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Video / DVD: Rewind
© St. Petersburg Times, published April 24, 2003
Nick Nolte, gaining rave reviews for his performance in The Good Thief (opening today) as an alcoholic, heroin-addicted gambler and former thief preparing for the heist of his life, hasn't been slowed by his arrest last year for driving under the influence of drugs.
He's all over the big screen this year, as Dr. David Banner in Ang Lee's The Hulk and with roles in Northfork, from twin filmmakers Michael and Mark Polish, and the Vietnam War drama Beautiful Country. Nolte, 62, over the years has notched an impressive body of work, including these films:
Afterglow (1997) -- Nolte plays Lucky Mann, a happy-go-lucky handyman with an attractive but neglected wife (Julie Christie). She's being pursued by the husband (Jonny Lee Miller) of Mann's latest young, pretty housewife client (Lara Flynn Boyle). Romantic and comic complications ensue. Alan Rudolph directed the offbeat comedy.
Affliction (1997) -- Extreme family dysfunction informs this dark drama, directed by Paul Schrader and adapted from the Russell Banks novel. It's about a small-time sheriff (Nolte) and his relationship with his cruel, alcoholic father (James Coburn). The beauty of the snow-covered exteriors (supposed to be New Hampshire; the movie was filmed in Canada) belies the ugly emotional abuses committed by Coburn's character. The cast also includes Sissy Spacek, Willem Dafoe and Mary Beth Hurt. Coburn won an Oscar, and Nolte was nominated.
U Turn (1997) -- J.Lo is the femme fatale, a curvaceous Hispanic beauty married to a menacing, older real estate developer (Nolte). She's the object of could-be fatal attraction for a young guy (Sean Penn) whose vintage red Mustang convertible breaks down in backwater Arizona. Billy Bob Thornton plays a greased-up mechanic, Jon Voight is a blind American Indian, and Claire Danes and Joaquin Phoenix tag along as teenagers. Oliver Stone reportedly shot this crime-thriller trifle in 42 days for $20-million, and it shows. For a smarter, funnier variation on the theme, check out 1992's Red Rock West.
Mulholland Falls (1996) -- Nolte leads a group of hardened police detectives (Chazz Palminteri, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn) in this overobvious piece of new-fangled film noir, set in and around Los Angeles in the 1950s. The impressive production design is by Chinatown veteran Richard Sylbert, and the cast also includes Melanie Griffith, Treat Williams, Jennifer Connelly, John Malkovich and Bruce Dern.
Jefferson in Paris (1995) -- Our third president comes off as the Bill Clinton of his time in this speculative fiction about Jefferson (Nolte) during the mid 1780s, before he ascended to the Oval Office. While in France, as the American ambassador to Versailles, he cavorts with a married woman (Greta Scacchi) and teenage Sally Hemings (Thandie Newton), slave of his youngest daughter. According to legend, Jefferson had an extended affair with Hemings, and she gave birth to several of his children. The Merchant-Ivory production offers plenty of authentic period detail, as usual.
The Prince of Tides (1991) -- Nolte turns in some of his best work as a lost man from South Carolina's low country, separated from his wife (Blythe Danner) and falling in love with the New York psychiatrist (Barbra Streisand, also the director) of his suicidal twin sister (Melinda Dillon). Pat Conroy, author of the novel, co-wrote the script. Also stars Kate Nelligan, George Carlin and Jason Gould (son of Streisand and Elliott Gould). Nolte's Oscar nomination was one of seven for the film, which didn't win any Academy Awards.
Cape Fear (1991) -- Martin Scorsese directed a frightening remake of the 1962 film about a creepy criminal (Robert DeNiro) stalking his former nemesis, the lawyer (Nolte) who put the villain away. Jessica Lange and Juliette Lewis play the prosecutor's wife and daughter, and Robert Mitchum, Gregory Peck and Martin Balsam, from the original movie, make cameos.
Q&A (1990) -- Nolte is a tough, corrupt New York cop being pursued by an idealistic district attorney (Tim Hutton) in this underappreciated crime drama, directed and written by Sidney Lumet.
Under Fire (1983) -- Nolte is a star photojournalist covering the Nicaraguan civil war in 1979. The drama, directed by Roger Spottiswoode, has the camera man getting involved in a love triangle with characters played by Joanna Cassidy and Gene Hackman. Also stars Ed Harris.
48 Hrs. (1982) -- Nolte is at his gruff but lovable finest, and Eddie Murphy is riotous in his film debut. Walter Hill wrote and directed this story of a grumpy San Francisco cop (Nolte) who teams with a quirky, temporarily released convict (Murphy) in an effort to catch an elusive murderer (James Remar).
North Dallas Forty (1979) -- Nolte is one of the boys on the team in this behind-the-scenes comic drama about professional football, one of the best sports movies. The film was adapted from the bestselling novel by Peter Gent, a former Dallas Cowboys player. The cast also includes Mac Davis, Charles Durning, Brian Dennehy, Dabney Coleman, G.D. Spradlin and John Matuszak.
The Deep (1977) -- Jacqueline Bisset went the sex-symbol route in this artfully photographed story of a scuba-diving couple (Bisset, Nolte) drawn into a dangerous search for a shipwreck in the Caribbean. The thriller, based on a book by Jaws author Peter Benchley, also stars Robert Shaw, Louis Gossett Jr. and Eli Wallach.