Nick Nolte encapsulates the weary, average working man beautifully in a raw, bristling performance in Paul Schrader's latest exercise in machismo, "Affliction." Nolte is so ideal in this role that it becomes iconic - his bulky physique and dark, cropped hair remains the most frustrating character of suburban domesticity since Jack Nicholson's Bobby Dupea in "Five Easy Pieces."
Nolte stars as Wade Whitehouse, a born loser in a small town in New Hampshire. He is the sheriff, a schoolbus crossing guard, and performs some chores for a local, hot-headed businessman. He is also a rotten husband and father who doesn't have an inkling of how to treat his unctuous daughter. His ex-wife (Mary Beth Hurt) hates him, his straight-arrow brother (Willem Dafoe) abandoned him and the family, his father (James Coburn) doubly hates him, and the whole town seems to have no respect for him.
The only one he has left to support him is his girlfriend, a kindhearted and loyal waitress named Margie (Sissy Spacek). Margie is a name synonymous with any small-town tale. Wade does find an avenue of restoring some respect and dignity when an accidental shooting occurs in the woods. He feels there is a conspiracy, a cover-up dealing with the building of a ski resort. He becomes more resourceful, and just as pathetic.
He beats people, drags his daughter around like a rag doll, tries to sue his ex-wife for custody of the daughter, and gives a speeding ticket to a grieving son whose father has just died. Wade is convinced that the conspiracy, which has riled up the town, will make him respectable.
The underlying story in "Affliction" is Wade's relationship to his domineering father - both are virile yet weak men with no other agenda than to abuse. Wade is afflicted by his father's abusive past, shown in hand-held grainy footage with a dark-haired Coburn spouting all kinds of obscenities. It is his childhood and his mother's untimely death that drives Wade closer and closer to the brink of madness.
"Affliction" does not have the degree of depth of Paul Schrader's other machismo portraits, such as "Raging Bull" or "Taxi Driver." Somehow, we see the weaknesses and afflicted behavior of Wade, but we rarely get close to the demons tearing him apart. In one shattering scene, he pushes his father against a wall, threatening to kill him if he gets close to Margie. Another scene has him pulling his bad tooth out of his mouth and shedding a tear. They are individual moments of isolated violence, but they do not make for a cohesive, full-bodied portrait.
This has a well-rounded cast, including Nolte's raw, hard-edged personality that still makes the character unforgettable, despite the ambiguities. There is also James Coburn, in perhaps the finest, shrewdest performance of his career, as the monstrous, unredeeming father with a cold, heavy heart - he does have one moment where he appears dejected after his wife's death, though there is nothing remotely sympathetic about this man.
Mary Beth Hurt brings a warm glow to this brutally cold landscape as the ex-wife. She has a stirring scene where she speaks kindly about Wade's dear old mother (while 'Ases Death' from "Peer Gynt" plays on the soundtrack) - a beautiful, poignant moment. Sissy Spacek is nicely understated as the patient Margie, who finds that Wade can be too much to bear.
"Affliction" has some dark, heavy blues in its cinematographic look that embodies the snowy environment in Russell Banks' novel - he also wrote "The Sweet Hereafter." The performances are solid and powerful. But it's Wade's lack of logic and unmotivated actions that may leave viewers straining to put up with him and his afflictions.
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