Ironweed
BBBB.5
(out of 5)
Although it’s a difficult story that doesn’t make for light fare, this Depression-era melodrama is a marvelous character study with a huge emotional payoff in the end. Jack Nicholson plays a drifter who wanders the desolate streets of the city after having years ago left his middle-class family when tragedy left him confused and disillusioned. Meryl Streep is a once-famous concert pianist who is now drinking herself to death and frequenting soup kitchens with Nicholson. Their experiences together and separately make up this brilliant film, adapted by William Kennedy from his own novel, in which director Hector Babenco finds the beauty in the middle of so much pain and suffering. The sequence where Nicholson visits his family at home will slay even the most cynical of audiences, particularly upon Diane Venora‘s appearance. This is the kind of serious drama that one expects Streep to be so good in, but even for her own standards the performance is above and beyond anything she had ever accomplished before, her voice and demeanor a terrifying change from her usually softer, more apologetic characters.
Home Box Office, Keith Barish Productions, TAFT Entertainment Pictures
USA, 1987
Directed by Hector Babenco
Screenplay by William Kennedy, based on his novel
Cinematography by Lauro Escorel
Produced by Keith Barish, Marcia Nasatir
Music by John Morris
Production Design by Jeannine Oppewall
Costume Design by Joseph G. Aulisi
Film Editing by Anne Goursaud
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This entry was posted on May 27, 2013 by Bil Antoniou in 111LinkCompany, 1987, BBBB.5, Hector Babenco and tagged Academy Award 1987, Anne Goursaud, Bethel Leslie, Black-Eyed Susan, Boris McGiver, Carroll Baker, Cori Irwin, Diane Venora, Duane Scholz, Ean Egas, Frank Whaley, Fred Gwynne, George Rafferty, Golden Globe 1987, Hector Babenco, Home Box Office, Hy Anzell, Jack Nicholson, Jake Dengel, James Dukas, James Gammon, James Yoham, Jared Swartout, Jeannine Oppewall, Jeff Morris, Joe Grifasi, John Morris, John Wright, Jordan Valdina, Joseph G. Aulisi, Keith Barish, Keith Barish Productions, Laura Esterman, Lauro Escorel, Lena Spencer, Lois Barden Stilley, Lola Pashalinski, Louis St. Louis, Louise Phillips, Marcia Nasatir, Margaret Whitton, Marjorie Slocum, Martin Patterson, Matt McGrath, Meryl Streep, Michael O'Gorman, Michael O'Keefe, Nathan Lane, Nebraska Brace, Nicole Weden, Pamela Payton-Wright, Pat Devane, Paul A. DiCocco Jr., Peter Pryor, Phyllis Gottung, Priscilla Smith, Richard Hamilton, Robert Manion, Robin Wood-Chappelle, TAFT Entertainment Pictures, Ted Levine, Terry O'Reilly, Tom Waits, Will Zahrn, William Duell, William Kennedy.Shortlink
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