Name: Retro Film Review: Affliction (1997)
Item: Affliction
Rating: 40
Author: @drax

(source:tmdb.org)

The author of this review, just like anybody else, remembers certain films for wrong reasons. In case of Affliction, 1997 drama written and directed by Paul Schrader, that reason was too much creativity among his country's film distributors. The film appeared in Croatian video stores as City of Crime. Plot set in distinctively rural environment and lack of serious criminal activity didn't seem to bother distributors. They hoped for the people to rent this film as conventional crime thriller.

Most of those who did very soon discovered that this two-hour long film belonged to completely different genre. Based on the novel by Russell Banks (whose short story served as basis for Atom Egoyan's Sweet Hereafter), this film is set in New Hampshire town which is so small that its law enforcement consists of single part-time officer. That officer is Wade Whitehouse (played by James Coburn) and the life wasn't particularly kind to that man - wife left him and took away his daughter, the pay is miserable and he barely makes ends meet, suffering all kinds of humiliations from his fellow citizens, including his boss and all-powerful politician Gordon La Riviere (played by Holmes Osborne). The only good thing in Wade's pathetic life, apart from bottle and occasional joint, is relationship with sympathetic and caring waitress Maggie (played by Sissy Spacek). Wade's life is about to change when his friend Jack Hewitt (played by Jim True) accompanies powerful Boston union boss to the hunting trip. After Jack returns alone from that trip and tells story about fatal accident, Wade is convinced that union man's death was result of criminal conspiracy involving shady real estate deals and every rich man in town, including La Riviere. Attempts to investigate only manage to alienate him from the people in town, while mother's death brings him back in touch with Glen (played by James Coburn), his old, alcoholic and abusive father.

Affliction is beautifully shot and well-played film. Nick Nolte is simply fascinating in the role of a deeply traumatised man whose life is slowly but inevitably falling apart. James Coburn is even more impressive in thankless but memorable role in which he had to give portrayal of most despicable excuse for human being. Good acting, however, can't compensate for the more serious flaws in its structure. Genre shift from serious social drama (with little hints of crime thriller) into more intimate, psychological realm is not handled particularly well and looks a little bit unnatural. Story about alcoholism, physical abuse and gradual yet devastating effect it can have on individuals isn't spared of cliches. The ending of the film is, therefore, disappointing, but not as disappointing as the way in which Schrader used Willem Dafoe. One of most interesting actors in modern Hollywood is wasted in the role of Wade's successful brother and film's narrator. The narration on many occasions describes events in the film, making everything appearing on screen boring and thus guaranteeing that two hours of this grim and depressing film would look much longer than they should have been. Expecting one sort of film and seeing another sort wasn't the only surprise for the author of this review. Seeing that Affliction was not as good as I had expected was another surprise, and quite unpleasant. Affliction could be watched, but not with too much expectation.

RATING: 4/10 (+)

(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.films.reviews on February 12th 2004)