When he takes the kids to the state fair, she secretly revels in their absence and is beginning to recoup her sense of self. We know right away that he lacks the standard macho. Photographer Robert Kincaid wanders into the life of housewife Francesca Johnson for four days in the Bridges of Madison County featuring Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep is available for rent or purchase on iTunes, available for rent or purchase on Apple TV, available for rent or purchase on Google Play, and 4 others. Meryl Streep plumped up for the part of the 45-year-old Francesca, a love-starved Italian war bride whose waistline bears witness to 15 years of gravy and ennui. Like other women of her generation, she has channeled her romantic idealism and sexual energy into nurturing her two children and her decent but boring husband. Use code FASTFAM at checkout. Clint Eastwood takes off his britches in Madison County. Although the movie starts to feel sluggish after 90 minutes (it's ultimately more than two hours long), it's always diverting. Jumping between the present, as the children learn about their mother's true nature for the first time, and the past, "Bridges"-the-movie creates an involving, beyond-the-grave conflict. But you judge a movie on its own merits, right? Eastwood, producer, director and star of "The Bridges of Madison County, " is betting the farm that fans of Robert James Waller's novella will flock to his adaptation like pigeons to eaves.
The book's essential appeal, however, is not lost in this simpler telling: The fantasy of what might have been is potentially always better than what is. He even gets away with the toast: "To ancient evenings and distant music. THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY (PG-13) Contains sexual situations and brief stunt-body nudity. 'Bridges': Iowa Corn. They make you forget that, at their very core, they are hackneyed creations the free spirit behind the apron strings and the rugged globe-trotter with a girl in every port. Win A Trip To Rome + Offer.
This is the beginning of a four-day fling that Francesca and Robert will cherish for the rest of their days. To The Super Mario Bros. Movie LA Premiere. Set in 1965, "Bridges" is an old-fashioned "women's film" that pits the heroine's romantic urges against her matriarchal duties. Most of our subscribers receive their discs within two business days. Better to remember "The Bridges of Madison County" than the bridges in the glass at bedside. Robert, a photographer on assignment for National Geographic, is in Iowa to take pictures of the covered bridges, but he's lost his way. The Bridges of Madison County is rated PG-13 for suggestive situations. Screenwriter Richard LaGravenese does stick to Waller's story line photographer woos farmer's wife though he has beefed up characters, added several new scenes and told the story from Francesca Johnson's point of view. Her husband is as sweet as he is devoid of sexual appeal. Sometimes, it's a mite too discernible: At one point, she observes that she's "some 'ouse-waf in de middle of no-where. The screen matchup is a fascinating one, between the laconic, chiseled Eastwood, as seasoned National Geographic photographer Robert Kincaid, and the dramaturgically methodic Streep, who plays Francesca Johnson, the earthy, romantically unfulfilled housewife who falls for him.
It's territory this actress has plowed before, and she plays the role well when she isn't giggling behind her hands or pensively picking at her lips. Powered by Rotten Tomatoes. The movie is narratively framed by Streep's now-older children (Annie Corley and Victor Slezak), who discover their late mother's diary detailing the secret romance years after the fact. Purchase A Ticket For A Chance To Win A Trip. 'Bridge' Work Pays Off. Go to previous offer. Screenwriter Richard LaGravenese and director Eastwood skirt most of novelist Robert James Waller's excesses. Skip to Main Content. Eastwood, a 65-year-old playing 50, is as furrowed as a freshly plowed field but still handsome in his rugged, rangy way. Besides, every time the couple break a sweat, Eastwood the director flashes ahead to Francesca's grown kids, a couple of annoying brats who are learning about the affair after her death. So here is the case for the screen version of the most vilified bestseller in recent memory. On the page, Kincaid was "a half-man, half-something-else creature" capable of sending Francesca into orgiastic abandon, but on screen, he's more inclined to help with the salad or set the table. While this adaptation of Waller's treacly bodice-ripper leaves out a lot of the lurid excess, it is not altogether free of pomposity.