It's the 30's. Walter Bridge (Paul Newman) and India Bridge (Joanne Woodward) have three children, Carolyn (Margaret Welsh), Ruth (Kyra Sedgwick), and Douglas (Robert Sean Leonard), living in the gentile upper class Country Club District Kansas City, Missouri. He's the conservative patriarch lawyer. She's the submissive housewife. Times are changing. The question is whether they can change with them.
This is a Merchant-Ivory joint. Like most of their movies, they allow their characters to luxuriate in the time period. This couple is sheltered or willfully walled off. There are constant opportunities for them to dive into an issue of their day. Instead, they keep returning to their middle America conservative values. The plot is a repetition of the same thing over and over again. I really need them to face up to a life changing event. There is no character growth for either one of them. I guess that's the point.
This is a Merchant-Ivory joint. Like most of their movies, they allow their characters to luxuriate in the time period. This couple is sheltered or willfully walled off. There are constant opportunities for them to dive into an issue of their day. Instead, they keep returning to their middle America conservative values. The plot is a repetition of the same thing over and over again. I really need them to face up to a life changing event. There is no character growth for either one of them. I guess that's the point.