Synopsis: World-traveling National Geographic photographer Robert Kincaid and Iowa housewife Francesca Johnson aren’t looking to turn their lives upside down. Each is at a point in life where expectations are behind them. Yet four days after they meet, they don’t want to lose the love they’ve found.

Academy Award winners Meryl Streep (earning her 10th Oscar nomination for her work here) and Clint Eastwood (who also produces and directs) bring blazing starpower and powerful conviction to the lovers chronicled in Robert James Waller’s rhapsodic bestseller. Available on home video for the first time in its picturesque original widescreen glory, this timeless movie sparkles anew.
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The Bridges of Madison County 8.5

Fans of the book were aghast when it was revealed that Clint Eastwood not only wanted to direct the film adaptation of this international bestseller. They needn’t have fretted so: Eastwood would approach the material with the necessary dignity and class – and not only was it a box office smash, but it was also well-received by critics.

As a director, Eastwood’s always made his films seem so effortless: the camera work is never too intricate, the stories always seem very realistic, true-to-life, the music is never over-powering, and the acting is always very natural; he humbly puts together elements that make for good storytelling, and lets the heart of the matter speak for itself. Some say that is his genius – personally, I just think that it says a lot about the man behind the icon.

Oh, granted, on the acting front Clint Eastwood will never be remember as one of the greats (a solid, effortlessly charismatic one, most certainly – but not a great one!), and one could predict that he would be outmatched by the dynamo that is Meryl Streep. Truth be told, Eastwood holds his own – he is out of his league, yes, but he does a better job than many of his peers would have.

The advantage in this match-up, however, is that he permits Streep to shine. Because Eastwood is good but not great, her performance stands out: every choice she made, from her character’s nervousness and self-doubt to her longing for momentary freedom to the innocent infatuation she initially displays to the passionate woman lost in a love affair, it’s all perfectly crafted and well-suited to the role.

It’s no wonder that she was nominated for an Academy Award in 1996: she has made her character a masterpiece and it is the centrepiece of a memorable and moving love story.