Affliction

"Like father like son...?"

1998 1h 54m EN

😐

6.3

MID

★6.3TMDB · 337

CrimeDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A small town policeman must investigate a suspicious hunting accident. The investigation and other events result in him slowly disintegrating mentally.

“Like father like son...?”

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Cast

Nick Nolte
Wade Whitehouse
Sissy Spacek
Margie Fogg
James Coburn
Glen Whitehouse
Willem Dafoe
Rolfe Whitehouse
Mary Beth Hurt
Lillian
Jim True-Frost
Jack Hewitt
Marian Seldes
Alma Pittman
Holmes Osborne
Gordon LaRiviere

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Paul Schrader
Writers: Paul Schrader
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America, Canada, Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

28 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: United States of America, Canada, Japan.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Paul Schrader, shot by Paul Sarossy. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Michael Brook. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Jay Rabinowitz shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Nick Nolte and Sissy Spacek and James Coburn carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Like father like son...?".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0118564 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Paul Schrader directs. Paul Sarossy behind the camera. Michael Brook scores. Jay Rabinowitz cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America, Canada, Japan. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

128 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2International production across 3 countries: United States of America, Canada, Japan.
3Directed by Paul Schrader, shot by Paul Sarossy. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Michael Brook. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Jay Rabinowitz shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Nick Nolte and Sissy Spacek and James Coburn carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Like father like son...?".
8IMDB entry: tt0118564 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 14 themes, including "small town", "based on novel or book", "winter", "abusive father".

The technical file

Cinematography: Paul Sarossy
Original score: Michael Brook
Editing: Jay Rabinowitz
Production design: Anne Pritchard
Costume design: François Laplante
Makeup / hair: Diane Simard
Stunt coordinator: David McKeown
Runtime: 114 min · 1h 54m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $6,000,000
Box office: $6,330,054
Return: 106% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Affliction (1998)

Awards

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Paul Schrader

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-05-15
★ 7/10
There's always something more affecting about a story set above a wintery snowline, and though this drama in itself is not really anything special, the effort from Nick Nolte is. "Wade" is the local sheriff who is held in disdain by just about everyone from his disparaging ex-wife (Mary Beth Hurt) to his brute of a father (James Coburn). Then he hears of a fatal hunting accident and decides to investigate. Finally with some purpose, he begins to suspect that this wasn't just a simple slip on the ice incident, but that there are more nefarious plans afoot that could affect everyone living in this small community. As his self-imposed pressure mounts, we realise that he is only just on the right side of sane and is really struggling to keep it that way. Initially his investigations are derided but that just seems to galvanise him further, and drive him nearer to the edge. Might he be right about the conspiracy? Well that's not so important as the really potent effort from Nolte as a man dealing with a backstory from hell, a family who are at best indifferent to his plight, and an increasingly toxic professional reality that gradually sees him reduced to nothing - an angry and despairing nothing. It's all about obsession, and about the dangers to the mind and body when that is unfettered. Coburn features menacingly, if sparingly, and Sissy Spacek also works well as the concerned but wary "Margie". It has something of the sins of the father about it, and sees this actor give what is, for me anyway, his career best performance. It's at times quite a depressing and bleak film, but no worse for that.
Wuchak2025-12-06
★ 7/10
Oddball drama about a troubled sheriff in snowy northern New Hampshire Shot in the winter of 1997, this is a psychological drama with some mystery, suspense and thrills, similar to "A Simple Plan," which was shot the next winter. While that film deals with corruption via the temptation of easy wealth, this one involves the corruption of sons (Nick Nolte and Willem Dafoe) by the sins of the father (James Coburn). Both movies are worth seeing, but "A Simple Plan" is all-around more coherent and effective. This is more ambiguous, respecting the intelligence of the viewer to put the pieces together. It's a study of a likable man's downward spiral with constant hints as to what led to it, not to mention his misguided attempt to redeem himself. Like "The Spitfire Grill" from a year or two earlier, the events take place in a small New England town, and you get to know the denizens as they're fleshed out, including the girlfriend played by Sissy Spacek. The difference is the wintry milieu and the lack of any sense of salvation. I've heard people describe it as dark, haunting and even scary (the dad), but there's also a glaring element of amusement with these people being parodied by director Paul Schrader. Take the Christian relatives (speaking as a believer) and the various fights. I busted out laughing several times. It runs 1h 53m and was shot in several spots south, west or east of Montreal in Quebec. GRADE: B