The Bridges of Madison County

Tags

1990's, Annie Corley, Clint Eastwood, Drama, Meryl Streep, Romance, The Bridges of Madison County, Victor Slezak

Film Title

The Bridges of Madison County

Director

Clint Eastwood

Starring

• Clint Eastwood as Robert Kincaid
• Meryl Streep as Francesca Johnson
• Annie Corley as Carolyn Johnson
• Victor Slezak as Michael Johnson

A tender and beautifully realised romantic drama directed by Clint Eastwood and containing great performances from the man himself and Meryl Streep, The Bridges of Madison County is a satisfying and mature film that will touch you.

The year is 1965 and Francesca Johnson is an Italian war bride married to farmer Richard and living in Madison County. Although very much a loving wife and mother, Francesca is discontented with life and bored. Her husband and two teenage children go the fair for four days and this is where the crux of her story comes in. While they are away, she encounters photographer for National Geographic Robert Kincaid. He is there to photograph the many bridges of the area and first meets lonely Francesca when he loses his way. Soon enough, the two become friendly with each and the travelling Robert with his charming demeanor helps Francesca open up. What starts as friendship between the pair soon becomes love and for the four days that her family are away, she and Robert conduct their brief affair, not realising how much it will impact both of them. As the four days wear on, it is up to Francesca to decide whether to be with Robert who has made her feel alive once more or stay with her husband and children. The movie is structured around siblings Carolyn and Michael Johnson who have come back to the Iowa farmhouse that they grew up in after Francesca’s death. While sorting out the land arrangements and thoroughly being baffled by their mother’s wishes to be cremated, they come across a number of diaries that she left to them. Curious about them, the siblings begin to read their now deceased mother’s story and are surprised to learn about how deeply the affair with Robert affected her and how they never knew this side to their mother until now.

As director of the film, Clint Eastwood displays masterful observations and subtle indications of the love that grows between Robert and Francesca in the brief time they spend together. He never resorts to sentimentality, instead giving The Bridges of Madison County a natural depth and passion that can’t be ignored. Eastwood doesn’t feel the need to rush the story either, he employs a carefully structured pace that helps the friendship that blooms between the couple eventually turn to deep love. We see them genuinely fall in love through little things; a slight brush of the hand or a gaze are highly effective at bringing out the love that each begins to feel for the other. Some may wonder how the film could have a deliberate pace when the main story takes place over the course of just four days, but Eastwood lets events unfold in a very mature and beautiful way that compliments the story. Yes there are some lulls in the narrative, mainly when it goes back to the son and daughter, but for the most part it is very handled and exceptional romantic drama with both time zones corresponding. A building score of mainly piano and string gives voice to the passions growing between Francesca and Robert. And no discussion of this movie would be complete without giving a shout out to the simply gorgeous cinematography that envelops the movie in a hues of gold and twilight that burn into the memory.

What gives The Bridges of Madison County a whole heft of emotion is the cast. Clint Eastwood on acting duties is suitably fine as the wandering Robert, who brings out a new side to Francesca with his devil-may-care attitude and genuine clarity. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Clint Eastwood play such a sensitive character before, but he pulls it off admirably. Matching him every step of the way is the wonderful Meryl Streep. Combining a homely warmth, guarded passion and grace, she is wonderful at showing Francesca emerging into a totally different woman in the arms of someone who makes her feel like she’s been given another chance to live. The chemistry shared between them is tentative and filled with earnest desire, and it is really nice to see it be a love story concerning mature adults instead of the generic young lovers scenario. Annie Corley and Victor Slezak are fine as the children learning about their mother after her death, but the movie truly belongs to Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep who give it a moving and haunting quality.

Heartfelt, filled with lovely cinematography and capable of bringing you to genuine tears, The Bridges of Madison County is a sublime movie that tenderly looks at how love can change us and stay with us forever.

Blue Jasmine

Tags

2010's, Alec Baldwin, Andrew Dice Clay, Blue Jasmine, Bobby Cannavale, Cate Blanchett, Drama, Louis C.K., Peter Sarsgaard, Sally Hawkins, Woody Allen

Film Title

Blue Jasmine

Director

Woody Allen

Starring

• Cate Blanchett as Jasmine
• Sally Hawkins as Ginger
• Alec Baldwin as Hal
• Bobby Cannavale as Chili
• Andrew Dice Clay as Augie
• Louis C.K. as Al
• Peter Sarsgaard as Dwight

A strong drama/tragedy from the pen and direction of Woody Allen populated with acerbic dialogue and an exceptional cast headed by an award-winning Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine emerges as one of his most scathing and seriously darker films.

Jasmine was not so long ago a wealthy socialite with everything she could ask for. That is until it was revealed that her husband Hal was a fraudster and who was subsequently arrested for his shady dealings. Now penniless and recovering from a nervous breakdown, Jasmine heads to San Francisco to stay with her adopted sister Ginger. Ginger is less well off than Jasmine, but is hard-working and never bemoans it. Yet while she is doing Jasmine a favour by putting her up, she may have wished she hadn’t . You see Jasmine is not an easy or at all pleasant person to be around. The once rich society princess has a sense of entitlement that causes her to sneer at Ginger’s choices in lifestyle and men, like her latest boyfriend grease monkey Chili. In between popping pills, wittering on to herself about the old glories and hitting the booze whenever she can get her hands on it, Jasmine completely starts to unravels emotionally as her bubble bursts. Jasmine alienates those around her and people like Ginger’s ex husband Augie, who was ripped off by Jasmine’s husband are far from happy to see her swanning back into town as if nothing has happened. Through flashbacks, we begin to get a picture of her life before that she clings to with alarmingly delusional flights of fancy that are leading her down the dangerous path to another nervous breakdown.

The dark drama within Blue Jasmine unfolds very well, courtesy of fantastic and withering direction from Woody Allen. I especially liked the way he cut the flashbacks with the present. It isn’t anything complicated or flashy, it is events shown when a certain topic is brought up about Jasmine and we get answers from it.  There is a reminiscent quality about the structure of the flashbacks, which is very apt seeing as Jasmine is still completely in the past and refusing to step out of it. While Woody Allen is a master of comedy, he is also pretty adept at crafting drama. If you want a drama from him, look no further than Blue Jasmine. Humour may have a part in the movie, but like the dark tone of it, the humour comprises of scalding one-liners, biting indictments of the rich and watching Jasmine continue to delude herself that her life is still flashy and amazing. I’m liking seeing Woody Allen direct drama as he has a definite flair for this dark type of drama, tinged with bits of black comedy and vicious wit. Sure at times the narrative can flounder a little, but that is a very minor flaw in what is a very successful movie. A bright visual style showcasing San Francisco is laced with a biting irony at the darkness of the story as Jasmine heads towards the razor’s edge of insanity. A soundtrack of blues and jazz underpins the dark, tragic and pathetic nature of Jasmine’s plight, which is in one way done by her own hand.

What really dominates Blue Jasmine is the bravura performance from Cate Blanchett, that garnered her a well deserved Oscar. The character of Jasmine must have been difficult to play because of how much her emotions veer from one to the other, but Blanchett effortlessly turns in a performance that doesn’t hit a false note. The character of Jasmine is not likable; she’s bitchy, snotty and holds contempt for those who she judges to be beneath her station. Yet with Blanchett in the role, she invests it with not so much a sympathy but a reason that Jasmine is a victim of her own selfishness who simply can’t let go of her past riches and is pathetic, strangely tragic and emotionally ruined to say the least. You simply can’t take your eyes off Blanchett in her portrayal of the slowly disintegrating Jasmine and it stands as one of her best performances. Sally Hawkins provides a great foil to Blanchett’s bitchy Jasmine in the form of down to earth Ginger. She gives her part a genuine niceness tempered with a quiet strength that is soon unleashed as she grows weary of her sister’s behaviour and disapproving attitude. Ginger is a character that you can relate to more because she is rational and while not exactly thrilled at her social standing, works hard enough and sacrifices to make ends meet. Alec Baldwin, shown in flashback is the charming shark who lead Jasmine right up the garden path. Baldwin portrays the smooth operator with a smug and scheming personality with relish. Bobby Cannavale, boasting a blue-collar attitude and big heart is very good as Chili, whose temper is ignited by the way Jasmine looks down upon him. Andrew Dice Clay is well cast as Augie, who was duped by one of Hal’s schemes and came off a lot worse, while Louis C.K. is good as another possible love interest for Ginger. Rounding out the proceedings is Peter Sarsgaard as a wannabe politician who indulges Jasmine’s delusions of grandeur.

With a biting, tart wit and deft direction, Woody Allen conjures up one of his strongest films of late, that is jet-black in terms of humour and is more akin to a tragedy. And with Cate Blanchett on absolutely stellar form as the socialite fallen on hard times and slowly adrift in a sea of delusions, what more could you ask for?