THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY

THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY  

 Our story begins in 1965, on a hot afternoon in August.

 FADE IN

 EXT. IOWA LANDSCAPE  - DAY

 Rolling green hills, lush farmland, vast open space. Not a
 house or sign of life in sight. On a long dusty road, a TRUCK
 is driving across the screen. Clouds of dirt follow in its
 tracks -- its motor, the only sound we hear.

 INT. TRUCK - DAY

 FRANCESCA JOHNSON is sitting in the front seat of the pick-up
 truck. Her expression is distant. Her eyes are sad, as if
 hiding a burden she can hardly bear. Her husband, RICHARD
 JOHNSON, is driving.

       RICHARD
  You feeling better Franny?

       FRANCESCA
  Yes. I'm fine. It's just this heat I
  think.

 He nods, satisfied. He turns on the radio as the VOICE OF
 DINAH WASHINGTON sings a bluesy, haunting love song, "I'LL
 CLOSE MY EYES."

       DINAH WASHINGTON
   (SINGS)
  "I'LL CLOSE MY EYES... TO EVERYONE
  BUT YOU... AND WHEN I DO... I'LL SEE
  YOU STANDING THERE..."
   (CONTINUES)

       RICHARD
   (surprised)
  What station is this?

       FRANCESCA
  It's a Chicago station. I found it
  the other day.

       RICHARD
  Kinda pretty. Is this uh... jazz
  kinda singing?

       FRANCESCA
   (nicely)
  I don't know. Can we turn it off? I
  have such a headache.

       RICHARD
  Sure.

 Richard shuts it off. Francesca turns her face away from him
 to look out at the vast expanse out of the countryside.

 EXT. JOHNSON HOUSE - DAY

 The truck stops in front of an isolated FARM HOUSE. A wooden
 gate stands twenty yards from the front door. A barn and a
 hot house sits on either side, surrounded by acres and acres
 of beautiful pasture.

 CAROLYN JOHNSON, a sixteen-year-old girl, steps out from the
 vegetable garden with an arm full of vegetable. She watches
 her parents exit the truck.

 Francesca carries her groceries, walking briskly through the
 front gate and entering the house.

 Richard grabs a bag of feed from the flatbed and strolls more
 leisurely. When he walks through the front gate, he notices
 something on the ground and picks it up. It is a BUTTON with
 RED NATURAL surrounding it. As if it had been torn from a
 piece of clothing. His daughter approaches him.

       RICHARD
  Your mother isn't feel well. I want
  you to help her out tonight with
  dinner.
   (she nods)
  Tell Michael to put this feed away.

 He puts the feed bag down. She exits. He enters the house.

 INT. FRONT HALL - DAY

 Richard enters the front hall opposite the stairs to the
 second floor. To his left is the living room. To his right,
 through an archway is the kitchen. He moves towards the stair
 when he suddenly hears the kitchen radio turned on and "I'LL
 CLOSE MY EYES" continues. It puzzles him. He looks to the
 kitchen. Francesca is obviously there but we can't see her.
 He is about to call to her when his son, Michael, yells:

       MICHAEL (O.S.)
  Dad! You bought the wrong feed!

       RICHARD
   (irritated)
  What?!

 He exits through the house to the back door.

 INT. KITCHEN - LATER

 The family-- Francesca, Richard, Carolyn and their seventeen-
 year-old son MICHAEL -- are eating supper. No one speaks.

       FRANCESCA
  So what are you going to do with the
  prize money?

       CAROLYN
  I don't know. I might save up for one
  of those hi-fi stereo players like
  Peggy has.

 Francesca nods. Silence again. She asks her son:

       FRANCESCA
  Are you seeing Betty tonight?

       MICHAEL
   (eating)
  Nah.

 Silence. She is used to her son's one syllable answers.

       RICHARD
  Oh! Frannie, is this yours?

 He places the button with red material on the table. Hiding
 her surprise, Francesca takes the button.

       FRANCESCA
  You found it! I got my dress caught
  on that damn gate. You must have eyes
  like a hawk.

       FRANCESCA (cont'd)
  You must all be tired. You got home
  so early. What time did you leave
  Illinos this morning?

       RICHARD
  'Bout 4:30.

       FRANCESCA
  Well you should all go to bed early.
  I'll do the cleaning up.

 This last remark she addresses to her daughter. Everyone
 returns to their silent eating.

 INT. JOHNSON HOUSE - NIGHT

 The house is asleep and dark except for a bright light coming
 from the kitchen. Carolyn quietly exits her bedroom in her
 nightclothes. She was awakened by noises coming from the
 kitchen downstairs.

 INT. KITCHEN -

 She enters to find the lights are on. An empty cake pan and
 a half-used bowl of frosting sitting unwashed in the sink.
 She hears the motor of the truck being turned on. She moves
 to the front hall and looks out through the door to see:

 The truck driving away. She calls out:

       CAROLYN
  Mom!

 But she gets no response. She stands there wondering where
 her mother could possibly being going this time of night, as
 we -

       DISSOLVE TO:

 THIRTY YEARS LATER - SAME LOCATION

 Carolyn, thirty years older, stands in the same doorway of
 the same house thinking back to that evening her mother acted
 so strangely.

 A LAWYER is unpacking a briefcase in the living room off the
 front entrance.

 Carolyn sees a car with Florida plates driving up to the
 house. She smiles.

 EXT. JOHNSON HOUSE - DAY

 Carolyn steps out of the doorway and heads for the car, out
 of which exit her brother Michael and his country girl wife
 BETTY, a stout buxom chatterbox. Both boast Florida tans and
 fashion styles.

       MICHAEL
   (to Carolyn)
  Explain to me again why we didn't do
  this in Des Moines in an air
  conditioned office?

       CAROLYN
  Mom's orders.

       MICHAEL
  Lawyer here?

       CAROLYN
   (nods)
  I have some sandwich fixings if
  you're hungry.

       BETTY
   (proudly)
  No, we just had lunch at the hotel
  with my brother and his new wife. She
  told me all the dirt. I forgot how
  interesting things can get around
  here. It was so good to see them. The
  last time we visited they were in
  Europe. He is doing so well. He
  ordered champagne. For lunch! I
  nearly died.

       MICHAEL
  I nearly died when we split the bill.

       BETTY
  Michael doesn't understand. People
  who make the kind of money my brother
  makes don't carry money on them. They
  keep it all in various accounts.

       MICHAEL
  Then we should have had lunch at the
  bank.

 Carolyn tries not to laugh. Betty shoots him a dirty look,
 then stops to take in the house and its surroundings.

       BETTY
  Boy. It sure has been a long time.

       MICHAEL
   (correcting her)
  We were here two Christmases ago.

       BETTY
  Well, that's a long time.

       MICHAEL
  It's not that long.

       BETTY
   (suddenly upset)
  Well, why don't I just say black so
  you can say white!
   (to Carolyn)
  Don't be surprised to find your
  brother hasn't changed an iota. He
  hardly ever talks and when he does
  it's in that tone! You should have
  heard him at lunch -- not two words
  until the bill came and then he says,
  "Worth every penny."

       MICHAEL
   (defensive)
  SO!

       BETTY
   (angry)
  You said it in that tone! Like you
  were angry at me, my brother, at
  the world for forcing you to eat a
  nice lunch!

       MICHAEL
  Oh Jesus.

       BETTY
   (staring to cry)
  I simply can not stand that tone!

       CAROLYN
   (sympathetically)
  Come inside. You're just tired from
  the trip.

 She comforts Betty who indulges in the attention.

       BETTY
  I am so sick and tired of apologizing
  and not knowing what I've done!

       CAROLYN
  I'm sure you haven't done anything.
  Have some iced tea. How are the kids?

       MICHAEL
  He dropped them off at Betty's mom.
  Where's Steve?

       CAROLYN
   (uncomfortably)
  He's not coming.