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      Ironweed

      1987, Drama, 2h 21m

      24 Reviews 2,500+ Ratings

      What to know

      Critics Consensus

      Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep play masterfully off each, but Ironweed's unrelenting bleakness proves to be more monotonous than compelling. Read critic reviews

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      Ironweed  Photos

      Ironweed (1987) Ironweed (1987) Ironweed (1987) Ironweed (1987) Ironweed (1987) Ironweed (1987)

      Movie Info

      In Depression-era Albany, N.Y., erstwhile baseball star Francis Phelan (Jack Nicholson) has become an alcoholic vagabond after guilt over accidentally killing his infant son led him to desert his family. Over the course of several days, he ambles from gritty job to dirty bar to makeshift sleeping quarters. By chance, he encounters fellow itinerant drinker and his sometime lover, Helen Archer (Meryl Streep). Together, they wax nostalgic about their haunted pasts.

      • Rating: R

      • Genre: Drama

      • Original Language: English

      • Director: Hector Babenco

      • Producer: Keith Barish, Marcia Nasatir, Gene Kirkwood, C.O. Erickson

      • Release Date (Theaters):  original

      • Release Date (Streaming):

      • Box Office (Gross USA): $6.9M

      • Runtime:

      • Distributor: TriStar Pictures, Columbia Tristar

      • Production Co: Home Box Office (HBO), Keith Barish Productions, TAFT Entertainment

      • Sound Mix: Surround

      Cast & Crew

      Jack Nicholson
      Meryl Streep
      Carroll Baker
      Michael O'Keefe
      Diane Venora
      Margaret Whitton
      Nathan Lane
      James Gammon
      Rob Cohen
      Joseph H. Kanter
      Denis Blouin
      John Morris
      Lauro Escorel
      Anne Goursaud
      Jeannine Oppewall
      Robert Guerra
      Leslie Pope
      Joseph G. Aulisi

      Critic Reviews for Ironweed

      Audience Reviews for Ironweed

      • Nov 06, 2016

        It looks like it was made by anyone, since Babenco directs it without any passion or conviction and wastes Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep in a tiring narrative that becomes so unnecessarily long with a lot of scenes that could have been cut without any damage to the story.

        Super Reviewer
      • Nov 04, 2013

        Nicholson and Streep simply just can't do it. What a tragedy for the finest actors of their generation. The script writer is at fault as this film bobs and weaves out of the control of its leads.

        Super Reviewer
      • Jun 03, 2013

        Good cast promises and performances and an absorbing 30s environment wasted by lack of character's background exploration. It touched interesting concepts. Allow me to highlight the schizophrenia one. It is precisely because of the problem I mentioned that the (scary and) emotional impact that Francis' visions are supposed to have feel flat and unexplained. In the end, it came out as a random element that could have been excluded. On the other hand, certain flashbacks were engaging and felt like richer in content, but were abruptly cut. It's like trying to pee in peace and constantly getting interrupted so you can never finish. But as a final line, I'd like this to remain: Ironweed does not deserve to be ignored with the intensity it is today. 67/100

        Super Reviewer
      • Aug 25, 2011

        I wasn't a fan. The acting was good, but the story was very depressing and a little slow-moving.

        Super Reviewer

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