Ironweed (1987)

Francis Phelan (Jack Nicholson) is a washed-up baseball player who deserted his family back in the 1910s when he accidentally and drunkenly dropped his son and killed him. Since then, Phelan has been a bum, punishing himself. Wandering into Albany, New York, Phelan seeks out his lover and drinking companion, Helen Archer (Meryl Streep). The two meet up in a mission managed by Reverend Chester (James Gammon), and later in Oscar Reo's (Fred Gwynne) gin mill. Over the next few days, Phelan takes a few minor jobs to support his habit, haunted by visions of his past. A chance for a reconciliation with his wife Annie Phelan (Carroll Baker) is abandoned when a group of local vigilantes with baseball bats take it upon themselves to drive the homeless out of Albany.