The Bridges of Madison County

The Bridges of Madison County was openly derided by some when it first came out because of the mixing of Clint Eastwood with the romance genre. Indeed, this film could probably be summed up as "Eastwood goes soft". It's strange to hear his voice so regular. There's no growl in it, his attitude and manner is so light and easygoing. He plays against type, and he does it well. His character, Robert, is an old, sensitive adventurer - a man of the world with a certain non-judgmental openness and charisma. When he crosses paths with Francesca (Meryl Streep), she makes him realise how lonely he truly is, and the two strike up a doomed but passionate affair. The bridges of the title are a metaphor for Francesca - the county's locals take them for granted and don't see their beauty.

It's actually quite a well-staged piece of romance fiction. The story has that bittersweet edge to it, and Eastwood is able to curb his screen persona for the benefit of the genre, and he's a confident enough performer to do it without any self-consciousness. It would be nice to think that this is what the real Eastwood is really like, that the performance isn't fake because he's finally just being himself after years of macho posturing. Either way, half of the success of the film hangs on his successful performance. The other half of this success is (of course) Meryl Streep as the film's protagonist, Francesca.

Streep plays the dowdy, dependable housewife with a slight Italian accent, and as a woman whose dreams went unrealised. She's fascinated by Robert, he's from another world, but she's also self-conscious that she's too dull for him and is embarrassed about her housewifeness. I love that Streep has this character written out like this but still imbues it with a lot of unexpected strength, she steadfastly refuses to play the role as naive. And this is just as well because the whole film hinges on this character, and to have her as a stereotypical housewife cipher would've been a mistake. Eastwood-the-director knows all of this too, and he gives the whole film over to Streep as both director and actor. The camera often 'activates' and follows Streep throughout the film, a visual motif that suggests andaffirms that this is her story (EG. It follows a dog onto her lap, or follows her past Robert's car door and hovers on his company name on the truck because it's from her perspective).

Most of the film's strength lies in the acting, and the blocking of scenes. I still have some criticisms though - the meat of the story is too slow to start. The framing story of Francesca's son and daughter piecing together their deceased mother's past and discovering her secret affair didn't really work for me. Her son is the weakest aspect of the film, he's just a bit of a dick. The story occasionally cuts away back to her kids as they re-evaluate their own adult marriages in light of learning about their mother's romance and infidelity with Robert. It's upsetting for them, to see her in this new light, and it casts a pall over their memories. I can understand this subplot, but I just didn't care about it.

The Bridges of Madison County looks at the question of what it takes to make a person happy, and portrays love as complicated and multifaceted as it details a romantic fling in the most unlikely of places and circumstances. Ultimately it's a poignant, nostalgic film, and I'd recommend for fans of both Eastwood and Streep.

DIRECTOR: Clint Eastwood
WRITER/SOURCE: Script by Richard LaGravenese, based on the novel by Robert James Waller.
KEY ACTORS: Clint Eastwood, Meryl Streep, Annie Corley,Victor Slezak, Debra Monk

RELATED TEXTS:- The Bridges of Madison County, the 1992 novel by Robert James Waller. He also wrote a sequel in 2002, A Thousand Country Roads.
- Films about brief forbidden love affairs: Brief Encounter, Falling in Love (also starring Meryl Streep), In the Mood For Love and Love Affair.
- Streep also explored romance territory in Out of Africa and Heartburn.

AWARDS
Academy Awards - nominated for Best Actress (Meryl Streep).
Golden Globes - nominated for Best Film (Drama) and Best Actress - Drama (Streep).