Nick Nolte stars as an abused child turned local cop in this stark portrayal of life in a northern New Hampshire town. With Sissy Spacek, James Coburn, Willem Dafoe, Mary Beth Hurt, Jim True, Marian Seldes, Holmes Osborne, Brigid Tierney, Sean McCann and Wayne Robson. Based on the Russell Banks novel and directed by Paul Schrader.

SEX/NUDITY 2 - Sexual innuendo. Kissing. We see a couple in bed after making love (no bare body parts are shown). A man and woman kiss.

VIOLENCE/GORE 8 - A man kills a man and then sets the corpse on fire. We see a dead woman in bed. A man accidentally shoots himself to death on a hunting trip (we briefly see a spot of blood on his chest). A man pulls his tooth out with a pair of pliers and his face gets bloody. A man is hit in the head with a whiskey bottle (we see some blood), another is hit in the head with a gun. A boy is hit by a man and a woman is hit by a man. Threatening with guns and verbal abuse.

LANGUAGE 8 - About 30 F-words, several anatomical and scatological references, many mild obscenities and many insults.

DISCUSSION TOPICS - Spousal abuse, child abuse, family relationships, death, murder, the mob, drugs, alcoholism.

MESSAGE - Not even the best intentions can clear the oppressive clouds of the past.