Another painful Russell Banks look at the dark side of small-town New England/NY life. This time with Paul Schrader directing, sometimes over-directing. They sculpt an anguished look at a small town sheriff/road worker with a toothache (Nick Nolte) who is slowly falling apart as his mom dies. His daughter rejects him for her divorced mom and a stable life with her and her step-dad. His girlfriend (Sissie Spacek) slowly losses the capacity to hope with him and his dysfunctional family, his brother reads conspiracy into the accidental death of a mobbed-up Boston construction guy out deer hunting, and he losses it in relation to his alcoholic and abusive father (James Coburn). Good acting but painful in the extreme. Very similar tone to “The Sweet Hereafter”. The only weak point was the work by Willem Defoe. For some reason, his work and voiceover seem affected and just don’t work for me here. Weird