cleesolnick
I surely hope that the responses to this movie is NOT a true representation of the thinking and devotion of that of our generation. I could only hope & pray that we are a better nation of true love and devotion. I certainly understand that we are human, just like Adam & Eve. But why do we spend the effort, time, energy and money to beautify our weaknesses?
In my opinion, it is a movie that tries to justify and beautify our lust. It seems to be Eastwood's cup of tea. What will happen if we, the audience and actors as well in general, will glorify these creations and allow it to grow in volume and in the much cheaper and lustful way..
Juliette Betram
One of the best movies I have ever seen... Bridges of Madison County is not only for those who are having a hard time in their lives or are in a critical situation of unhappiness, it is the perfect example of someone who falls in love but is hit by the "reality" which we all are used to live in. It made me weep (Although I'm not a crying person honestly), laugh, sigh and wonder why people prefer not to take risks and stay instead right into their comfort zone. If you love Meryl Streep or Clint Eastwood you won't be disappointed and by now I can only tell you that you will for sure enjoy this movie, as I did for the third time. Just stop reading and watch it now, you won't regret it...
Anssi Vartiainen
Francesca Johnson (Meryl Streep) is a country woman left alone in her home as her husband and two children drive away to enter her daughter's bull into a prize contest. She decides to relax, perhaps read a book, take things easy while her family is not there to keep her busy round the clock. But, things change when a photographer drives into town. One Robert Kincaid (Clint Eastwood).As much as I don't like this movie, I must at least admire what Eastwood has managed to achieve with it as its director, given the source material, which is basically just housewife literature, in the most derogatory meaning of the term. But with Eastwood at its helm, it transforms into something almost bearable. It is unhurried, yet never slow. The characters feel like actual three-dimensional people, and not just props meant to fuel our fantasies. The sets are nice, the dialogues feel natural and if only the story had even the slightest bit of substance, this could have been something. Plus both Eastwood and Streep are phenomenal actors.Alas, the story is garbage. I can see Eastwood trying to tell something about the loneliness of house wives, or the loneliness of a traveler. You can see his attempt to build passion where in the book there's only lust. But, the fact remains, that this is simply a movie about an affair. The movie tries to hang bells and other assorted decorations to hide the fact, but it fails. And it's dull to boot. You can guess exactly how the story will unfold from the very first scene, and even the pretentious framing story isn't enough to arouse our interest.The Bridges of Madison County has its upsides. And, honestly speaking, I will be the first one to admit that I'm about as far from this film's target audience as is possible. So my opinion should not count for that much. And yet I'll say that this is one boring film, with horrible, horrible morals to teach and I cannot in good conscience recommend it to anyone.
Kayla Masterson
After seeing bits and pieces of this film on too many occasions, I finally sat down to really watch it. For what seems like forever, I have known that this is the quintessential "chick flick" that makes women swoon and cry. Huh?I found it formulaic and foolish. Hmmm, 4 days? Four days, you decide that a guy ambling through town is the love of your life? Hollywood is pathetic. I kept trying to care about these people and about the cliché'd housewife who agonizes over whether to leave her husband and her children and run off with a guy she just met. We love and romanticize what we don't have and take for granted what we do. --Especially since we only see their best side in the beginning, while trying to compare that with the reality in which we live. Hollywood loves and elevates the superficial and denigrates truth and reality. It's possible that the only way lovers like these could remain in love with such a fantasy is precisely because they never dealt with real life together. It might not have been so romantic. Maybe they would even have discovered that they weren't as compatible as they thought. Still, the mysterious man of the world "that got away" is what makes women cry. I'll tell you what I find romantic. The couple who has been through hell and back together and still get butterflies at the sight of one another.On top of all of that.......Streep is overrated in this. If that was an Italian accent, I wonder what Czechoslovakian sounds like.
AD
