Tuesday Minute
No. 133 | July 20, 2010

Chick Flicks Not Just for Chicks

Our theme this week
Chick flicks—one guy’s take

Featured this week (theme introduction)
Monday         —   When Harry Met Sally… (1989)

The Bridges of Madison County (1995)

The Bridges of Madison County was adapted from the 1992 novel by Robert James Waller.  The book had generated a wide range of reaction from critics, much of it not very complimentary.  The story, though, captivated the country.  The novel was wildly popular, among the best selling books of the decade.  A movie version was inevitable.  Despite any faults found on the page, the story worked especially well on the big screen.

Clint Eastwood, who made some of his best films during the ’90s, directed and co-starred.  For the female lead the studio wanted a young actress, but Eastwood preferred someone older.  He prevailed, casting the actress he called “the greatest…in the world,” Meryl Streep.  He was in his sixties, she in mid-forties—hardly the typical pairing for a Hollywood love story.  Based on the result, there may be a lesson there.

Eastwood played Robert Kincaid, a National Geographic photographer visiting Iowa on assignment.  Looking for directions one day, he stops by a farm and meets Francesca Johnson (Streep), an Italian-born housewife whose husband and children are off at the state fair.  For four days, Robert and Francesca have a passionate, “once in a lifetime” affair.  With her family due to return, Francesca must decide whether to leave with the stranger she just met or continue her mundane and lonely life on the farm.

It’s a beautiful film, heartbreaking at times.  The performances are richly textured.  Eastwood is sometimes underrated as an actor, and his subtle, quiet style is perfectly suited for the material.  Streep gives one of her best performances.  The real story is Francesca’s inner life, her longing, temptation, and torment, and watching Streep you can’t help but feel every joy and ache she experiences along the way.

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The Bridges of Madison County (1995)
Clint Eastwood, director
Richard LaGravenese (screenplay), Robert James Waller (novel), writers
Trailer

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The Bridges of Madison County (1995)
Meryl Streep, Clint Eastwood, Jim Haynie

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Quote of Note
“This kind of certainty comes but once in a lifetime.”
—Robert Kincaid (Clint Eastwood), The Bridges of Madison Country (1995)

…58…59…60.