The Bridges of Madison County (1995)

(Video On-Demand, January 2020) As much as I’d like to dismiss The Bridges of Madison County as overcooked romantic pap (and I will–just keep reading), it’s more difficult to do that with the movie than the overwritten, overwrought novel on which it is based. Directed by Clint Eastwood (and upsetting a number of assumptions about Eastwood’s range along the way), this middle-aged romance wisely cuts away much of the characters’ inner dialogue and leaves things to Eastwood’s sparse naturalistic approach. It would have failed without Eastwood and Meryl Streep doing heavy lifting on a mediocre script—indeed, the film gets noticeably worse when the obvious dialogue is handled by the supporting actors. Still, it does get annoying if you’re not part of its intended audience: Easily seen as a wish-fulfillment story in which a handsome worldly stranger comes to town and sweeps a lonely housewife off her feet, The Bridges of Madison County (which I keep misspelling as The Bridges of Madison Square County) strikes a very familiar note, as the female lead must decide between a high-risk new relationship or continuing with her dull husband. (Also see the near-contemporary The Horse Whisperer.) I do have a bit of a moral objection to that kind of plotting, but I haven’t figured out yet whether I’m being overly moralistic à la The End of the Affair in thinking so. Still, it does allow Eastwood to cry (sort of), look dispirited in the rain and for Meryl Streep to use another accent (this time; Italian) for a character that didn’t really need one. There is something a bit cheap and easy and manipulative in the whole thing that leaves me baffled, but then again, I am not the audience for this film. Plus, there’s the added fascination of Eastwood directing a film aimed at a female audience—no matter what, The Bridges of Madison County is always going to stick out in his filmography.