Chantilly Bridge

Linda Yellen's CHANTILLY BRIDGE is a love note to the indomitability of female friendship and the beauty and complexities of found family as we age, love and grow. Though a sequel to Yellen's CHANTILLY LACE, seeing the prior film is not a prerequisite. I hadn't and yet was immediately swept up in each woman's quietly fraught world, cheering for her triumphs and mourning the inevitable losses and compromises that are part and parcel of the landscape of every life. Unvarnished dialogue, an authentic rapport and warmth among the characters, stellar storytelling and gorgeous filmography (the backdrop is the spartan beauty of a rural Upstate New York winter) make CHANTILLY BRIDGE an absolute must see.

This is a beautiful film that follows the journeys, triumphs and tribulations of childhood friends. It speaks to me about the value of lady friends! The scenery was phenomenal and the music was perfect for the story. Congratulations to all involved with the making of this film. I will having a ladies night soon to show this to my childhood/lifelong friends. I love that you showed the characters at the age they are and not glammed up! I also loved how the daughter of one of the characters came to see her mother through a different lens, thanks to mom's friends. I laughed, cried, sang along and got goosebumps at many points.

"Chantilly Bridge," the sequel to "Chantilly Lace" (1993), is the story of a group of friends facing late middle age and older, the problems and issues that happen along the way. The all-woman cast shows a friendship that has endured for all of their lives and the movie depicts this and how they are always there for each other - good and bad. "Chantilly Bridge" shows the love they have for one another. The women gather to pay tribute to Ruth and to help her daughter, Shelley (Patricia Richardson) pack up her mom's belongings and sell her home. The issues that are brought up in this movie are poignant and have real world substance. These lifelong friends reminisce, discuss life altering events in their lives and just being themselves as only old friends can do. It is a moving and thought-provoking movie.

Director Linda Yellen shot the film in a small town in Northern New York during winter. The movie features a lot of improvisation, and the all-women cast worked together to develop their characters and their concerns. This way of filming the movie gives it authenticity and sincerity.

This is a movie I would strongly recommend seeing.

Good cast, great acting, a moving story of female friendship enduring through time. It feels "real" as if you were eavesdropping on a group of old friends who really care for each other. They have not met together in 25 years - that was the time of the first movie, Chantilly Lace, when they were in their forties and fiery. Fiery they still are. Jill Eikenberry, Talia Shire, Lindsay Crouse, Helen Slater pick up their roles as if they had never ceased to inhabit them. They are joined by Patricia Richardson and Naaji Kenn. It's rare to see actors so clearly at ease in their roles that they don't seem to be acting. Is it based on a real story? Asked the woman seated beside me today. They are getting older and their questions reflect that as they tangle with the fear of losing a job, the reality of being fired, the possible staleness of a long marriage. They share intimate secrets and sexual fantasies. What does it mean to get older and to fear becoming invisible. They truly like each other and will keep fighting for the right to a fulfilling life.

Chantilly Bridge is a must see for anyone who cares for a group of women wonderfully alive and moving - great actors doing their best under the caring eye of director Linda Yellen.

Chantilly Bridge is a subtle movie, crafted by director Linda Yellen and an ensemble of talented women. The movie is a follow-up to the gem from 30 years ago, Chantilly Lace. The old friends introduced to us in Chantilly Lace get back together to grieve the dead, remember old times, and to share life stories - the way one only can with their oldest and truest friends. Where Chantilly Lace showed us women dealing with transitions - losing a job, losing faith, discovering sexual identity and facing illness and death - Chantilly Bridge let's us eavesdrop on their reflections of life experiences. They reunite in the middle of winter, and, metaphorically, in the winter of their lives. The accomplished cast, including 6 of the 7 actresses from Chantilly Lace plus the talented Patricia Richardson and Naaji Sky Adzimah, tell these stories themselves in a movie that is largely unscripted. Meaningful scenes, beautifully acted.