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| Available at Amazon.com |
When it comes to love stories, it’s always amusing to see how Hollywood handles it. When a man cheats on his wife, he’s always the villain in some paint by numbers romantic comedy. He’s always a jerk and a bad person who doesn’t deserve whatever starlet is inserted into the story. When a woman cheats on her husband, it’s usually as part of some love story and is somehow completely and totally justified. The best example of this phenomena is The Bridges of Madison County.
Francesca (Meryl Streep) is a bored housewife who spends several days cheating on her loving husband with photographer Robert Kincaid (Clint Eastwood) as he takes photographs of the bridges in the Iowa county she lives in. They have an affair of the heart that seemingly spans the rest of their lives, as we the film is mainly told in flashbacks. We see Robert and Francesca when they had their affair, which we go to and from when Francesca’s children read her diary after her death.
The film is supposedly about this grand love affair the two have in a short time, and how back when the film was set women didn’t leave their husbands, but it’s more of a film about regret. The film’s final moments between Robert and Francesca are heart-wrenching to a point; the film really doesn’t work because ultimately it’s an affair. And it’s not as if Francesca has a horrid life or a bad husband; it’s quite charmed, actually, and yet for four days when her husband and children are away she opts to play.
This one little minor detail kind of ruins the film. Infidelity has never been so glamorous, breaking one’s marriage vows never so opulent and convenient. It takes away from Clint Eastwood’s directorial style. While he’s arguably done more behind the camera than in front of it, Eastwood has crafted a film that hits all the right notes. The film’s final moments, with Francesca and her husband on his death bed, are heartbreaking and the signature of a master director.
Subject matter aside, The Bridges of Madison County is a technical marvel and a love story (of sorts) for the ages. While definitely a lesser work from the man who crafted Unforgiven, Mystic River, Flags of our Fathers and an armful of classic films, many directors would gladly settle for something like this in their resume.
Presented with Dolby Digital sound in a widescreen presentation, The Bridges of Madison County looks and sounds wonderfully. Eastwood’s direct style of directing and the film’s cinematography come through cleanly and clearly; this is a better picture than the previous versions of the DVD transfer as it’s been cleaned up a bit. There are still some bits of grain on the picture, but it’s only noticeable if you have a higher end television.
An Old-Fashioned Love Story: Making The Bridges of Madison County is an extended making of piece from the film’s original release.
There’s a Music Video for the “Doe Eyes” score piece, set to scenes from the film, as well as the original Theatrical Trailer as well. A Commentary track from Joel Cox and Jack N Green is included as well.
It was a film that showed a softer, tender side to the man who played “Dirty Harry” Callahan, but The Bridges of Madison County is definitely a lesser work from one of the better directors of his generation. Still, this deluxe edition is an improvement over its original DVD, released eleven years ago.
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Warner Home Video presents The Bridges of Madison County. Directed by Clint Eastwood. Starring Clint Eastwood, Meryl Streep, Annie Corley. Written by Robert James Waller (novel) and Richard LaGravenese (screenplay). Running time: 135 minutes. Rated PG-13. Released on DVD: May 6, 2008. Available at Amazon.com.
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