It's 1938 Albany, NY. Francis Phelan (Jack Nicholson) is a former baseball player and a drunken drifter. His friend Rudy (Tom Waits) is dying of cancer. He visits his son's grave lamenting accidentally killing him after four beers. He abandoned his family many years ago. He finds his drinking buddy Helen Archer (Meryl Streep) at the mission. He is haunted by three ghosts including a scab (Nathan Lane) he killed as a striking trolley worker and a hobo who tried to chop off his feet. He visits his wife Annie Phelan (Carroll Baker).
Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep get to do some good acting. The story meanders quite a lot. It's not a plot where there is a place to go. I guess Francis does have a destination and possibly salvation. The main problem for me is that Nicholson and Streep separate midway through the movie. Streep is late to the movie to begin with. This needs both great actors together for the whole movie.
Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep get to do some good acting. The story meanders quite a lot. It's not a plot where there is a place to go. I guess Francis does have a destination and possibly salvation. The main problem for me is that Nicholson and Streep separate midway through the movie. Streep is late to the movie to begin with. This needs both great actors together for the whole movie.