The Bridges of Madison County
(A- or 3.5/4 stars)
Francesca Johnson (Meryl Streep) thought her life path was set in stone. Living in rural Iowa in 1965, the Italian immigrant loved her husband & 2 young children. And this bun-wearing housewife did not anticipate any surprises to enter her quiet, sheltered life. That is until world-traveling National Geographic photographer Robert Kincaid (Clint Eastwood) showed up on her driveway one day. 'The Bridges of Madison County' (based on a novel, & directed by Eastwood, as well) tells a smart, intuitive, & romantic love story. It's slow, languid, & incredibly deliberate; a poignant film where character study is much more important than the actual plot. The plot IS the character study. And Meryl Streep hits another role right out of the ballpark.
It is while her nice, but somewhat boring family are away at the Illinois State Fair in the Summer of '65 that Robert Kincaid turns onto Francesca's lonely farm; asking her for directions to Roseman Bridge (which he intends to photograph). She is initially reluctant to help, but then agrees to show him said bridge. All the while, they begin to casually chat. She tells him that she was a war-bride from Italy. He tells her small morsels about his life/adventures; setting the pace for what becomes a bittersweet 4-day romance btwn. the 2 characters. Taking up 3 journals, Francesca writes about this dalliance, what she's feeling, the secrecy of it, the joy, the pain, the confusion, the isolation she'll feel if & when he leaves and her family returns ... or if she'll leave with him on his next adventure.
These 3 journals are found by Francesca's children (in present day) after her lawyer is going over her will. Among her things is a key; a key that will open a hope chest containing some of her & Robert Kincaid's things. I will not divulge whether or not Francesca left with Robert after their 4-days together or if she remained frozen in place; terrified of the thought of leaving her 'good' husband & unassuming children. I mean, it would have been easy enough to leave. Both she & Robert were at points in their lives where expectations were behind them. But her decision on what to do to be happy in life would ultimately be carefully measured on matters of love, choice, & consequence.
'TBoMC' is just a lovely story; sad, but engaging; the kind of film that takes a subtle hold of you & never lets go. And that ending is one for the ages (where Francesca & Robert get to meet again at a certain time & place - in one form or another). After getting me to bite my nails (from nervousness) in last yrs. action/thriller The River Wild, Streep returns to her roots (drama) as Francesca, the lonely housewife. Once again, she's brilliant. The way she uses her eyes, the curl of her lip, how she lets down her hair (as a freeing resolve to not be the dowdy wife), her nailing an Italian-American accent, how she can do so much by saying so little ... Streep is in full-throttle Oscar-caliber, here. Even through her silent musings, I felt that I was inside her brain. There is a scene near the end (with Francesca in the rain) that exudes more tension & more context than nearly any other scene in any other movie all year long. I was on the edge of my seat.
Clint is no slouch here, either. I believed him as the sensitive loner, Robert. And he has directed a beautiful, restrained, yet emotionally-rich motion picture (my heart was solidly thumping throughout). The cinematography here is warm, nostalgic & atmospheric. The music is quite pretty. And the starkness of the setting really allows us to focus on Francesca & Robert for the duration (over 130 minutes). Even the sound design is astute; crickets chirping, a screen door closing, a motor running -- all of this is used to great effect. The pacing is relaxed; letting us watch the special kind of love (story) that may happen only once in a lifetime. The conversations that the lead characters have are mundane, incidental, but potent (for what eventually happens). And although there is a great somberness to the proceedings, Clint avoids any melodramatic displays of sentimentality or grief. There's a quiet profundity to the movie that you rarely see nowadays.
It is while her nice, but somewhat boring family are away at the Illinois State Fair in the Summer of '65 that Robert Kincaid turns onto Francesca's lonely farm; asking her for directions to Roseman Bridge (which he intends to photograph). She is initially reluctant to help, but then agrees to show him said bridge. All the while, they begin to casually chat. She tells him that she was a war-bride from Italy. He tells her small morsels about his life/adventures; setting the pace for what becomes a bittersweet 4-day romance btwn. the 2 characters. Taking up 3 journals, Francesca writes about this dalliance, what she's feeling, the secrecy of it, the joy, the pain, the confusion, the isolation she'll feel if & when he leaves and her family returns ... or if she'll leave with him on his next adventure.
These 3 journals are found by Francesca's children (in present day) after her lawyer is going over her will. Among her things is a key; a key that will open a hope chest containing some of her & Robert Kincaid's things. I will not divulge whether or not Francesca left with Robert after their 4-days together or if she remained frozen in place; terrified of the thought of leaving her 'good' husband & unassuming children. I mean, it would have been easy enough to leave. Both she & Robert were at points in their lives where expectations were behind them. But her decision on what to do to be happy in life would ultimately be carefully measured on matters of love, choice, & consequence.
'TBoMC' is just a lovely story; sad, but engaging; the kind of film that takes a subtle hold of you & never lets go. And that ending is one for the ages (where Francesca & Robert get to meet again at a certain time & place - in one form or another). After getting me to bite my nails (from nervousness) in last yrs. action/thriller The River Wild, Streep returns to her roots (drama) as Francesca, the lonely housewife. Once again, she's brilliant. The way she uses her eyes, the curl of her lip, how she lets down her hair (as a freeing resolve to not be the dowdy wife), her nailing an Italian-American accent, how she can do so much by saying so little ... Streep is in full-throttle Oscar-caliber, here. Even through her silent musings, I felt that I was inside her brain. There is a scene near the end (with Francesca in the rain) that exudes more tension & more context than nearly any other scene in any other movie all year long. I was on the edge of my seat.
Clint is no slouch here, either. I believed him as the sensitive loner, Robert. And he has directed a beautiful, restrained, yet emotionally-rich motion picture (my heart was solidly thumping throughout). The cinematography here is warm, nostalgic & atmospheric. The music is quite pretty. And the starkness of the setting really allows us to focus on Francesca & Robert for the duration (over 130 minutes). Even the sound design is astute; crickets chirping, a screen door closing, a motor running -- all of this is used to great effect. The pacing is relaxed; letting us watch the special kind of love (story) that may happen only once in a lifetime. The conversations that the lead characters have are mundane, incidental, but potent (for what eventually happens). And although there is a great somberness to the proceedings, Clint avoids any melodramatic displays of sentimentality or grief. There's a quiet profundity to the movie that you rarely see nowadays.