Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep portray a pair of down and out derelicts caught in the throes of the Great Depression in Albany, New York. The year is 1938, with church missions and soup kitchens the norm for those without work and no other means of support. What comes across most disturbing perhaps is the day to day existence of a guy like Francis Phelan (Nicholson), scrabbling for pick up work for a few dollars a day, and chucking it when the boss turns out to be a heel. A dollar went a lot further back in the Thirties, but it's disconcerting to see someone content enough to get by on a few bucks for a cheap meal and a flop at a crummy rooming house.
The larger story involves Fran's search for some minor shot at redemption following the two decade absence from his family, aggravated in no small part by the death of an infant son as a result of his drinking. He's unable to forgive himself, even if a reconciliation with his ex-wife (Carroll Baker) offers some small measure of reassurance. Throughout the film, Fran has to confront the ghosts of his past, both literally and figuratively. He continually envisions a man he killed accidentally during a worker's strike decades earlier, a tramp who died attempting to outrun the cops, and a fellow hobo who would have taken his feet along with the shoes he coveted aboard a train car.
Through it all however, one gets the sense that Fran's basically a good guy, and Helen's (Streep) a good gal. It's just that they've been down so long, there doesn't seem to be any hope of digging one's way out. The bar scene at Oscar Reo's (Fred Gwynne) saloon is one of the highlights of a picture that overall is generally depressing. It's when Helen offers a singing tribute to her partner in an inspiring rendition of 'He's Me Pal', in her mind captivating a rapt audience at the Eldorado, but in actuality, merely appeasing the handful of daily customers. In what would be a somewhat prophetic pronouncement that would turn into another Nicholson picture some ten years later, Fran turns to her and comments, "By God Helen, that's As Good As it Gets".
The larger story involves Fran's search for some minor shot at redemption following the two decade absence from his family, aggravated in no small part by the death of an infant son as a result of his drinking. He's unable to forgive himself, even if a reconciliation with his ex-wife (Carroll Baker) offers some small measure of reassurance. Throughout the film, Fran has to confront the ghosts of his past, both literally and figuratively. He continually envisions a man he killed accidentally during a worker's strike decades earlier, a tramp who died attempting to outrun the cops, and a fellow hobo who would have taken his feet along with the shoes he coveted aboard a train car.
Through it all however, one gets the sense that Fran's basically a good guy, and Helen's (Streep) a good gal. It's just that they've been down so long, there doesn't seem to be any hope of digging one's way out. The bar scene at Oscar Reo's (Fred Gwynne) saloon is one of the highlights of a picture that overall is generally depressing. It's when Helen offers a singing tribute to her partner in an inspiring rendition of 'He's Me Pal', in her mind captivating a rapt audience at the Eldorado, but in actuality, merely appeasing the handful of daily customers. In what would be a somewhat prophetic pronouncement that would turn into another Nicholson picture some ten years later, Fran turns to her and comments, "By God Helen, that's As Good As it Gets".