The Bridges of Madison County (1995) review

War bride Francesca (Meryl Streep, channeling Anna Magnani), who moved to Iowa from her native Italy, passes away and leaves her two children journals detailing an intense four day love affair she had with National Geographic photographer Robert Kincaid (Eastwood), who visited Madison County in order to take pictures of their famous covered bridges.  Back when this was released many critics complained about the age of the director in a "romantic" movie (Clint was 65 and Meryl was 46) but time has shown he was in surprisingly good shape - some twenty eight years later (it's 2023) he's still making movies - and their scenes together are magnetic: she questions his nomadic lifestyle while he tries to reassure her that she can live a fulfilling life in the country ... before asking her to leave with him, which she's tempted to do (but stays behind).  Richard LaGravenese did a nice job adapting Robert James Waller's best-selling novel - which owes a debt of gratitude to a film by David Lean (based on the play by Sir Noël Coward) - and the result is poignant, if a bit too mannered.  Here's a line that resonates with me personally (blasted OCD and all that): "I don't think obsessions have reasons.  That's why they're obsessions."