As Wade's life disintegrates, he's sucked back into the company of his vicious father, played with loathsome brio by James Coburn, whose only legacy is a sucker punch when his boy isn't looking. There's no escape for Wade. And none for us. The movie's pace may be glacial, but Schrader's control and restraint throughout is relentless. Other Schrader dramas, like Hardcore and Light Sleeper , peter out in bloodsoaked big finishes that play like the director's own ritualistic dick-swinging fantasies.
Affliction is cold, and it cuts to the bone.
Nolte has never been better than he is standing in front of the jerk's slammed door, holding the ticket like an exploded cigar. Only when Wade has popped his last balloon does he get his father's curse of a blessing. And then the pain starts up again. Nashville Scene .