"Ironweed" is a very difficult film to watch. After all, all the folks in the film are down and out bums...homeless alcoholics who barely exist back during the Great Depression. Though the course of the film, you learn a bit more about them and their lives. The main character is Francis (Jack Nicholson)...a man burdened with memories of the wrongs he's done...and probably much of the reason he's a drunk. His friend is Helen (Meryl Streep), a woman who is just as bad off as he is...barely getting by and living on the streets.
This film is about the lives of people who are extremely damaged alcoholics living on the streets as well as the cruelty that is sometimes inflicted on them. It's the sort of story that is high on realism and also painful and awful to watch...and goes on for 143 minutes. It's so unpleasant that it isn't surprising that the movie lost a ton of money. The acting, not surprisingly, is very good....Streep and Nicholson are great actors...and they both received Oscar nominations for this film. But the story is so unpleasant I cannot imagine most folks watching it...and apparently they didn't. Interestingly, when I used to work in a halfway house for addicts, the film was often shown there....to show the residents where they are headed unless they make some changes.
If you wanted to see another film like this one, try "Leaving Las Vegas". But I recommend you perhaps watch a comedy or something pleasant after you see "Ironweed", as it could easily leave you depressed...especially by the time the film ends.
This film is about the lives of people who are extremely damaged alcoholics living on the streets as well as the cruelty that is sometimes inflicted on them. It's the sort of story that is high on realism and also painful and awful to watch...and goes on for 143 minutes. It's so unpleasant that it isn't surprising that the movie lost a ton of money. The acting, not surprisingly, is very good....Streep and Nicholson are great actors...and they both received Oscar nominations for this film. But the story is so unpleasant I cannot imagine most folks watching it...and apparently they didn't. Interestingly, when I used to work in a halfway house for addicts, the film was often shown there....to show the residents where they are headed unless they make some changes.
If you wanted to see another film like this one, try "Leaving Las Vegas". But I recommend you perhaps watch a comedy or something pleasant after you see "Ironweed", as it could easily leave you depressed...especially by the time the film ends.