Rated R for Wade is the sheriff for a small town, but he is the least secure out of all the people there. He is going through a rough divorce, he is trying to win custody of his daughter, and someone has been shot in the woods, and he isn't sure that it was an accident. Affliction is the story of how Wade painfully turns into the man he doesn't want to be, and pays the price for it.
Affliction is a story in disguise.
The back of the box may say that this is the story about a mysterious death, but this is just a backdrop to the real conflict, Wade's inner character. Nick Nolte brings Wade to life with vivid detail in his Oscar nominated performance. He is absolutely stunning as the abrasive father with a lack of control. But shadowing him is James Coburn, who won an Academy Award for this performance, and frankly, he deserves it. Coburn is breathtaking.