Feb'16 Movie of the Month: Affliction (1997)

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Thanks for checking in lynchian and I'm thrilled that you liked it cricket! It really is a character-driven movie, and what really got me with the plot is how it makes you think it's gonna be some big mystery Wade's gonna solve but then the whole mystery aspect falls on its face when Wade's dad enters the picture and then it all takes a turn for the worst (for Wade I mean, not the movie ). But yeah I agree, the characters and acting are what make this movie so good.

Thanks for checking it out!





Affliction...I'm glad False Writer choose this as otherwise I would've never seen it. Great choice!

I'm not a fan of Nick Nolte but he's perfectly cast here. I can't say why, without spoiling the ending...so I'll just say, watch it and you'll know why.

What impressed me most was the use of actual outdoor settings, which added to the believability. I loved the snow, the film looks really good. The cinematography is skillfully done as the camera is 'quiet' and doesn't zoom or jump around. Instead there's a quiet poetic look to the film with it's many wide angle outdoor shots. This gives the feeling we're an observer from afar and I liked that.

I wasn't keen on the spoken narration by Williem DeFoe. The narration could have been reduced to only a few lines. But it wasn't a deal breaker. Affliction is an interesting movie, beautifully shot and much different than the average film. Good choice False Writer!



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You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
I was looking forward to this and watched it last night. I had seen it around 1998 before my movie taste veered away from mostly action and comedy. I could hardly remember it except that I didn't get anything out of it, and I always wanted to see it again.

It's a pretty interesting movie because the general plot, while fairly interesting, is rather inconsequential to the true meat of the story. I never had any idea where Nolte's character was going, and the end result surprised me a little bit. While the acting is the whole key to the movie, I think it's important to note that the perfect actors were cast for the available roles. They embodied the characters in every way. There are many parts of the movie that feel as if not much is happening, yet I was glued to the screen for every moment. There's a very natural human intensity with every scene. Nothing happened that truly blew me away, but the drama is consistent and strong. Not quite a favorite, but I thought it was excellent.


I agree with you about the actors, except for his daughter. I thought she was very whiny and annoying.
WARNING: "SPOILER!!!" spoilers below
It made me not care about her at all, so it lessened the impact at the end.



Great review like always Citizen!

This'll be here tomorrow, and we're recording the podcast this weekend. Looking forward to it.
Very much looking forward to it as well Yoda!

I have a small suggestion for the podcast, maybe you guys can also involve some points that the members that wrote reviews for Affliction brought up? That way the members that participated can get a shout-out and also be sorta involved in the podcast discussion as well. I don't know just a suggestion, if you feel like it'll get in the way of you 3's chemistry then just disregard this. It's all good.

Can't wait to listen to it!



I agree with you about the actors, except for his daughter. I thought she was very whiny and annoying.
WARNING: "SPOILER!!!" spoilers below
It made me not care about her at all, so it lessened the impact at the end.
They probably should have had a grown man play the part.



Here it is! We recorded it earlier today and I just finished editing it.

As always, a thank you to Slappydavis and bluedeed (or Eli and Brendan, if you prefer) for their time and thoughts. Shout out, in particular, to Brendan for always telling us about the broader career of the directors on these things, and Eli for reading the screenplay for each of the last two films, both of which yield some cool insights.


The best way to get it is to subscribe with iTunes. The next best ways are to just download it with this link (or add the podcast feed into your RSS reader). Or you can just listen right now with this embedded player:




Perfect timing Yoda! I was a few seconds away from logging off and then saw this pop up and then I was like

Will be listening ASAP!!!



Gangster Rap is Shakespeare for the Future
It seems like I'm always the director guy, Slappy is the screenplay and writing guy, and Yoda is the symbolism guy. Not a bad dynamic to have
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Reading the SP has just been a convenient way for me to organize my thoughts; I wish I were better at close readings. It's been enjoyable so far.

It did turn up this line as well though:

On stage, LaRiviere arranges the contest winners. A fairy godmother with a wand beams while, nearby, a hobo writhes in his mother's grip -- a hard loser.

I also like that it divides out what possibly was improvised in the moment, such as the SP didn't have Jack shooting Wade's car.

This is the version I read: http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/Affliction.txt

Edit: Also props to Yoda on his editing, during one of the times I was talking someone came into the room and asked me a question that I pantomimed an answer to, and I totally lost track of my train of thought and left a very awkward pause and rambled. But you can hardly distinguish it from my normal rambling!



Once again another great podcast, well done! A shame that you all didn't like the movie that much though, but thanks for giving it a chance.

I'm pretty surprise how much talk there was about Dafoe's character. To be honest I never really paid much attention to him. I always just thought him as the narrator telling Wade's story since he knew most of it due to their phone conversations.

Oh and Dafoe's character's name is pronounced "rolf" not "rolf-e"



Once again another great podcast, well done! A shame that you all didn't like the movie that much though, but thanks for giving it a chance.
I think it's a great choice though, especially because I don't think we'll get many movies in the same vein in the future. Made me think a lot.

Oh and Dafoe's character's name is pronounced "rolf" not "rolf-e"
HIS NAME IS ROLFEY AND HE'S PLAYED BY WILLEM DAFOEY.



Quick question: would it be more convenient if I uploaded the podcasts to YouTube, either in addition to (or in replacement of) the embedded player?



Uploading it to Youtube would be great. There's not enough controls on the embedded player. I can't see how long of time the podcast is? or how much time I've listened to. Also when I pause the player it jumps back to the beginning and it's hard then to drag it to the spot where I just paused. Youtube would be easier.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
Quick question: would it be more convenient if I uploaded the podcasts to YouTube, either in addition to (or in replacement of) the embedded player?

I usually just download the mp3 file and listen to it on my computer, so I don't need the YouTube link, but YouTube would work for me too if that's easier for you.



I also just download the file but I'm all for adding it to YouTube.



Movie is fantastic and love to watch again and again. Nikc Nolte's performance is fantastic in the movie.