Greetings,
Isn't it amazing how people can make something so good and so . . . not so good all at the same time? I thought of this the other night as I watched The Bridges of Madison County.
First off, let me give you some important information about myself. I love Clint Eastwood. I mean, I loooove, like I love him more than anyone my age should. He's an incredible movie maker, storyteller, story finder, but I don't really have to tell anyone these things, do I? I'm sure enough people know how great he is since he has had a career that has spanned, oh, I don't know, a thousand years or so.
However, in all those years, one can never be on a mountaintop with everything they attempt to do. The valleys must be visited. This particular movie, I feel, is a combination of both.
As far as flat-out movie making skills go, this is a brilliant piece of work. Great acting and directing from the Clint and Meryl Streep. Here, she reminds us why she has been dubbed the queen of all accents. Or do only I call her that? There is so much attention paid to detail, and it was beautifully shot. So, technically, great movie. Now, let's move on to the subject matter.
This has always been considered a great, romantic love story. I could agree with that if not for one little glitch. ADULTERY IS ALWAYS BAD!!! I mean, God put it in the top ten! It's bad. While I can never excuse such behavior, I could understand why a woman may fall into such an act. If, let's say, her husband is a drunk who beats her and the kids and runs around with the pros, if you know what I mean, I could sympathize . . . a little. Still, not excusing it, though. That's not the case in this movie. Her husband is not a bad guy at all. His only crime is not being as awesome as Clint Eastwood. Or as hot. Yeah, I said it. Clint Eastwood was 65 or something when he made this movie and he was still hot. So . . . take that. And if being inadequate in these areas compared to him is a crime for any man, well, does the phrase "not enough prisons on the planet" mean anything!
And let's discuss the most unbelievable aspect of the whole "Bridges" phenomenon. As you may know, this was first a book, written by a man. That's not the unbelievable part, by the way. It was a book embraced by many, many women, I think, mostly, middle-aged housewives. They seemed to be swept away by the story of a (duh!) middle-aged housewife being romanced by a handsome stranger, giving her a break from her ho-hum life. Gotcha! But, hey, here's an idea. Let's switch it up a bit.
Let's have it be a husband who stays home alone while the wife and two kids go off to the cow show, or whatever it was. Then, who should come up the driveway in a pick-up truck, but some Angelina looking broad (type-casting) with a camera asking for directions to a bridge. And then, oops!, they trip and fall into bed. Holy double standard, Batman! I have a feeling that quite a few housewives in this country would want to beat the crap out of that "hussy". Maybe even the sames ones who loved this book and movie so much.
Finally, let me bring up the most disturbing aspect of this film. What kind of mother leaves journals filled with the torrid details of her affair to her children?! Grown children, but still. No one wants to think about their parents having sex. Not with each other, nor with some stranger. I would have been like, "Thanks for the secret recipe to your award-winning apple fritters, Mom, but I could have done without your illicit, romance novel diaries!" It proves, yet again, that parents need to be parents to their children, not friends.
Wow. This turned out to be less of a review and more of an indictment of what I and a few others consider bad behavior. My apologies.
Anyway, remember, the best love stories are also the purest. In my opinion. But, hey, the cinematography was great. I know I may have gone a bit off topic here, but I just couldn't help myself. When it comes to movies, sometimes subject matter . . . matters, okay? However, if I am speaking strictly about the skill of film making, this movie is very well done. And if you want to learn how to be a skilled film maker, I say watch it. Actually, watch all of Clint Eastwood's movies should that be your life's goal. And I hope this last statement of acclamation leads to him one day forgiving me for this review.
Love and full moons,
Becky the Writer
