Mr. & Mrs. Bridge

Films produced under the Merchant/Ivory banner are, as a general rule, respectable, literate, and often more than a little bit dull. But here's an exception (to the last rule, at least): an intimate, snapshot diary of an ordinary, middle-class, mid-American couple, played by the off-screen couple of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. Ruth Jhabvala's sensitive adaptation of the twin novels by Evan Connell is highlighted by her customary wit and attention to detail, with Newman and Woodward improving on the title roles by adding in their performances subtle shades of character which can't be written into any script. The episodic, slice-of-life structure doesn't allow for any dramatic momentum, and there isn't much of a message beyond the observation that native mid-westerners are emotionally repressed, but under James Ivory's typically graceful direction (and with the help of a first-rate supporting cast) it's an uncommonly rich film, full of privileged moments.

My review was written in August 1990 after watching the film at a TriBeCa screening room.

Paul Newman & Joanne Woodward plus the Merchant Ivory Productions team are in top form for "Mr. & Mrs. Bridge", an affecting study of an uppercrust Midwestern family 50 years ago. Obvious contender for Venice Film Festival prizes shapes up as a potent arthouse entry this winter.

Merchant Ivory collaborator Ruth Prawer Jhabvalla has adapted the two Evan S. Connell novels into a taut script. Books "Mrs. Bridge" (1959) and "Mr. Bridge" (1969) painted (from each spouse's point of view) a portrait of stuffy Kansas City lawyer Walter Bridge and his stifled wife India, by a steady accretion of anecdotal detail.

The screenplay presents a series of highly dramatic scenes in their lives, the payoffs among the novels' hundreds of brief chapters. The vignette structure is retained, but pic's two hours breeze by thanks to director James Ivory's concise approach and crisp editing (including careful wipes) by Humphrey Dixon.

Central theme of India Bridge's gradual realization that her life has been crushed in her husband's shadow is strongly conveyed by Woodward in the role.

Physically resembling the late Geraldine Page, she should be in the Oscar running this year for a nuanced, often funny portrayal of a multidimensional woman whose options have gradually been snuffed out.

Casting of hubby Newman as her husband resonates in their intimate scenes, particularly a 1939 vacation to Paris when the Bridges briefly rekindle their romance, only to have it cut short by the onset of World War II.

Newman's controlled perforance as the iron-willed condervative is both a carerr hange of pace and highlight.

While Inid abeocmes inceaingly furstrated with being a housewife and country club member, a change is in the wind. Best friend Grace (Blythe Danner perky in film's showiest role) is a kook and free spirit. Their mutal pal Grace Ong (singer Gale Garnett in an arresting brief turn) boasts of the values of psychoanalysis. All three Bridge offspring are in open rebellion against their parents and conservative society.

Kyra Sedgwick, recently Tom Cruise's girlfriend in "Born on the Fourth of July", is smashing as the Bridges' bohemian daughter who takes off for New York and an arts career. Feisty Margaret Welsh has a show-stopping scene telling her mom off after her defiant marriage to a boy from across the tracks ends up on the rocks. Robert Sean Leonard as the duo's son is solid in key emotional scenes with Woodward and Newman.

Pic's climax retains the shattering finale of "Mrs. Bridge", but presents it in a different context. Careful selection of supporting players pays off: stage thesp Diane Kagana is a powerhouse as Newman's secretary, expressing her pain at having been equally neglected by him for 20 years. Sanudra McClain is a tower of strength as the family's maid, and Austin Pendleton and Simon Callow provide comic relief.

Producer Ismail Merchant has arranged for impressive period detail including set pieces such as a tornado while Newman calmly dines with his wife at the country club and an evocative trip to Pari. Tech credits by MIP regulars are of a high standard, notably Tony Pierce-Roberts' sharp focus photography and Richard Robbins' spare, threatening musical score.

An amusing end credit reads: "Shakespearean tutor to Mr. Newman: Sen. Bob Dole", referring to the Kansas politician's reading of "Romeo and Juliet" to help the star develop his flinty characterization.

This is definitely a nitch film that will not appeal to a mass audience. It's a rather uneventful story of a mid-western upper class WASP family, and the cultural milieu of their times. Set in the time frame of pre-World War II America, it is a series of vignettes of various characters' lives. Everything about the production is first class; from the acting to the lush settings. This is a film for those who prefer subtlety over action. This ain't a popcorn film, it is a movie for a quiet time where you can sit back and watch a serious character study. Too, a knowledge of the history of the time would be nice -- but not essential. I'll give it a solid *8*.

Mr.&Mrs. Bridge is an interesting character study of a pair of a typical married couple during the years before our entry into World War II. The film does provide a good insight into the American mindset of a Republican oriented couple of the period, hardly the political orientation of its two stars.

Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward are the Bridges with two daughters and a son who are all reaching adulthood. Kyra Sedgwick is the rebellious Bohemian type who just wants to shake the dust of her conservative roots and fly. Maureen Collins wants to get married and she makes a disastrous choice of a husband. But that is partly to get away from her father's ideas. And son Robert Sean Leonard is an Eagle Scout and apparently a chip of dad's old block. But he thinks there is more to life than his father's ideas. He's looking to join the army.

The film netted Joanne Woodward an Oscar nomination for Best Actress and she is the most interesting character in the film. She longs to recapture her youth when Newman was apparently a far more passionate individual than the stuffed shirt lawyer. She tries to shake Newman out of his smug complacency, but ultimately fails.

The Bridges are an interesting pair, but ultimately not very satisfying. I have to applaud the characterizations which are first rate, but this story which seemed really not to have a point just left me cold.

However fans of Newman and Woodward will like Mr.&Mrs. Bridge.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film, in addition to the storied couple (in real life) playing Mr. and Mrs. Bridge--I thought the story line excellent. I actually grew up in Kansas City not long after the time period in the film and my family lived much as these people. The film's "slowness" represents that time---Paul Newman's close and steady pace, his awareness and lack of awareness of the world around him are intriguing. Joanne Woodward and Blythe Danner represent to very different types of women (of the time) but gives the viewer the sense that they are both trapped, one willingly and the other not so willingly. I weep for the Mother (Joanne Woodward) who wants to be close to her grown children but is too limited in her own world to really know how. The children are at fault in many cases, but it's sad nonetheless. The "wedged" car in the garage door opening sums up the Mother's inability to control her surroundings and the very fact that the husband was angry when he arrived home only underlines this fact. Thank God he seems to have loved her!