Affliction

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Nick Nolte and James Coburn deliver some of the finest work of their respective careers in this powerful but troubling adaptation of Russell Banks's novel. Wade Whitehouse (Nick Nolte) is the sheriff in a small New England town; it's a part-time job with few taxing responsibilities, and Wade fills his many free hours by swilling booze, smoking pot, and thinking back on his nightmarish childhood. Wade's father Glen (James Coburn) was by turns callous, distant, and abusive, and Wade has inherited his addiction to alcohol and inability to deal with others. Consequently, Wade's ex-wife (Mary Beth Hurt) despises him, his daughter is uncomfortable and frightened in his presence, and the only person who can reach him is his loving but long-suffering girlfriend Margie (Sissy Spacek). When a wealthy businessman is killed in a hunting accident, Wade suspects foul play and pursues the case with an obsession that puzzles all around him; meanwhile, Wade's mother dies and his brother Rolfe (Willem Dafoe), the only one in the family to escape Glen's abuse without crippling emotional scars, returns to pay his respects and is caught up once again in the damaged lives of his father and brother. James Coburn) won an Academy award for Best Supporting Actor for his work in Affliction, while Nick Nolte was nominated for Best Actor (he lost to Roberto Benigni). ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 (Alternate Wide Screen)
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo
• Features:
  • cc
  • 16x9 widescreen (1.78:1)
  • Subtitles: English & Spanish

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Won Best Supporting Actor - 1998 (James Coburn)
•     Nominated Best Actor - 1998 (Nick Nolte)

• Independent Spirit Awards

•     Nominated Best Actor - 1998 (Nick Nolte)
•     Nominated Best Cinematography - 1998 (Paul Sarossy)
•     Nominated Best Director - 1998 (Paul Schrader)
•     Nominated Best Picture - 1998
•     Nominated Best Screenplay - 1998 (Paul Schrader)
•     Nominated Best Supporting Actor - 1998 (James Coburn)

• Los Angeles Film Critics Association

•     Won Best Actor - Runner-up - 1998 (Nick Nolte)

• National Society of Film Critics

•     Won Best Actor - 1998 (Nick Nolte)

• New York Film Critics Circle

•     Won Best Actor - 1998 (Nick Nolte)

• Screen Actors Guild

•     Nominated Best Actor - 1998 (Nick Nolte)
•     Nominated Best Supporting Actor - 1998 (James Coburn)

• Telluride Film Festival

•     Film Presented - 1997

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Nick Nolte - Wade Whitehouse
       James Coburn - Glen Whitehouse
       Sissy Spacek - Margie Fogg
       Willem Dafoe - Rolfe Whitehouse
       Mary Beth Hurt - Lillian
       Jim True - Jack Hewitt
       Marian Seldes - Alma Pittman
       Holmes Osborne - Gordon LaRiviere
       Brigid Tierney - Jill
       Sean McCann - Evan Twombley
       Wayne Robson - Nick Wickham

• Director:

  Paul Schrader

• Producer:

  Linda Reisman

• Screenwriter:

  Paul Schrader

• Book Author:

  Russell Banks

• Cinematographer:

  Paul Sarossy

• Composer (Music Score):

  Michael Brook

• Editor:

  Jay Rabinowitz

• Production Designer:

  Anne Pritchard

• Art Director:

  Michel Beaudet

• Co-producer:

  Frank Isaac, Eric Berg

• Executive Producer:

  Nick Nolte, Barr Potter

• Costume Designer:

  Francois Laplante

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Patrick Rousseau

• First Assistant Director:

  Burtt Harris, Pedro Gandol

• Casting:

  Ellen Chenoweth, Kathleen Chopin

• Line Producer:

  Josette Perrotta

REVIEW:

• Nick Nolte and James Coburn are magnificent in this powerful, brutal tale of alcoholism and emotional neglect in a dysfunctional family. No stranger to portraits of male rage, writer-director Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The Mosquito Coast) imbues the film with a discomforting wintry bleakness. Though the story -- based on a novel by Russell Banks, the author responsible for the similarly chilly The Sweet Hereafter -- may not exactly inspire, the raw, truthful performances of the two leads keep the film compelling. Though somewhat underutilized, the reliable Willem Dafoe and Sissy Spacek are similarly excellent in their supporting roles. Both Nolte and Coburn were nominated for Academy Awards; Coburn took one home for Best Supporting Actor.
  ~ Matthew Doberman, Rovi