The Bridges of Madison County

Starring: Clint Eastwood, Meryl Streep, Annie Corley, Victor Slezak, Michelle Benes, Jim Haynie
Directed by: Clint Eastwood
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama, Romance
1995

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Upon their mother's death, two siblings read her letters and journals and discover the great unknown love of her life- who was not their father.

Review:

Tim: It's so interesting that Clint Eastwood directed this major change of pace for him- The Bridges of Madison County is a slow moving romantic drama that feels so at odds with his typical action roles. The movie itself is good- Eastwood is a talented director- but I found the movie more novel than incredible. It showed a different side to Eastwood both as actor and director and while it all works, I felt like the movie could have been better. It's the kind of movie you praise for its departure from expectations, but still grumble a bit about the final product.

On the positive side, Eastwood does tell an intriguing story about a secret love between a woman and a man she met during a brief period when her family was out-of-town. Eastwood does a great job of framing the scenario so it seems plausible and Meryl Streep gives an incredible performance so you understand and believe this woman would act in this way. It's an interesting twist on romantic betrayal- she certainly commits an act her husband would have grievous criticism about, but it was important for her, meaningful for her in a way he likely could never understand. The film's willingness to embrace the gray areas in this story make it stand out.

The movie is undoubtedly helped by tremendous performances from Streep and Eastwood. Streep giving incredible performances feels expected at this point, but she delivers such a nuanced, excellent performance here. She makes this character feel alive, conflicted, complex beneath the surface. It's probably not a surprise- this film received 1 Academy Award nomination, and it was for Streep as Best Actress. That's what I would have expected- Streep is fantastic at inhabiting characters like this and she gives a powerful performance, often in subtle ways. She and Eastwood have real chemistry- maybe not in the "married forever" manner, but it's undeniably there. Eastwood is effective, too- giving a more open, emotional, lighter performance than we're used to from him. It's almost as if he knew he couldn't just play the same character forever and was actively looking to branch out in his career. This wasn't the first time he ventured into different territory, but this represents a bold, big step. Streep and Eastwood together is one of the film's greatest strengths and the main reason why this is a good movie.

The rest of the cast doesn't fare so well. This is almost all the Streep and Eastwood show, but I felt a little bad (but mostly frustrated) by Annie Corley and Victor Slezak. We get these emotional, incredible scenes with two all-time stars, and then time jump back to the present and see Corley and Slezak overacting and stumbling through their performances. The contrast between these two and Streep & Eastwood is shocking. I found myself dreading the "contemporary" scenes and mostly because of the poor performances from these two. That absolutely hurts the quality of the overall film.

While I enjoyed The Bridges of Madison County, I did have other issues with it. For an overly long movie (2 hours, 15 minutes was uncalled for), it moves glacially slow. Eastwood gives too much room for the characters to breathe. The movie plods along the mostly expected path and it takes forever to get where it's going. I appreciated the need to slow down some and focus more on character development, but the plot just plods along and I struggled with the film at times. It needed a bit more momentum. Now, it does deliver a powerful, unforgettable conclusion- Eastwood films those final scenes superbly and the full impact of this story hits you. I was absolutely impressed with the climax and I'm sure a lot of critics held onto that in their glowing reviews. I couldn't forget the soggy middle, though. So, yes, while the movie redeems itself at the end, I desperately wish Eastwood brought more of that energy into the beginning and middle of the film. We needed more oomph and perhaps just a tad less melodrama.

The Bridges of Madison County is a good movie, no doubt in my mind. Eastwood showed his range both as an actor and director here. However, the film has some obvious flaws, which prevent it from reaching the heights of some of his other films. This is a movie I enjoyed watching, but it took too much effort. I feel zero desire to ever watch this movie again. The ending- yeah, I'd definitely rewatch those few scenes again. But not the whole film.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



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