Review of Ironweed (1987) by Asa B — 07 Feb 2013

Directed by Héctor Babenco (Pixote (1981), Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985) and At Play in the Fields of the Lord (1991)), and adapted by William Kennedy from his own 1983 novel. This is a dark and depressing drama with a good cast to it's name, but the film buckles under the weight of it's preachy and emotional message.

Having said that, it's not a bad film, but it makes for uncomfortable viewing. In 1937, Francis Phelan (Jack Nicholson) has spent the last 25 years on the road and away from Albany, New York. Back in 1910, while drunk, he dropped his infant son, killing him.

Now washed up and with nowhere else to go, he returns to his hometown, he hooks up with his former lover and drinking buddy Helen Archer (Meryl Streep), who is also on the streets and has a drinking habit too.

However, as soon as Francis is back in town, he becomes haunted by visions of the past, including flashbacks and ghosts of people who were alive when Francis was younger. But Francis wants to make it up with his estranged wife Annie Phelan (Carroll Baker), who he abandoned all those years back.

It is a good film, but it does drag in parts, and this is a film which requires your attention, but there is some good performances from it's leads, and Babenco is a bit of an unsung director with a good style, but it could have been something more.