating:
Summary: POWERFUL
Review: This film is a little gem. It is slow, sad, uncompromising and contains exceptional acting! Nick Nolte is such a powerful actor. His and James Coburn's performances are the heart of the movie. Coburn won the Oscar, but Nolte's part of an abused child who's now a loser of an adult is sooo good that I can't see how HE didn't get the gold instead of Our Man Flint! The final scenes with the final confrontation of father and son are extremely powerful and some may find sort ofhard to take but they are worth waiting for! Willem DaFoe gives a good uncharacteristic gentle performance too. It's good to see Paul Schrader behind the camera in top form.
Rating:
Summary: It's a classic
Review: This is a truly great movie. What is going to make people either love or hate it is that it is unflinchingly real. This one EXUDES realism. It's for those of us who don't love life and aren't really happy about our present situation. It's for anyone who has ever been humiliated, frustrated and ready to lash out at the miserable world. It's bleak-just like life. Nolte and Coburn have never been and probably never will be better. The writing is superb. There are so many lines that ring true. If your favorite song is "Don't Worry, Be Happy" then you might want to skip this one. For everyone else, I suggest that you savor this classic immediately.
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