The Bridges Of Madison County is one of those rare examples of a movie improving on the book it was based on. Adapted from the monster, if purple-prosed, best seller by Robert James Waller, the film tells the simple story of an Iowa housewife, Francesca Johnson (
Meryl Streep), who meets a traveling National Geographic photographer named Robert Kincaid (
Clint Eastwood), who has arrived in Madison County, Iowa to shoot its picturesque covered bridges. The two begin a four-day affair while her husband and children are out of town that reawakens long-lost passions and yearnings in Francesca. Kincaid, meanwhile, confronts his own roving, rootless nature; he asks Francesca to come with him, but they both know that after their brief interlude, they can never be together again. A framing story follows Francesca's children, after her death many years later, as they discover their mother's secret and take stock of their own lives. Eastwood and Streep deliver masterful, touching performances, while Eastwood's subtle direction and
Richard LaGravenese's screenplay build the film into a deeply moving reflection on the choices one must make in both life and love. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide