Ironweed, the 1987 film based on William Kennedy’s novel, is set in Albany, NY in the winter of 1938.
Directed by Hector Babenco the film stars Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep.
Kennedy, who also wrote the screenplay, uses the weather to such great effect that it becomes a central character in the film.
Winters in Albany, which has a moderate climate the rest of the year, can be brutal. In December 1987, for example, the temperature was zero degrees F. from 1 a.m. to 3p.m. An inconvenience for the middle-class in their comfortable, centrally- heated homes, but life-threatening for the homeless and the destitute, the social circle in which Nicholson, whose life is marked by a tragic loss and Streep, whose past remains a mystery, struggle, not only for their own survival but for the survival of friends and strangers. It’s this element of compassion that drives the film.
Both Nicholson and Streep were nominated for Oscars in 1987.
