Set in Kansas City in the late 1930s, MR & MRS BRIDGE tells the story of an upper class couple from the mid-west whose marriage is strained when their three grown-up children leave home. The Bridges are an affluent, conservative family whose lily-white lives revolve around the local country club. Walter (Paul Newman, ROAD TO PERDITION) is something of an authoritarian figure who provides for his family financially but not emotionally. His wife, the long-suffering India (Joanne Woodward, PHILADELPHIA), does her best to keep the family together. When their children inevitably leave home to pursue their own lives, this puts pressure on the Bridges' already stale marriage. As Walter grows ever more set in his ways, India starts to doubt his love for her. It is only when he discovers that he is suffering from heart disease that he realises how much he loves his family and how little he has shown it. A touching story of a family staying together against all odds, based on the novels of Evan Connell. Director James Ivory (A ROOM WITH A VIEW, HOWARDS END) skilfully renders the author's perspective on deeply held American social mores and values.

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