Ironweed (1987)

Genre: Drama

Directed by: Hector Babenco

Cast: Jack Nicholson, Meryl Streep, Carroll Baker

Time: 143 minutes

Francis Phelan used to be a great baseball player with a good throwing hand. After accidently dropping his infant son, killing him in the process, the guilt overtook him and he left his house and family behind to live as a bum in the streets. Decades later, he is drinking his life away, hanging out with his lover Helen Archer and his buddy Rudy. Francis’ past comes back to haunt him, though, and he decides to pay his family a visit, which will bring profound change within him.

Jack Nicholson offers a performance full of restraint here. You would think that Jack playing a drunk would be a great opportunity to go overboard, but there is no such thing in Ironweed. He really manages to melt his larger-than-life persona into the character and make it believable.

Meryl Streep is also great at inhabiting her character. You forget that there is an actress at work and you care for the character. That scene where she sings in the bar, with a mixture of reality and fantasy, is wonderful.

Ironweed is a very compelling character study. There is not much in terms of action, and it might feel long and dreary to some, but it is well worth watching to see some great actors at work.

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