The line "There is a certainty that comes but once in a lifetime" is probably one of the best romantic lines both in old and recent memory, and it came from this film, The Bridges of Madison County - one of the most endearing, heartfelt, and moving romantic films ever made.
Here was Francesca Johnson (Meryl Streep), a housekeeper, a wife, a woman deprived of following her dreams and just went on with her life raising a family. Until she meets Robert Kincaid, a 50-year-old-something National Geographic photographer, who happened to visit Iowa to take shots of the bridges. Her life started to change as she takes off and claim the so-called four-day love affair, and turned into something that would reverberate for the rest of their lives.
Looking from a simplistic point of view, as we try to strip off all the melodrama and all the dramatisations of love and all that touchy-feely moments, one could define this film as a horrible epitome of adultery. Yes, Francesca was married, but she wasn't happy. We are not being pushed to believe that Francesca was adulterous, because she wasn't, but rather make us feel that she is alone, and in need of comfort like most humans do. Then again, as Robert and Francesca tried to cherish all their moments, all within the four days before Francesca's husband and 2 kids to return from the fair, they struggle whether it is best to make a choice - to be or not to be, that was the question. To do or not to do, that was the doubt. Yet it was all about choices, and what makes this film so poignant was that it didn't give us the predictable scheme where Francesca was runs away from her family, abandon her husband and live happily ever after with Robert - awwww, group hug! No. It isn't that, because if Francesca did the fairy tale ending, The Bridges of Madison County would lose its spirit, its own emotion, its own life.
Meryl Streep as Francesca Johnson was fantastic; she brought emotional edge to the character that most of her scenes were out of dialogue and the camera almost leans against her face, letting us see that lonely woman in the most very raw way. Also, she's famous for her million accents, and as a French immigrant, she was compellingly awesome using English with French accent. She and Clint Eastwood (also the director) as Robert Kincaid make magic, and their on-screen presence would really make us believe that even at their age, love is always possible.
One of the most moving scenes in the film was when Francesca and Robert shared their final dinner and they had a conversation where Francesca was doubting whether to stay or to go. The dialogues were absolutely captivating. Most of all, the scene in the car, where Francesca wanted to pull that handle that would open the car, into the rain and into Robert's cab - but she didn't because she has reasons that only her heart understands the most.
The Bridges of Madison County is a celebration on the ideology of soulmates, letting us remember that love could build bridges no matter who we are, where we are, and no matter what we could become - and that choices we make are the tools that would build such bridges.

Rating: A