"Affliction" is one of those movies you'd like to look away from but you can't.
This drama examines the after-effects of child abuse and alcoholism to an almost painful degree. And as you can probably guess, it's not a pretty picture.
To its credit, the film does feature powerful performances from Oscar nominees Nick Nolte and James Coburn, and the subject matter is treated in an intelligent and surprisingly sensitive manner.
But it's also marred by heavy-handedness, including an awful voice-over narration that nearly ruins the whole thing. And the story is so overwhelmingly depressing that after a while you may stop caring about the characters altogether.
Nolte stars as Wade Whitehouse, a small-town police officer who's heading slowly on a self-destructive downward spiral. Years of abuse at the hands of his alcoholic father (Coburn) have left Wade embittered, prone to violent outbursts and with substance abuse problems of his own.
Wade's quick temper has already cost him one marriage and threatens to ruin his long-simmering relationship with waitress Margie Fogg (Sissy Spacek). So the last thing he needs in his life is more aggravation.
Unfortunately, he gets two doses in quick succession. First, he's compelled to investigate his best friend (Jim True), who led a local businessman on an ill-fated deer hunting expedition. Then his mother dies, forcing Margie and Wade to take care of his still-spiteful father.
Like the similarly snowy drama "The Sweet Hereafter," the film is based on a novel by acclaimed American writer Russell Banks. But "Affliction" pales in comparison to the other, more elegant movie.
For one thing, Paul Schrader's script treats minor themes in a superficial manner and there are too many leaps in logic. Also, it feels as if there are whole scenes missing. (Of course, given that the pacing is so slow, adding additional scenes might have made things worse.)
But Nolte is very convincing, as is Coburn, despite his character being written in a one-note fashion.
And the supporting performances are definitely a mixed bag. While Spacek is terrific, Willem Dafoe seems too detached (and having him do the narration was a mistake).
"Affliction" is rated R for rampant profanity, violent fist fighting and some gunplay, simulated drug use (marijuana) and use of a vulgar gesture.