RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / Upcoming / Affliction
Affliction

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Buy Poster External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Affliction (1997)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
86 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:43

Fresh:37

Rotten:6

Average Rating:7.5/10

Consensus: Dark and bleak, the "kick-ass" performances, especially Nolte's "effective" portrayal of an abused soul, is the reason to see this film.

Runtime: 1 hr 55 mins

Genre: Dramas

US Box Office: $0

Synopsis: Based on the novel by Russell Banks, AFFLICTION is a sobering, absorbing psychological study of the precarious relationship between an abusive father and his two sons. Wade Whitehouse (Nick Nolte)... Based on the novel by Russell Banks, AFFLICTION is a sobering, absorbing psychological study of the precarious relationship between an abusive father and his two sons. Wade Whitehouse (Nick Nolte) is a middle-aged ineffectual sheriff in a small New Hampshire town, where he and his brother, Rolfe (Willem Dafoe), were raised. When events shatter the quiet of his small town, Wade is forced to confront the past and reexamine his life, attempting a reconciliation with his abusive, alcoholic dad, Glen (James Coburn), by moving back home to look after him. This quietly intense, haunting, and beautifully filmed story unfolds against the harsh snow-white backdrop of a town where everyone knows each other. But more than anything, it is the brilliant performances of its cast that mark this film. [More]

Starring: Nick Nolte, James Coburn, Sissy Spacek, Willem Dafoe

Starring: Nick Nolte, James Coburn, Sissy Spacek, Willem Dafoe, Mary Beth Hurt, Jim True

Director: Paul Schrader

Director: Paul Schrader
Producer: Linda Reisman
Composer: Michael Brook

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Affliction

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
01/01/00
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Nolte could have based his oddly sympathetic performance on the image of a sick animal scrounging for food and shelter along deserted country roads.

Full Review Source: City Pages, Minneapolis/St. Paul | comment Comment
08/21/09
Rob Nelson
Rob Nelson
City Pages, Minneapolis/St. Paul

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
08/07/08
Jim Lane
Jim Lane
Sacramento News & Review

Schrader has skillfully turned Banks' novel into a compelling character study.

Full Review Source: Murphy's Movie Reviews | comment Comment
01/11/07
Ted Murphy
Ted Murphy
Murphy's Movie Reviews

Arguably Scharder's strongest film in years, Affliction is a powerful reverie on family curse, how incontrollable anger, drinking, and violence almost inevitably pass on from one generation to the next.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
06/12/06
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
02/04/06
Jack Mathews
Jack Mathews
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
07/21/05
Houston Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
04/09/05
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Nation | comment Comment
03/03/05
Stuart Klawans
Stuart Klawans
Nation

Affliction is a shattering film, a dose of bracing naturalism based on Russell Banks' most lacerating novel.

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
01/08/05
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

One wonders why Dafoe is even in the movie. But Nolte is, and that's what enriches Schrader's bleak drama.

Full Review Source: Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) | comment Comment
07/07/04
Judith Egerton
Judith Egerton
Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
02/11/04
Dragan Antulov
Dragan Antulov
rec.arts.movies.reviews
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Blather | comment Comment
05/22/03
Eugene Novikov
Eugene Novikov
Film Blather

A terrifying movie that faces the truth of cruelty and its everlasting results.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
01/17/03
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Nick's Flick Picks | comment Comment
01/10/03
Nick Davis
Nick Davis
Nick's Flick Picks
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
11/06/02
Jeff Strickler
Jeff Strickler
Minneapolis Star Tribune
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Cincinnati Enquirer | comment Comment
10/15/02
Margaret A. McGurk
Margaret A. McGurk
Cincinnati Enquirer

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
10/02/02
Ella Taylor
Ella Taylor
L.A. Weekly

Despite some great performances, Affliction never really takes off.

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
09/25/02
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 >> >|
See All

More Movies

Coming Soon in Australia
Tomatometer Percentage Movie Date

70% 70% Where the Wild Things Are 03/12
83% 83% Paranormal Activity 03/12
89% 89% Zombieland 03/12
76% 76% The Informant! 03/12

What’s Hot On RT

Coen Brothers

Coen Brothers

We count down their 10 best-reviewed films

Avatar

Avatar

Watch an exclusive behind-the-scenes video

RT's Twilight corner

RT's Twilight corner

Everything you need on New Moon is here

Doomed Romance

Doomed Romance

Our top 10 star-crossed movie lovers

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Disney Restructuring Has Broad Implications Source: Los Angeles Times
6
  • Joel Silver Talks Ninja Assassin, Sgt. Rock, Lobo, and More Source: Collider.com
1
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
104
  • Idris Elba Joins Thor Source: Hollywood Reporter
112
  • Jackass 3D Coming in 2010? Source: Collider.com
32
  • 6 Reasons 'Twilight' Is Doomed Source: The Wrap
64
  • Forbes Names Hollywood's Most Overpaid Actors Source: Forbes
20
  • Chris Weitz Says He's (Almost) Done with Directing Source: Film School Rejects
26
  • Spider-Man 4 Casting Rumors Multiply Like Rabbits Source: Deadline Hollywood Daily
51
  • McTeigue Says Superman Is "In a Weird Place" Source: MTV
204
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: New Moon Shatters Records
159
  • Critics Consensus: New Moon Wanes
129
  • Tomatometer Watch: Will Twilight's New Moon Dazzle?
97
  • Total Recall: Star-Crossed Lovers
74
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
53
  • Five Favorite Films with Werner Herzog
50
  • Total Recall: John Travolta's Best Movies
33
  • Friday Harvest: New Moon, Avatar, and more!
31
  • RT on DVD: Harry Potter returns, Bella heads to Adventureland
4
  • Ho, ho, ho! It's RT's Great Big Gift Guide!
0
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
8
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
19
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
6
  • RT on DVD: Wassup, Bruno
3
  • Scott Hicks Talks The Boys Are Back
0
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Richard Kelly chats about The Box
2
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
16
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
8
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Affliction at Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh Links

Featured
Why Don't Australians Make Sci-fi?
Why Don't Australians Make Sci-fi? External Link

The New Matilda's Lynden Barber looks at the recent success of low-budget sci-fi -- and asks the question.

New Moon Portraits
New Moon Portraits External Link

TIME offers us a closer look at the characters from the latest Twilight film.

Follow Rotten Tomatoes on Twitter
Follow Rotten Tomatoes on Twitter External Link

Get all the latest movie updates, reviews, interviews and features here.

Competitions
Win Star Wars prizes
Win Star Wars prizes External Link

Enough Prequel, Original Trilogy and Family Guy DVDs to fill a space cruiser

Win the entire 007 collection
Win the entire 007 collection External Link

Everything from Dr. No to Quantum of Solace could be yours.

Win Fight Club Special Editions and more
Win Fight Club Special Editions and more External Link

We're giving away the 10th Anniversary Blu-ray, plus Braveheart and the Rocky collection

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.