Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep both deliver tour-de-force performances as drunken Depression-era drifters plagued by their pasts.
Francis (Nicholson) is haunted by memories of the events that led to his current state of degradation – most tragically the accidental death of his baby son.
Bag-lady Helen (Meryl Streep) sees hope in his survival, but Hector Babenco’s film (based on William Kennedy’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel) is a grim odyssey with only the strong performances of Oscar-nominees Nicholson and Streep to sustain it.
Francis Phelan
Jack Nicholson Helen Archer
Meryl Streep Annie Phelan
Carroll Baker Billy Phelan
Michael O’Keefe Peg Phelan
Diane Venora Oscar Reo
Fred Gwynne Rudy
Tom Waits Harold Allen
Nathan Lane Katrina
Margaret Whitton Pee Wee
Jake Dengel
Director
Hector Babenco
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