When this picture popped up in my Instagram feed, I was nostalgically reminded of The Bridges of Madison County, a beautiful love story that starred two of my favorite actors.
It has been a while since I watched a really good romantic movie that captured what I considered to be my idea of love — real, complex and raw, and without embellishments.
These few years, we seemed to be so caught up with action, superheroes, and movies that push technology to a new frontier that I find myself thirsty for something with less pizzazz. Something that sets my heart fluttering not because of a good-looking male lead decked out in Tom Ford but because of “the way he looked at her”. The reason why I was so drawn to the chemistry between Meryl and Clint was because there were no fancy backdrops, no branded wardrobe, no latest make-up trends to distract. The focus was on the performance and every nuance of emotion was felt through the screen because of the way it was shot and edited. A forbidden love story, anchored by two very good actors and presented by a director who knew how to tell a story.
Such is becoming a rarity. Telling a good story seemed to have taken a backseat now with the focus shifted on how to create impact. The emotional core of characters are often neglected, like how it was in the last movie I watched — Jurassic World. The story premise was weak and the romantic/sibling love just didn’t feel real. But one could argue that people were there to see dinosaurs, not watch a love story.
I want to make a movie like The Bridges of Madison County. Even though it probably isn’t as cool as Ant Man, and even though I may be the only one who will watch such a movie or follow a drama that has real emotional stakes, I still think it’s something mankind needs. Sure, we need to be inspired by new trends but more importantly we need emotional fuel to keep us grounded.
A Jolly Affair 