THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY  4.0****

    

        Based on Robert James Waller's surprisingly successful novella, this movie has Clint Eastwood straying from his  action material and winding up with one of the most passionate love story/dramas. Who knew Eastwood could aim so perfectly for the heart without the help of a gun and holster.

In adapting this story for the screen, Eastwood shrewdly (and graciously) shifts the point of view from Robert Kincaid to Francesca Johnson. With Meryl Streep as its primary focus, how could anything go wrong? Streep is simply luminous here as the foreign-born Iowa farmwife and mother consigned to a life of drudgery. Her family away for the week, she happens upon a handsome, worldly photographer briefly in town scouting out locations for his next National Geographic spread. What results is a beautifully mature story of spiritual and unconditional love. Eastwood himself displays a rare, vulnerable side as the reserved Kincaid who has grown accustomed to a solitary, self-serving existence. The chemistry between Eastwood and Streep is surprisingly potent and ultimately moving, a real tribute to their contrasting styles.

We slowly become familiar with these two unlikely strangers. A harmless lunch...a cozier dinner...revealing conversation...a slight brush of the shoulder...the casual adjustment of a shirt collar...a spontaneous sensual dance. Once their true feelings finally come to the surface, we feel for them and understand and rationalize their attraction. Significantly, Francesca's husband is not portrayed here as an abusive lout deserving of such betrayal. He is simply a remote, unresponsive farmer who has settled routinely into mid-life -- devoted to his family.

The four day affair, of course, is beset with feelings of guilt, anguish and fear, but never regret. The ending of this movie is one of the most searing, emotional screen moments I’ve experienced. I teared up… well cried is a better word and if Sara was not with me I may have bawled.

This is like Casablanca in that it evokes the agony of having to make choices based upon what you think will make your life bearable, at the expense of losing something wonderful, that then becomes a treasured memory. The performances were impeccable and the limited sets made the viewer focus on the relationship that was central to the plot. It's a very intense portrayal of a very real emotional dilemma more so for Francesca because she has a family.

To sum it up, this lyrical movie is like a song, a song about dreams, about love and about living your life the way you want to, even if for a small period of time. As small as four days !

Rated PG-13  for some sexuality and brief strong language .

NOTE: During the filming of an argument between the couple in the kitchen, Robert (Eastwood) begins to cry but turns his back to the camera, so we don't see him cry. Meryl Streep asked Clint Eastwood why he was filming it like that, and by doing so he was missing the opportunity to shine as an actor. Eastwood replied that the scene worked better without seeing Robert cry directly. Streep was amazed and  praised his talent for thinking more about the moment, than his chance to shine as an actor.