Review of The Bridges of Madison County (1995) by Ben F — 07 Mar 2012

"The Bridges of Madison County" displays some of the most uniquely manufactured characterization that I have ever seen in a film. Every scene, every minute, every second represents something entirely on its own. The tribulations and sorrow of love display it's true beauty in every sense of the word. The masterful directing of Clint Eastwood could not have been more apparent. It's truly, a classic.

From the moment the movie begins, to the moment it ends, "The Bridges of Madison County" embarks you on a journey through every possible emotion. The film tugs on your heart strings, and makes you feel all of the emotions that the characters are feeling. With a wonderful script, Eastwood is able to make the most simple of setups the most internally complicated. The simple scenes of Eastwood and Streep sitting together at the table is more enthralling and captivating than the most beautiful of landscape sequences. That's what I call amazing directing.

Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood are absolutely flawless from start to finish. They give powerhouse performances in this movie. The acting is absolutely perfect, and when I say perfect, I REALLY mean perfect. They were both absolutely wonderful, and thats all I have to say about that.

I haven't read the book, but after seeing this movie, I really feel as if you couldn't ask for a better adaptation of anything, whether it stuck true to the novel or not. This movie was so wonderful on so many levels that there couldn't be any way that someone could be disappointed with it.

With an amazing soundtrack, and wonderful visuals, the movie comes to life. Its captivation is on a level that I can barely describe right now. It was just absolutely astounding, and you need to see the movie to know what I'm talking about.

"The Bridges of Madison County" represents something entirely on its own that doesn't have to do with film. It's all about love. It may sound cheesy when I'm saying it, but thats the truth. The experiences that these two characters shared over the course of four days represented an entire lifetime. And for the audiences, it was a lifetime of joy and sorrow. Clint Eastwood is able to do something that no one else is able to do; captivate his audience with the most simple of things, whether it be an image, an emotion, or a line of dialogue. This movie is perfect. Absolutely, perfect.