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90 Minutes of Filler Leads to One Unforgettable Scene(MAJOR SPOILER)

posted 5 years ago by ecarle (14979)
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By the time he directed and starred in "The Bridges of Madison County," Clint Eastwood had survived a career collapse in the late 80's and early 90s(roughly from Pink Cadillac through The Rookie), and saved his career with the spectacular High Art Oscar winner "Unforgiven" in 1992.

Suddenly, Clint was hot again (even as his 70's peers such as Burt Reynolds and Charles Bronson had faded to TV and straight-to-video work.)

Ironic: Eastwood's downfall stemmed at least partially from his many self-directed movies, which he made quickly and cheaply and which often seemed as if he didn't much care about his audience anymore. After the downfall, Eastwood had been forced to work in somebody else's movie -- Wolfgang Peterson's "In the Line of Fire" -- which had all the lush, plush production values Eastwood eschewed. (Eastwood's career was so shaky then, he got the role only AFTER Robert Redford turned it down.) Its a great thriller, and it came out the year after "Unforgiven." But "Unforgiven" allowed Eastwood to go back to directing his usual cheapjack, dour films. "In the Line of Fire" was a spectacular one-off for Clint.

As Clint returned to self-directing his more chintzy films, there was a new catch: he was pretty much required to work with other stars of his magnitude.

In 1993, the other star was Kevin Costner(in "A Perfect World.")

In 1995, the other star was...Meryl Streep?

It was a surprise. Eastwood and Streep. Populist meets Prestige. Another surprise: the movie was a love story without a gunfight or fistfight in sight. Indeed, the rather sappy romantic bestseller "The Bridges of Madison County" had been looking like a perfect vehicle for the aging Robert Redford, with some middle-aged beauty(Jessica Lange? Susan Sarandon?) as the married Iowa housewife he loves.

But Eastwood (with his newfound return to power) , bought the book, cast himself as the lead, hired Streep as a more "mature" romantic co-star and...made the movie pretty much the way he always made movies: cheaply, and with a rather banal directorial approach. The movie even had one of Eastwood's trademark self-composed scores...a few tinkles on the piano, just like he always did (see also: Mystic River.)

With Eastwood at the helm and rather 'novelty casting" as the romantic hero, 'The Bridges of Madison County" plays rather listlessly, and rather dully, for much of its running time. Indeed, we have to go about 20 minutes before Eastwood or Streep even show up on screen, in the company of near-unknown actors playing the grown son and daughter of Streep. All likely from the novel(I've never read it) but...pretty boring, too.

And then, with about a half hour to go....The Bridges of Madison County suddenly delivers, in a big, emotional, tear-drenched way that ALSO bore the seeds for plenty of post-viewing debate among married couples. Dangerous debate, you might say.

The "filler" sets up this scenario: Bored housewife Streep has been given four days alone at her isolated home as her husband and two children spend time showing animals at a State Fair in another state(nice and far away.) Globe-trotting photographer Eastwood has shown up at the house (looking for directions to bridges he can photograph for the National Geographic) and rather effortlessly become Streep's friend, and then lover, for those four days.

But the four days are up. Hubby and children will be home soon. Eastwood pushes the issue: leave with me -- this kind of certainty comes only once in a lifetime.

The tears are already building when Eastwood leaves.

And then comes the big scene.

The farmer husband is home. He drives Streep into town to get provisions. The rain is pouring down. With the shopping done, Streep is riding as passenger with her husband at the wheel.

And she sees Eastwood. Standing there, wet in the rain. And then Eastwood gets in his truck and pulls the truck ahead of the couple at an intersection. The light is red.

Streep must make her decision.

The audience is pushed hard to cry. Eastwood's tinkling piano tune becomes a fully orchestrated emotional downpour. Streep gives us heartrending narration about the agony of her decision: leave the truck? Leave the husband? Go to Eastwood?

And then a close-up on the truck door handle. Possibly the most profound close-up on a truck door handle in the history of the American movies.

[–] ecarle (14979) 5 years ago

All of the "filler" up to this point falls away, as we realize the point of all that was to set up THIS moment. A wonderful additive: how the farmer husband isn't much aware of what's going on at all -- or is he? He notes out loud that the truck ahead must be being driven by "that photographer from out of town." I think maybe..he knows.

But that doesn't matter. Streep does NOT get out of the truck...she watches as Eastwood's truck drives away forever. And she sacrifices the rest of her life to the husband who provided, but was dull(and dies in bed of cancer before the film is over.) And she never finds Eastwood again. And then she learns he has died. And then she dies - but her children will learn her secrets and they will understand.

It has been rumored that Steven Spielberg helped director Eastwood with the "door handle scene" -- perhaps adding the surging orchestrated music and the Streep narration that help bring the tears that perhaps the stingy Eastwood would not have thought about using. (Spielberg attended the premiere of the film; there's a clue.)

Still, Eastwood "owns" the scene as the director, and its one of the best scenes he ever directed -- an anomaly , really: one of the greatest romantic tearjerkers of all time was..directed by Clint Eastwood?

Well, one of the greatest romantic tearjerker SCENES at least. The rest of the film up until that point is much harder going, and I somehow think that another director might have made sure that didn't' happen.

But this: there was a lot of crying in the theaters during the "truck door handle scene" in "Madison County" but it was a very DANGEROUS scene to watch for married couples. How many married women fantasized about running away from their husbands to the arms of a more passionate man? How many married MEN realized that their wives were fantasizing over this scene?

And yet, Streep does the right thing, doesn't she? Married men could take comfort in that, couldn't they?