The defence The Auteur Devotee
“Form is the argument.”
Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.
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Affliction
Crime · Drama · Mystery · 1998
A small town policeman must investigate a suspicious hunting accident. The investigation and other events result in him slowly disintegrating mentally.
Movie details
Affliction
“Like father like son...?”
1998 Crime · Drama · Mystery 1h 54m
Critical arithmetic
The consensus, allegedly.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
IMDb
6.9 / 10
21.1K votes
Rotten Tomatoes
88 %
Tomatometer
Metacritic
79 / 100
Metascore
TMDB
6.3 / 10
Community rating
External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.
A small town policeman must investigate a suspicious hunting accident. The investigation and other events result in him slowly disintegrating mentally.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Affliction?
For the defence
The Auteur Devotee
“You watch the director, not the movie.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
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Suburbicon
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Violent Ends
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The Public Eye
Crime · 1992
A crime photographer gets involved in a conspiracy.
At Close Range
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Brad Whitewood Jr. lives in rural Pennsylvania and has few prospects. Against his mother's wishes, he seeks out his estranged father, the head of a gang of thieves in a nearby town. Though his new girlfriend supports his criminal ambitions, Brad Jr. soon learns that his father is a dangerous man.
Back Roads
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A young man cares for his younger sisters after their mother is imprisoned for murdering their abusive father. When he strikes up an affair with a married woman, long-dormant family secrets bubble to the surface.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Paul Schrader
Written by
Paul Schrader
Nick Nolte
Wade Whitehouse
Sissy Spacek
Margie Fogg
James Coburn
Glen Whitehouse
Willem Dafoe
Rolfe Whitehouse
Mary Beth Hurt
Lillian
Jim True-Frost
Jack Hewitt
Marian Seldes
Alma Pittman
Court is in session
Put Affliction on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Technique in search of a pulse.”
Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.