THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY
A film review by Eric Grossman
Copyright 1995 LOS ANGELES INDEPENDENT
As one of the four or five people who actually did not read Robert James Waller's hugely popular novel, THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY, I can't answer the "was it better than the book" question. I can tell you that the film adaptation, starring Clint Eastwood (who also directs) and Meryl Streep, is a very moving, thought provoking story that deals with the themes of love and choiceless choices.
Eastwood plays Robert Kincaid, a photographer assigned by National Geographic to shoot the covered bridges of Madison County, Iowa. Meryl Streep is Francesca Johnson, a wife and mother of two who is home alone while her husband and children are at the Illinois state fair. Robert shows up at her house, lost, and she quickly finds herself intrigued by this polite, solitary man-of-the-world. After she spends some time with Robert, showing him the bridges and inviting him for dinner, Francesca begins to discover passion and romance, two elements that are painfully missing from her adequate but dull life. The romance turns to a love affair and as the end of the four days draws closer, Francesca must choose between Robert and her family, a new life filled with excitement or her duty to the life that she already chose.
Eastwood, with a superb screenplay by Richard LaGravenese, has created a unique, romantic story that is more haunting than it is sentimental. There is an incredible feeling of emotional truth in this film which essentially eliminates the fourth wall (the term for that imaginary barrier between us and the what is up on screen) and allows us to feel as if we were flies on the wall, watching a real relationship unfold. Cinematographer Jack N. Green, editor Joel Cox, composer Lennie Niehaus (who all worked on Eastwood's Oscar winning UNFORGIVEN) and production designer Jeannine Oppewall help Eastwood create such an enveloping environment that the we are completely engulfed into the picture.
For those of you who are still skeptical about Eastwood acting without a gun in hand, don't be. His Kincaid character combines his powerful presence with a deep sensitivity that was hinted at but not seen in his previous work.
As far as Streep's performance is concerned, why don't we just give her the Oscar now? Her Italian accent is perfect (big surprise there) and her use of non-verbal looks and gestures brings a depth to her character that cannot be written in any screenplay. There is no doubt about it, there are many great actors and actresses working today but Streep is in a class by herself.
THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY will stay with you long after you leave the theater. It forces us to not only think about the film's characters, but of our own lives, choices and consequences as well.
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