CB’s Favorite Performances : Jack Nicholson – Francis Phelan

There’s a few Jack performances that I could do a take on. Francis Phelan (Ironweed) has always been one of my favorites.

Francis dropped his infant son, killing him and hasn’t drawn a sober breath in the 22 years since it happened. He comes home with the ghosts of his past and the guilt he has carried all those years. His drinking has turned him into a self admitted bum. The drinking has also effected his mental state. Physically he is still pretty strong but it’s his mental state of mind that’s in trouble. Drinking just doesn’t do the trick any more. He can’t forget.

Jack is so good in this. He brings a truth and naturalness to Francis. You never see him playing drunk. He just is drunk. When he sees the ghosts from his past he gets his back up and pretty well tells them they got what they deserved. The grief and guilt he had sourced is real. The scene at his son Gerald’s graveside is as gut wrenching as it gets. It moved me to the core. So many good scenes. He does William Kennedy’s character justice. Great work Jack.

Jacks a bum and he knows it.

“We’re going on a bummer this summer”