Ironweed

1987 "Hard times and Good times. Francis and Helen."
6.7| 2h23m| R| en| More Info
Released: 18 December 1987 Released
Producted By: TriStar Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

Albany, New York, Halloween, 1938. Francis Phelan and Helen Archer are bums, back in their birth city. She was a singer on the radio, he a major league pitcher. Death surrounds them: she's sick, a pal has cancer, he digs graves at the cemetery and visits the grave of his infant son whom he dropped; visions of his past haunt him, including ghosts of two men he killed. That night, out drinking, Helen tries to sing at a bar. Next day, Fran visits his wife and children and meets a grandson. He could stay, but decides it's not for him. Helen gets their things out of storage and finds a hotel. Amidst their mistakes and dereliction, the film explores their code of fairness and loyalty.

Genre

Drama

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Director

Héctor Babenco

Production Companies

TriStar Pictures

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Ironweed Audience Reviews

GamerTab That was an excellent one.
FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.
Listonixio Fresh and Exciting
Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!
PimpinAinttEasy To all the bums of the world,this is your film. The ones who cannot be bothered to play all the games and have accepted that the race is unequal. This film is about your mates in the prohibition era.I liked the film's structure - the daily life of a bum and his fellow bums and his recollections about the people he murdered by accident. It is scary how a man could end up as a bum. And while the film does not lay out all the reasons why the protagonist (Nicholson) ended up the way he did, it gives us glimpses of his past which might offer some clues.The film does not glorify the bum life in anyway. Though as a square, their antics which include hard drinking seemed quite charming to me. I mean, it must be terrible if you are a bum and you fall sick on the road. But somehow I do feel like it is better than the relentless boredom of the ordinary life.Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep's performances were more than adequate. Someone like John Cassavetes or Elaine May would have been able to do full justice to this film. Not that there is anything wrong with it. I guess it is sort of a lost classic when you consider the star cast. I would love to watch this film on Blu Ray.Best Regards, Pimpin.(8/10)
George Aar I, like many others I assume, was drawn to this film by it's list of actors. With a cast like that it's gotta be great, right? As it turns out, not so much.The story here is simply not THAT interesting to warrant a run time of almost two and a half hours. A baseball player accidentally kills his child and then, in his grief, abandons his family and becomes a bum. Years later he goes back to see his wife and is welcomed home with (mostly) open arms. And things really don't develop much more than that. So A-listers, Jack Nicholson and Merrill Streep flounder around a gloomy set and try to act their way to an epic film, but they just don't have the material to work with. So you end up with a very drawn out, dreary, and unavoidably BORING movie. It's certainly not worth the time investment when there's no payoff.
De-illusionist I watched Ironweed back in 80's,5times on screen.Mainly because I am a big fan of Tom Waits..But something inside this very depressing movie caught then-Student's mind. Now I can watch with DVD,and knew many supporting actor is gone now. Some of them were already old age back then.Lots of sparkle came from those supporting actors. You can see younger day's Nathan Lane (well,Same Nathan who is on "Modern Family")giving the scene great impression. Tom Waits gave the role pure innocence. Not only Lead Actors,Many people wrote,Those supporting actors gave "Ironweed" magic. There's something not only depressed,something pure.
patricklewallen After seeing the two starring actors listed as the top billings in this high rated film, I felt intrigued to view it... so I did. Little did I know I was in for one of the most depressing films of all time with some of the strongest acting ever put forth. Jack Nicholson, as always, puts on a performance for the ages, earning him his well deserved Oscar Nomination. The sinful part, however, is that Meryll Streep did not win her Oscar Nomination. With flawless ease, Streep carried her character through triumph (the one or two we see) and tragedy, letting every moment live inside each viewer. After speaking so highly of this film, you would think I would strongly recommend it. Yet, I would not recommend this film simply because it is just too dark with far too few bright spots. This incredible film deserves to be seen, and if you are just a movie-goer who enjoys a film with more to offer than meets the eye, this is the movie for you. Don't expect to be happy after the film, though - despite the beautiful performances put on by all. Brilliant movie on all accounts. With a few more bright spots, this would be a guaranteed 10/10 film. B+