This Nick Nolte film, written and directed by Paul Schrader and based on a novel by Russell Banks, is so subtle, so perfectly plotted, that it would be easy to take it for granted. There is a wealth of characterization and plot here that boils ever-so-slowly until it slowly erupts. But unlike a TV-Movie-of-the-Week or a typical Hollywood film, it's a seemingly unattended dish which leisurely boils until it eventually spills over the edges and the entire dish is laying, wasted, around the outside of the pot.

I have only read one Bank's novel, the much different  "Rules of the Bone," and this is one of only two films based on his work; The other being last years, "The Sweet Hereafter." But the source material must be awesome. Schrader may only be able to gloss over much of the book's plot points, but his script is so sharp and so complete that those uninitiated will not miss anything and those who have not read the novel only wish to do so because Schrader's film is so interesting we must see from what it is spawned.  

Nolte plays an alcoholic cop who is nothing more than a glorified snow-plow driver given a perk by the town cronies. His life is exposed to us in small increments so we can see him slowly unravel. What's beautiful is that the awful truths of his life are actually just little prickles for the most part. His ex-wife has moved on leaving him alone. He plots to sue her for custody of their daughter, who is always mildly uncomfortable around him, without ever once thinking of the child's thoughts or wishes. His work is a joke. His car is having transmission problems and he has a nagging toothache. But for all this mild drama, there are good points as well. He finds a loving female in the arms of Sissy Spacek. She could be his salvation here but the cards are stacked against her. Nolte also gets caught up in an interesting mystery  which may find a accidental death a homicide. He also has a attentive ear in his younger brother (Willem DaFoe) whom he talks to mainly via the telephone. These seeming positives and negatives might cancel each other out leaving him a rather contented, albeit dull, man.

But Nolte's biggest pitfall, his history, his upbringing, spoils any chance he may have of normalcy or happiness. Raised by an abusive, alcoholic father, Nolte finds himself struggling to forget his past and avoid the same snares. This hope of survival is cut off in midstream when Nolte's long-suffering mother dies and his father, played wonderfully by James Coburn, returns to his sphere. It is the manner in which all of this is handled, it's troubling simplicity, which makes it so realistic and so unnerving.

What's so unusual about the script is how little it shows us. Coburn's physical abuse is only displayed to us once in flashback. His verbal abuse is almost non-stop when he is on screen, however, whether in flashback or not. There is also a insinuation that Coburn is somehow sexually abusive. It underlines his moments with the boys (in flashback) and forces itself into the open when he is around Spacek. There is a clear indication that he has tried to attack her although this is never shown. We are only left to speculate. 

Schrader's direction is like the Coen Brothers' "Fargo" on qualludes. The snowfall of the Northeast gently falls upon the scenery blanketing the past in a fog that will only last, at best, until spring comes. The icy exterior mirrors the cold feelings inside the main character. There is a devastatingly sublime scene in the film's front section which finds Nolte frozen in midstride while directing traffic at a school. It is perfection. Like everything that happens in the film, it happens for a reason. The film is beautiful in it's subtlety. What happens with Nolte's father, with Spacek, with his daughter and with his toothache is brought together to a beautiful and disturbing conclusion that ends in a troubling and forward stretching line brought forth by DaFoe's poetic narration. His final line implies that, although much in the plot has  ended, the titular malady continues.

"Affliction" is a subdued masterpiece. It's precisely the kind of film that we don't see often enough in America. It's theme may be that of a TV Disease-of-the-Week movie, but the awesome plot, script, direction and acting take it to a level on which it has never been played before. Nolte, Spacek, Coburn and the supporting cast bring forth this understated masterpiece with honest and poignant acting that we seldom see in American film. It's plot has never been treated as anything more than overdramatic suburbanite angst before this. But like a Fassbinder film, "Affliction" exposes a poignant problem with subdued realism that offers no explanations and no solutions. In it's stead, there is only this simple exposition which shows there are almost no justifications and only the most troubling of conclusions.

Note: Also with Mary Beth Hurt. Nolte is also a producer.

The awesome soundtrack music is by Michael Brook.

Filmed in Canada.

The nepotism factor: Nolte's son Brawley plays him as a boy.

Nolte and Coburn were nominated for several acting awards for the film, including the Academy Award.

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