Ironweed

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john e Ironweed is a bleak and unsettling emersion into the lonely, desperate existence of an alcoholic, homeless couple living on the streets of Albany in the years following the Great Depression. It features the second on-screen pairing of Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep, and it was released in 1987. Francis Phelan (Nicholson) is a former professional baseball player who is tortured by numerous events from his past. One of those events led him to abandon his wife and children over 20 years earlier. Since that time, he has simply wandered through life as a self-described bum. For a while, he found new love and housing with Helen Archer (Streep). Helen is a washed-up singer and musician who shares Phelan's love of the bottle, though she's reluctant to accept any blame for her current circumstance. Over the years, the two of them would sell off everything they owned in order to continue numbing their participation in life through alcohol. They now live day-to-day, sometimes together, sometimes apart. Both Nicholson and Streep give performances that are among the best of their careers (which would explain the Oscar nominations that both received for this film). The characters that they portray are people devoid of any self-respect, hope, or aspirations. This can make the film a difficult one to appreciate. The movie does not seek to provide excuses for the existence in which these characters currently find themselves, nor does it attempt to judge them. Director Hector Babenco simply unfolds the quite joyless reality that Francis and Helen trudge through, over and over again… as they remember days gone by, and have no reason to look forward to any days ahead. Streep is able to portray her character as one still having smarts, despite long ago abandoning socially accepted principles. She occasionally expresses brief glints of knowing things might be different… were it not for her lack of any strength to make it better. Her scene where she sings in a bar (both to a real and an imagined audience), and her scene praying in a church, are magnific. Nicholson is able to present Francis, flawed as he is, as a man who knows what a sense of honor is, even if he can't always maintain or achieve it. Two of his standout scenes anchor the tale's beginning (at the cemetery) and its conclusion (in the rental room with Streep). This isn't a film that attempts to provide a happy ending or a lesson to be learned. Rather, it unveils a few days in the lives of several people that most of us would rather not see… let alone devote a movie to. For that reason alone, I found this film extremely satisfying and worthy of more praise than was given to it by most critics. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review steve d It's too dark and melodramatic for me. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Long ( two-and-a-half-hour running time) script that brings you into the world of homelessness and poverty during the great depression. Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep are brilliant (some critics say their talent was wasted here) but the direction and purpose of the movie escaped me. I went away thinking "but for the grace of God go I" but not sure of what I spent the time seeing. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Audience Member the acting was great with strange depressed story made for Nicolson and Streep another masterpiece. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Audience Member Heartbreaking performances from Oscar nominees Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep as drunk derelicts who find evanescences of felicity in a relentlessly Cimmerian portraiture of vagrancy in Depression-striken Albany, New York City. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member There are a huge array of Hollywood legends who have co starred in movies together. Some of these include Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington in Philadelphia, Al pacino and Robert De Niro in Heat, Slyvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzengerr in the Expendables series, Paul Newman and Robert Redford in butch Cassidy in the sundance kid. In 1987 another one was added to the list Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson in Ironweed. A clearcut showcase of two of the best actors to ever do it and they nail both of these dramatic roles. Jack plays Francis a bum with a tragic past who returns to his hometown in upstate, Ny in the 1938. As he walks through his old stomping grounds he is plagued with flashbacks and unpleasant memories of people in his life including his young son whom he accidently killed. Francis also meets his former lover Helen whom he remisnces with in the streets and at a bar. The movie looks at what happens to him and her in a series of life altering days. This is a mostly character driven story, well two characters to be exact but still a great feature. trmemendous screenplay. At the heart it's a story about two people that need each other no matter what. It's a beautifully written friendship. jack Nicholson and meryl streep both disappear greatly into these roles. They're constant banter was fantastic to watch. In general seeing these two legends of the game act off each other in scenes is fantastic. I've never seen Jack play such an emotional character who is haunted by his past. jack's brings a sense of nostalgia to the character that is very relatable and human for anyone who hasn't been in their old neighborhood in a long time. Streep in an breathtaking fashion brings to life this incredible bum character. She very much embodies this woman with her mannerisms, bum teeth and rugged appearance. Streeps makes her truely someone we can enjoy on screen. Her singing of he's me pal was marvelous and the films major standout scene. The film had an awesome production design. Makes you really feel immersed in an authentic 1930's upstate Ny town. good lighting and decent cinematography Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Ironweed

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