--- title: "The Bridges of Madison County: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-bridges-of-madison-county/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-bridges-of-madison-county" critics_score: 76 critics_reviews: 11 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Bridges of Madison County (1995): what the critics said Critics' score 76 from 11 reviews: 10 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics agree that Eastwood has taken a poor novel and made a good film. The recurring surprise is that Waller’s over-ripe prose has been pared down to a restrained two-hander, and that the restraint is what makes it work. The praise clusters on the two central performances, Streep’s above all, and on the kitchen-table scenes where the affection is built out of small looks and pauses rather than speeches. Eastwood’s slow, plain direction is credited with keeping the sentiment in check. Where they part is over how much of the book’s sentimental core survives. Variety thinks it remains a limitation, the Los Angeles Times finds the film genteel and slow, and The New Yorker settles for calling it half-good, with the leads fighting the material rather than served by it. The spread is narrow, though: no review is negative, and the later pieces, from Slant and Collider, are warmer about the minimalism than the notices of 1995. ## The New York Times — Janet Maslin Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 2 June 1995. Eastwood transforms the mawkish source material into a moving, elegiac love story with surprising decency and leanness; Streep delivers one of her best performances as the yearning farm wife. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/02/movies/film-review-love-comes-driving-up-the-road-and-in-middle-age-too.html) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Rating 3.5/4. 2 June 1995. Eastwood and Streep turn the story into a deeply moving love story focused on an idea of perfect personal happiness that must be renounced. The central performances, built from subtle moments of growing affection across a kitchen table, are singled out for praise. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-bridges-of-madison-county-1995) ## Empire — Angie Errigo Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. The film is a handsomely crafted romantic tearjerker that affirms there is a sex life after the bloom is off the bod, making it the class weepy of the year for older audiences. Eastwood's slow-burn direction and the abundant chemistry between Streep and Eastwood are singled out for praise. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/bridges-madison-county-review/) ## Time Out — GA Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 13 December 2011. Immaculately performed and assembled with wit and sensitivity, this is one of the most satisfying weepies in years. Eastwood's clean, pared direction and the mostly no-frills script ensure the film avoids sentimentality. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-bridges-of-madison-county) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 2 June 1995. Eastwood and LaGravenese craft a serviceable adaptation by emphasizing visual storytelling over the book's excesses; Streep gives an exceptional performance that anchors the romance, though the film is overly genteel and slow-paced at times. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-06-02-ca-8555-story.html) ## Slant Magazine — Jake Cole Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 5 May 2014. The critic praises Eastwood’s minimalist, understated direction and the delicate performances by Eastwood and Streep that capture the characters’ trapped longing and doomed affair with subtlety and emotional depth. The review singles out the Blu-ray transfer’s aggressive digital noise reduction for complaint, noting it robs the film of some of its natural warmth and beauty. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/the-bridges-of-madison-county/) ## The Independent Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 16 September 1995. The film is far better than expected, turning schlock into a restrained and dignified work that comes close to an artistic triumph. The adaptor is praised for rescuing a taut two-hander from the novel's purple prose. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/every-which-way-but-looser-1601501.html) ## The Times — Stephen Dalton Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 12 November 2005. Eastwood took a very bad book and turned it into a very good movie. The film puts an intelligent spin on the story, diluting Waller’s over-ripe lyricism while staying true to the book’s warm, autumnal tone, resulting in pure chocolate-box romance carried along by top-class performances. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/thursday-t3xgcqsmn3j) ## Variety — Todd McCarthy Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 17 May 1995. Eastwood and company turn the treacly novel into a handsomely crafted, beautifully acted adult love story with intelligent restraint; Streep is especially radiant and earthy, though the material's sentimental core remains a limitation. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1995/film/reviews/the-bridges-of-madison-county-2-1200441648/) ## The New Yorker — Anthony Lane Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 12 June 1995. The adaptation is really not bad and a bold half-good film because Eastwood and Streep wage war on the source novel's schmalz. The performances, especially the sincere flirting and kitchen scenes, are praised for melting the leads together despite the material. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1995/06/19/flirty-harry) ## Collider — Matthew Mosley Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 29 May 2022. The film is a masterwork of minimalistic filmmaking that showcases Eastwood's talents through quiet, intimate moments rather than grand gestures. The critic singles out the restrained direction, subtle body language between the leads, and the wordless final farewell scene for particular praise. [Read the review](https://collider.com/bridges-of-madison-county-clint-eastwood-minimalistic-filmmaking/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-bridges-of-madison-county.md