Ironweed

Ironweed

1987 · 2 hr 23 min · R

Drama

Directors

Hector Babenco

Actors

  • Jack Nicholson
  • Meryl Streep
  • Carroll Baker

Credits: 6

Summary

An alcoholic drifter spends Halloween in his hometown of Albany, New York after returning there for the first time in decades.

More about this movie

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.