Nick Nolte is incredible in this. He perfectly understands all the nuances and subtleties of the character that Schrader wrote, which is a character often seen in life but rarely seen on screen as a protagonist.
And while Nolte embodies Wade Whitehouse with pure authenticity, the real scene stealer here is James Coburn as Wade’s father. He’s absolutely terrifying.
Some of Schrader’s narrative choices (specifically the final ten minutes) didn’t entirely work for me, but as a whole I enjoyed what he did here, as harrowing and bleak as it may be.
