Even though the performance from Nolte was extraordinary, the movie was so slow paced I kept looking at my watch to see when it would be over. I couldn't turn off the video however becuase I wanted to see what the whole point would be of the film since there wasn't much of a story. Unfortunately, I didn't really see one except to show how an abusive father can tragically mess up a child's life into adulthood. Don't we already know that fact? I wasn't drawn in by any of the characters. I didn't even feel sorry for Nolte's character. The movie was difficult to watch. A SIMPLE PLAN is a similar film but so much more involving, with a lot of food for thought.

Writer-director Paul Schrader has fashioned a penetrating, nakedly honest, emotionally complex character study that is far from up-lifting, yet it's an extraordinary accomplishment, diving into and unlayering buried emotionalisms that too few films dare to take on. Nick Nolte is nothing short of magnificient in a multi-layered role, unraveling his tragic character's inner turmoil with admirable economy; you never see him reaching for obvious effects in every scene, seeing fit to give subtle glimmers, tics and qualms to a man who's becoming unraveled right before our eyes, yet in a completely believable manner that packs quite a wallop in the end.