- Affliction (1997) movie review summary: Paul Schrader’s artful, great-looking, and generally well-acted psychological drama about the lasting – and potentially deadly – effects of family abuse is marred by implausible situations and by Nick Nolte’s overstrung central performance.
Affliction (1997) movie review: Nick Nolte, narrative issues seriously hinder Paul Schrader’s otherwise skillful drama
Set in the snowy (fictional) New Hampshire town of Lawford, writer-director Paul Schrader’s 1997 psychological drama Affliction could have been a thoughtful, unsettling depiction of a dysfunctional family’s cycle of violence and how this form of social impairment is accentuated by rapid, destabilizing socioeconomic changes.
Alas, such heights remain beyond the movie’s reach, as narrative issues and an inadequate central performance thwarts Affliction’s dramatic possibilities.
The sheriff of fractured mind
Based on a 1989 novel by Russell Banks – who also penned the equally snowy The Sweet Hereafter, turned into a successful 1997 arthouse drama – Schrader’s Affliction relies on a realistic wintry atmosphere (courtesy of The Sweet Hereafter’s Paul Sarossy, shooting in Quebec) to convey the deadness that engulfs middle-aged sheriff Wade Whitehouse (Nick Nolte, who also received executive producer credit).
Wade is intent on not turning into his abusive, alcoholic father, Glen (James Coburn), while inexorably sliding down that very path. Only his neglected girlfriend, Margie (Sissy Spacek), is capable of seeing through his neurotic tough-guy crust. Yet, despite her efforts, Margie is unable to stop Wade from drowning his angst in booze or from misdirecting it toward those around him, including his daughter Jill (Brigid Tierney).
Further complicating matters, Wade must live with a ghastly toothache, his mother (Joanna Noyes) suddenly dies, and – shades of Travis Bickle in the Schrader-written Taxi Driver – he becomes consumed by a conspiracy theory about the murder of an out-of-town businessman by a local police officer working at the behest of vast big-business interests plotting to transform sleepy Lawford into a luxurious winter resort.
Screenwriting and thespian disorders
Although Paul Schrader succeeds in setting the right tone for Affliction – the movie fully justifies its title – he fails to find large enough patches to cover the gaping plot holes that abound in his screenplay (whether or not originally found in Russell Banks’ novel).
In one crucial scene, for instance, Wade’s brother, Rolfe (Willem Dafoe), inexplicably agrees with the disturbed cop’s flimsy conspiracy theory, the consequences of which are catastrophic both for the film’s characters and for its credibility.
Best Actor Academy Award nominee Nick Nolte is another problem. As in Barbra Streisand’s 1991 Oscar-nominated soap opera The Prince of Tides, he delivers an overwrought performance that is supposed to underline his character’s mental instability. Yet his acting has the exact opposite effect, as Nolte keeps reminding us that what we’re watching is a dedicated actor giving his all in a difficult role.
Don’t you sass James Coburn
On the positive side, in addition to its excellent production values (editing by Jay Rabinowitz, production design by Anne Pritchard, etc.) and Michael Brook’s haunting music, Affliction features several supporting players in top form, especially:
- Mary Beth Hurt, as Wade’s unbending former wife.
- Best Actress Oscar winner Sissy Spacek (Coal Miner’s Daughter, 1980), in a smallish, underwritten role as the understanding Margie.
- Eventual Best Supporting Actor winner and Hollywood veteran James Coburn (The President’s Analyst, In Like Flint), as the abusive father who has scarred his older son for all eternity.[1]
When the massive, vicious-looking Coburn barks at Nolte, “Don’t you sass me!” he isn’t kidding.
This reviewer only wishes that Big Daddy had also sent a clear warning to Willem Dafoe, who sasses the voice-over narration, leaving a sour taste at the film’s final – and absurd – fade-out.
Affliction (1997)* cast & crew
Director: Paul Schrader
Screenplay: Paul Schrader
Source: Russell Banks’ 1989 novel AfflictionCast:
Nick Nolte … Wade Whitehouse
Sissy Spacek … Margie Fogg
James Coburn … Glen Whitehouse
Mary Beth Hurt … Lillian Horner
Willem Dafoe … Rolfe Whitehouse
Jim True … Jack Hewitt
Marian Seldes … Alma Pittman
Christopher Heyerdahl … Frankie Lacoy
Tim Post … Chick Ward
Janine Theriault … Hettie RogersCinematography: Paul Sarossy
Film Editing: Jay Rabinowitz
Music: Michael Brook
Production Design: Anne Pritchard
Producer: Linda Reisman
Running Time: 114m
Country: United States
* Affliction debuted at the 1997 Venice Film Festival; the following year it opened commercially in several markets, including Los Angeles and New York City.
Affliction Academy Awards
Affliction (1997) won one Academy Award (for the year 1998, when it was released in the Los Angeles area):
- Best Supporting Actor (James Coburn)
Affliction received one additional nomination:
- Best Actor (Nick Nolte)
“Affliction (1997) Movie Review: Overstrung Nick Nolte” notes
Inspirational Sam Peckinpah
[1] James Coburn reportedly based his violent Affliction character on director Sam Peckinpah, with whom he had worked on three films as an actor (Major Dundee, 1965; Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid, 1973; Cross of Iron, 1978), and once as a second unit director (Convoy, 1978).
Affliction (1997) movie credits via the American Film Institute (AFI) Catalog database and other sources.
Willem Dafoe, James Coburn, and Nick Nolte Affliction image: Lionsgate.
“Affliction (1997) Movie Review: Overstrung Nick Nolte” last modified in June 2026.