A Room with a View (1985) User Reviews

Succesful and colorful adaptation by James Ivory, being based on E M Foster novel with a superb British cast

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 1 May 2020]

Sensitive, engaging and enjoyable period piece. A truly romantic flick though soporifically gentle yarn about a high class British girl called Lucy and her uncle : Maggie Smith spending vacation in Florence, Italy. There the young Lucy : Helena Bonham Carter falls for the good-looking, dashing George : Julian Sands who is also on holiday along with his father : Denholm Elliot . As Lucy observes an outrageous behaviour, then George takes her from a street fight executed by some unruly Italians and he attempts to convince her that there is more to life than poetry, good manners, decorum and well-prepared sandwiches. Later on, George plants on Lucy a deep kiss on her unsullied lips but she flees scandalously .Returned to England she rejects him and engages marriage to snob, supercilious Cecil: Daniel Day Lewis.

This is a triple Academy Award winning rendition of E M Foster's fey novel about requerited love, and mutual feeling, in addition, there is much hilarious scenes and a lot of humor too. This is a nice film, gorgeous to look at, though rather soap opera and sentimental. Multi-Oscar nominee and winning 5 of them as : Actress Maggie Smith, Adapted screenplay, Art direction, Set design, Costume design. Casting is frankly magnificent, outstanding Helena Bonham as the feisty British idealist who repents herself a previous decision, Denholm Elliott, Simon Callow, Daniel Day Lewis is particularly distinguished and the Oscar winner Maggie Smith.

Rousing and picturesque cinematography by Tom Pierce Roberts reminiscent of a Claude Monet or Renoir painting. Including an attractive and charming soundtrack by Richard Robbins , adding classic music courtesy of Puccini. The motion picture was splendidly directed by James Ivory, using his ordinary team, writer Ruth Prawer, novelist E M Foster, cameraman Tom Pierce Roberts, musician Richard Robbins. Ivory was an expert on dramas and costumers, such as : Wild party, Savages, Bombay talkie, The Europeans, Roseland ,Heat and dust, The Bostonians, The courtesans of Bombay, Quartet, Maurice, Slaves of NY, Howards End, Jefferson in Paris, The remains of the day, Jane Austin in Manhattan, Surviving Picasso, The golden bowl, among others. Rating : Above average. Wothwhile watching.

Perfectly cast and lovingly made

[wheatley-20230 · 8/10 · 1 March 2022]

This is a film that oozes quality. Every scene is beautiful crafted and the cast are wonderful. Daniel Day-Lewis, as always, provides a master class.

The only barrier lies in in the willingness of the modern viewer to relate to such outmoded behaviours and mores. Understanding Lucy Honeychurch's erratic conduct requires some effort. Her world is so different, as are the expectations that her society lays upon her. Her head is laden with them!

But if you can do that there is still joy and emotional fulfilment to be found in this film.

"You must forgive me if I say stupid things. My brain has gone to pieces."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 11 June 2018]

The film has the sense and sensibility of a Jane Austen novel, but this story was based on a work by E.M. Forster. With Merchant Ivory Productions, one expects a near flawless representation of Edwardian England and the picture delivers on that score. The period detail and costuming is exquisite and pleasing to the eye, though many of the characters have a tendency to chafe, being strictly upper crust and all. None more so than the boorish Cecil Vyse, who one would be tempted to do a double take upon realizing it was Daniel Day-Lewis in the role. A perfect characterization of British snobbery, Cecil lacks even the most basic elements of human compassion. When he gets the big brush off from his fiance Lucy Honeychurch (Helena Bonham Carter), the best he can muster is a hand shake to say good-bye.

This may be the only time I've seen Helena Bonham Carter in what might be considered a 'normal' type role, what with such eclectic performances as the Red Queen in "Alice in Wonderland" and Bellatrix Lestrange in the Harry Potter movies. For me, this was different, and showed a different side of her ability, even if she seemed a bit 'plain'. I may not have made that come out right but you know what I mean. The other performers in this Edwardian tale are all up to the task, though that waterhole scene of the three men chasing after each other in the resplendent buff might give one the wrong impression. Fortunately the good natured Miss Honeychurch managed to laugh it off without embarrassment.

The picture may move a little slow for some folks, but for the tea and sympathy crowd, there's much to enjoy here. It's done at a relaxed pace and allows one to indulge in the sophistication of an era in transition.

It's aging well

[pekinman · 20 December 2004]

I have enjoyed 'A Room with a View' since it arrived on the scene in 1985. I have watched it many times and the video is wearing out and I fully intend to get the DVD of it soon. I saw it again the other night and am still charmed by it, in fact, I enjoyed it more than ever. Yes, it's a costume drama under glass, but it's a very well-done example of that popular genre. Films like this are greatly appealing to people like me who yearn for a gentler society and manners, though without the uptight staidness as exemplified by Aunt Charlotte (Maggie Smith) and Cecil Vyse (Daniel Day-Lewis). So this movie falls under the category of "comfort" film for me, and it is one of the very best.

Often Merchant/Ivory productions ring false ('Remains of the Day', for example), when they attempt to make a political statement; in that case regarding the under-current in Britain that led to the surprisingly popular British Union of Fascists created by Sir Oswald Mosley prior to WW2. But when James Ivory and his team stick to romance and the pretty manners of Edwardians, they are hard to beat.

Of the performers, Julian Sands seems the most "improved" in my opinion from earlier viewings. He is wonderful as the Byronic lover and has a ton of chemistry with Helena Bonham-Carter's lovely, spicey Lucy Honeychurch. Daniel Day-Lewis's Cecil Vyse seems a bit more contrived as time passes but is in the end a touching portrayal of a type of man that I despise.

There isn't weak link in the entire cast. The Puccini arias and Beethoven piano sonatas are beautiful and enhance the story. The photography is gorgeous and the other technical aspects are flawless.

This is the pinnacle of Merchant/Ivory films, I cannot imagine them producing anything better in the future, but who knows. They do seem to be in a cultural rut now, however.

The fringe film crowd will probably descry this sort of populist cinema, but I think that is narrow-minded snobbery, as boorish as Cecil Vyse and his insufferable intolerance to "the plebians."

Not my kind of film.

[rc223 · 6/10 · 14 July 1999]

In the 1980s Merchant-Ivory preserved the British film industry. That is to say, the embalmed it with a series of adaptations of which this is the least tedious. The cast read like a Who's Who of Brit acting but nothing actually happens at all. (rating: **)

My Own Personal All-Time Favourite Movie.

[Hotwok2013 · 10/10 · 7 August 2020]

"A Room With A View" is that rarest of movies where everything comes together perfectly. The cinematography is beautiful, it boasts a great cast and is a also a great love story wonderfully well told, in my opinion. Helena Bonham-Carter was a very lucky young lady indeed to get the lead role of Lucy Honeychurch. She looks every inch the part and plays it extremely well. The man who falls for her George Emerson is played by Julian Sands and is equally good. Probably the best piece of acting in the entire movie is given by Daniel Day-Lewis playing the snobbish, foppish Cecil Vyse who also loves Lucy but is eventually rejected. There are smaller parts for a wealth of great actors and actresses including Dame Judy Dench, Maggie Smith, Denholm Elliott, and Simon Callow all of whom are just perfect in their respective roles. Even the smallest roles have been well cast and acted and I cannot praise this movie too highly. The first part of the movie is set with it's characters on holiday in Italy and contains some stunningly beautiful photography. It also contains my favourite ever romantic scene from any movie. Lucy Honeychurch is seen walking through a poppy-field dressed in a long white dress. She looks like a painting done by one of the french impressionists. The scene is filmed to a stunningly beautiful aria sung by Kiri Te Kanawa. The piece of music is from Puccini's opera "La Rondine". George Emerson picks her up and passionately kisses her. It is an absolutely delightful piece of work!. Even after they return home to England the scenery is still great and wonderful to look at. Absolutely love this Edwardian period drama by Merchant Ivory Productions and I really cannot understand why some reviewers have disliked it and thought it boring.

Boring and a waste of time

[Smeagol-Gollum · 6/10 · 25 January 2007]

This movie is one of the most boring movies I've ever seen. I didn't think it was charming or sweet or worthy of any recognition at all.

The basic plot was just a sort of generic romance plot, with Charlotte being engaged to Cecil and then ditching him for George. As if you didn't see that coming. Predictable to the extreme.

Being forced to watch it in English class didn't help. Being surrounded by 30 other people who all thought it was adorable only accelerated my forming of the opinion that this movie is over-rated, not just plain boring. Every time George kissed Charlotte the 30-girl chorus of "awww" just made me want to be sick into my own scorn. Generic romance such as this does not deserve analysis and class time. It doesn't even deserve to be made, and it certainly doesn't deserve any awards nominations!

To anyone who hasn't seen it, don't. You will just waste about two hours of your life that could be spent doing something better. Anything.

If I never watch this again it will be too soon.

That rarest of great novel adaptations-- a film that's better than the book

[jdberkley · 10/10 · 20 September 2002]

No disrespect to the achingly elegant prose of E.M. Forster, but the last chapter of his novel simply cannot compare to this film's last shot, of a pair of lovers in a pensione in Florence, finally with their view of the Arno. As for the rest of this brilliant adaptation, it is populated with actors so perfectly cast it's as if they'd been invented for the roles-- Julian Sands as the Edwardian bohemian George Emerson, Helena Bonham-Carter, radiant as Lucy Honeychurch, Denholm Elliott, once again stealing every scene he's in, and Daniel Day-Lewis as the priggish Cecil Vyse, in a performance so self-consciously stiff he looks as though he were taken off the cover of the New Yorker. It's romantic, funny, stylish and impassioned. I first saw this film when it was released, and even at a young age, I knew I'd fallen in love. Twenty years later, I'm still in love with it.

A room with a view.....but I couldn't see much else

[thomvic · 6/10 · 25 May 2011]

I suspected this movie was going to be a great drama with a good love story from what I read on the back of the DVD.

Hmmmm well not really. For one thing, Helena Bonham Carter's character wasn't very sympathetic and it felt more like she was complaining or making snard remarks at everyone half the time. The whole Florence scenes felt more like they were trying to praise Italy for being a romantic place rather than giving it a real backing as a place of memory for Lucy Honeychurch and George. They had one fling when it could have happened anywhere.

What's more, this feels like it could have done better in the theatre as a play and I'm not sure if there ever was one. This is definitely more dialogue driven than plot driven. Charlotte's character (Maggie Smith) feels more like Lucy's actual mother than her cousin and sometimes I had to remind myself she was her cousin than her mother.

Performances were pretty good though I thought the characters weren't particularly interesting and also because the plot went at too quick of a pace to really make you absorb the emotions of the characters. Yes I know it is also meant to be a comedy as well but I didn't really find anything really funny. Though Daniel Day Lewis as Cecil was played to perfection and made for a very dorky character.

Don't have too much expectations with this. It is fun and silly but in the end more of a play that doesn't really make you remember much.

Vivid comedy of manners

[marissas75 · 9/10 · 2 June 2007]

"A Room with a View" is one of the best-known Merchant-Ivory films, the one that made their reputation for tastefully adapting Edwardian novels. Working from E. M. Forster's charming story, Merchant and Ivory add gorgeous Tuscan cinematography, lush opera music, and a cast of talented British actors. Even a skinny-dipping scene is done with enough class that the movie got away with a PG rating (though that probably wouldn't happen nowadays!). In short, Merchant-Ivory makes it look easy—and this ease has led to charges of their films being dull and middlebrow, as well as to many imitators.

But this stereotype of "a Merchant-Ivory film" fails to mention just how vivid and hilarious "A Room with a View" actually is. With scene-stealing actors like Maggie Smith as a prim, passive-aggressive chaperone and Daniel Day-Lewis as a self-centered young man whose every gesture tells of his fastidious rigidity, a rich vein of humor runs through the film. The movie also delights in putting its heroine Lucy (a baby-faced Helena Bonham Carter) in situations that prove awkward, funny, and ultimately invigorating for a well-bred young lady of 1905. Lucy finds herself in a love triangle, with society telling her to choose Cecil (Day- Lewis) but a deeper force pulling her toward the unconventional, moody George Emerson (Julian Sands).

A comedy of manners, "A Room with a View" is sometimes guilty of seeing its characters as types, rather than people. Even Lucy is not much more than "the young girl transfigured by Italy" that Miss Lavish (Judi Dench), a writer of cheap novels, labels her as. Still, it's easy to get caught up in the romance of this delightful movie. After seeing it, you'll want to go out and defend Truth and Love from all those who would deny them. Or at least to start saving up for a trip to Italy.

"A young girl, transfigured by Italy"

[Bored_Dragon · 7/10 · 13 January 2021]

Helena Bonham Carter's feature film debut is an excellently filmed boring movie about boring Englishmen ... I wrote down somewhere during the first half of the film. And then in the second half, I was surprised to realize that it bought me with its beauty, simplicity, and charm. In addition to Helena, there are also Maggie Smith, Julian Sands, Judi Dench, Daniel Day-Lewis, and some other well-known faces that I can't connect with names without Google, which I'm too lazy to do at the moment. This adaptation of the eponymous novel by E.M. Forster, from 1908, combines a romantic drama with a comedy of manners which I didn't like, so I cannot support the Oscar for the Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium, but the Oscars for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration and Best Costume Design, as well as the nomination for Best Cinematography, are more than deserved.

7/10

My favourite film ever.

[larajenny · 10/10 · 26 January 2001]

A lot of people expect this adaption of EM Forster's A Room with a View to be a stuffy costume drama. They see actors in period dress and are not interested. What those people are missing out on is a very funny, contemporary, subtle, well-acted and insightful film. This is as good an adaption from literature to film as I've ever seen. The tale of a group of English tourists to Italy and how their experiences change them is a stunning satire of Victorian social norms without losing sight of the charm of the individual characters. Fantastic.

Great movie. If you like it then watch Remains of the Day

[alansabljakovic-39044 · 7/10 · 30 April 2019]

Yeahh, Daniel Day-Lewis is the best actor ever. It is so sad that he is retiring.

Dull and wooden

[badajoz-1 · 4/10 · 5 May 2009]

So another Merchant-Ivory, and another UK period drama, so what?! It passes the time nicely enough but there is little here to stir anything. Good performances from some excellent actors/actresses notwithstanding, the plot is pretty poor, and the characters of the leading protagonists - eg Bonham Carter and Sands - do not make us really believe in this piece. There are some interesting background moments about the period - Rosemary Williams dressing to be fully buttoned up as women of the period did, and the nude bathing (far too long) indicating the famous poem about the opening of the First World War - 'Swimmers into cleanness leaping'- and the fate that lay in wait for a generation of young Edwardian men. But not enough. Insular British snobbery goes down well in the US I suppose, but pretty pictures and langourous hot summers do not make films interesting of themselves.

Edwardian love

[victor7754 · 15 August 2004]

A Room with a View possesses a fabulous cast, beautiful cinematography, an awesome adapted script, and a tale of oppressed desire during the paradigm shift from the repressive Victorian age to the more liberal Edwardian time. The film moves at a deliberate pace of country strolls and carriage rides filling the viewer with literary awakenings and music compositions. Poppies, barley, and Florence architecture decorate the screen.

The film is witty if anything with carefree individuals roaming about with leisure on their minds. Pure love and desire aches throughout and Italy is the place to bring the lovers together.

It is a handsome picture. Detailed period pieces and costumes. The cast is phenomenal! Helena Bohnam Carter portrays the peevish Lucy Honeychurch on her way to becoming her prudish Cousin and chaperone, Charlotte Bartlett (The Great Maggie Smith.) However The spirit of Italy will prevent such an occurrence and fill Miss Honeychurch with pure desire for George, the man who was brought up from the evils and hate of the world.

The adaptation is superb. Fun. It is a film to live in and swim in the sacred lake. One of the best films of the 80's. Terrific!

A film that may endear a horror/action fan with period drama romance stories!

[tonypeacock-1 · 7/10 · 3 May 2020]

I never thought I would be endeared with a film that encompasses genres of film I usually dislike, period drama and romance.

The location of early scenes in Florence, Italy increased my interest greatly.

The film is a story of forbidden love between two characters who fall for each other on the aforementioned scenes in Florence (Helena Bonham-Carter as Lucy Honeychurch and Julian Sands as George Emerson).

On returning to England, Miss. Honeychurch accepts an engagement to a pompous spiv Cecil Vyse (Daniel Day-Lewis) who doesn't really share a bond of love with Miss. Honeychurch merely treating her as a possession.

The film boasts a great cast who look young or sadly in some cases alive. After all it is over thirty five years old.

After a slow engagement, Honeychurch reaches her inner senses and breaks off the engagement allowing her to follow her heart and be with her first love.

A simple storyline told by a wonderful cast, in great locations and periodicity.

The film marks a filmmaking partnership in the U.K. that brought several historical novels to film. Merchant Ivory.

Flawlessly made and utterly delightful

[dr_clarke_2 · 10/10 · 31 May 2021]

A Room with a View is Merchant-Ivory's celebrated 1985 adaptation of E. M. Forster's classic novel of the same name. Costume dramas based on works of literature are ten-a-penny in British cinema, but A Room with a View stands out amongst them, partly because of the careful adaptation of the source material, partly because of the acting, and partly because of James Ivory's characteristically thoughtful direction.

Forster's novel is both a romance and a critique of society at the time, both traits common to most of his novels. Unlike, for example, A Passage to India, it is largely gentle (the stabbing of an unnamed Italian man aside), with a plot that focuses entirely on the love affair between the two main protagonists and with a happy ending for pretty much everyone; even Lucy Honeychurch's spurned fiancé Cecil grudgingly accepts that she has correctly analysed his faults when she breaks off their engagement. Forster's criticism of the conventions and constrictions of polite society are equally gentle: no biting satire this, but rather a quiet and humours exploration of the etiquette that prevents people from openly saying how they feel.

The story sees the aforementioned Lucy on holiday in Florence with her mother's friend Charlotte Bartlett; she meets a young man named George Emerson when George's father overhears Lucy and Charlotte bemoaning their lack of a room with a view and offering - in a rather eccentric fashion - to swap. Love soon starts to blossom between Lucy and George but is quickly aborted when she returns to England and becomes engaged to Cecil, until fate conspires to bring them into each other's orbit once again. Regular Merchant-Ivory collaborator Ruth Prawer Jhabvala wrote the screenplay, which won her an Oscar; she does a fine job of adapting Forster's prose and also retains his wry sense of humour. There are explorations of class, with Cecil claiming that there should be no class divides and decrying snobbery, despite the fact that he is, himself, a snob. The naked bathing scene is hilarious, especially when the three men are disturbed by Lucy's party and the Reverend Mr. Beebe tries unsuccessfully to sneak surreptitiously away with his modesty intact.

Forster's excellent characterisation carries through and is realised by a superb cast of seasoned British thespians that includes Maggie Smith as Charlotte Bartlett, Denholm Elliot as Mr Emerson, Daniel Day-Lewis as Cecil Vyse, and Judi Dench as Eleanor Lavish. Simon Callow plays the Reverend Mr Beebe, whilst a young Rupert Graves appears as Freddy Honeychurch. Day-Lewis is unrecognisable, although Denholm Elliot almost steals the show as the wonderfully irascible Mr Emerson. Helena Bonham-Carter and Julian Sands are cast in the lead roles of Lucy and George and both give captivating performances.

Above all however, A Room with a View is a visually beautiful film. James Ivory's mise-en-scéne is as meticulous as it is always is and the location filming in Florence, London and Kent looks gorgeous. Tony Pierce-Roberts provides the cinematography, which helps to make Florence in particular as a much a character as any of the people in the film; the scene in which Lucy witnesses a young man being stabbed, before she faints, is magnificently shot, the close-up of the young man's face as blood flows from his mouth strangely beautifully and horrible at the same time. In a touch that reflects the structure of the novel, Ivory occasionally uses on screen titles to divide the film up into thematic chapters. The soundtrack by Richard Robbins with a little help from Puccini sung by Kiri Te Kanawa completes the picture. Merchant-Ivory made many stunning pictures, some of them arguably weightier or more important than A Room with a View; the fact that it remains so highly regarded amongst the rest of work is perhaps due to the fact that it is flawlessly made and utterly delightful.

Very nice drama presented mildly between serendipity

[Seraphion · 7/10 · 17 August 2015]

The story is very nice although somewhat predictable. I personally relate to the story so much at the time I watch this movie the first time that it made me keep the movie in my "Keepworthy" list. I really like how the movie goes through all of its predictability by presenting the conflicts in a very much mild way and inserting some humor into the mix. Furthermore the movie made the humor as though they weren't intended to be humorous, not right after it comes into the picture. Another thing about the movie is that I realized that I watched Helena Bonham-Carter movies just on her older days, and she is very pretty. Well now I know that she's even prettier in her younger days. The acting overall in the movie is adequately nice. Helena Bonham-Carter's performance sure isn't her best here but she sure can act. Daniel Day Lewis really delved into his character and can really make the audience feel irritated to him. Maggie Smith had really depicted her character well enough and can make audience feel sorry for her. Simon Callow also presented his character well and brought a nice nuance to the movie.

A witty delight

[vic-45 · 10/10 · 4 March 1999]

What can I say about my favorite film. The first time I saw it I thought it was a laughable bore. However, I grew up a little, got an education and viewed the film again. Let me tell you one thing, if I could live in any film, this would be the one.

To swim in the sacred lake. To venture off to Florence. To play tennis with Freddy, Lucy, and George. To play comical songs on the piano which drives Cecil crazy. To believe not in world sorrow as I play Beethoven. To poke fun at "poor" Charlotte Bartlett.

The adaptation from novel to screen is phenomenal. The Eternal Why. If only I could find such love as George and Lucy. It has been my favorite film for over ten years now. So far there hasn't been a film to knock it off. This film is hard to get in to if you're not used to seeing British flicks but, hang in there and you will see something magical.

The cast is phenomenal. Perhaps the greatest collection of actors to appear together in one film. Just see it for these actors. They all went on to appear in many more popular productions.

A surprise, but I must say that I liked

[philip_vanderveken · 7/10 · 4 July 2005]

Although they aren't meant to be of course, movie titles can sometimes be deceiving. Before taping this movie I only new the title, the station on which it was to be seen and the hour when it was playing. Believing that this would be a Hitchkock-like movie (in my opinion this could be a typical Hitchkock title), I had high expectations about it. Big was my surprise when I actually saw it. I'm not saying that I didn't like it, it just was everything but the thriller that I expected to see.

This movie tells the story of Lucy Honeychurch, a young Englishwoman, who, in the early 1900's, makes her first visit to Florence in Italy with her chaperon Charlotte Bartlett. Despite the fact that they hoped to have a marvelous view on the city, they are laid to sleep in rooms without a view. But fellow guests Mr Emerson and his quiet, yet eccentric son George are willing to switch rooms with the ladies. But the switching of rooms has a larger effect than could be foreseen. Once returned to England, Lucy is supposed to marry her fiancé Cecil, but she started to be more and more attracted to George and thinks about canceling her marriage plans with Cecil.

If there is one group of people that shouldn't miss this movie than it must be the fans of the Jane Austen novels. This story may not have been written by Austen, but it sure feels the same and the time period too is correct. Victorian England is a popular source of imagination and many people love the movies based on these stories. Personally I'm not really a fan of this kind of movies, but I have to admit that this movie is good. It will never be my favorite because I'm not too keen on this kind of costume drama's, but the terrific setting (I'm a great admirer of Italy in general and Florence in particular), the nice acting and the interesting story made me forget about that for once. All in all this is a nice movie that has a lot of good things to offer for all viewers, even for those who aren't fans of the genre. That's also the reason why I give this movie a 7/10, a score that I have never given to a movie like this.

Victorian vs. Edwardian

[niffer2 · 10/10 · 11 May 2006]

This may seem like a minor distinction to some, but it's worth noting that this movie is set in Edwardian (1908) times, not Victorian. This is the crux of the social commentary in the book (and, by extension, the film). Charlotte and Cecil are relics of Victorian stodginess, and George is the wave of the future. The line "The possession of leisure is a wonderful thing", when directed at Cecil, is a tongue-in-cheek insult. In 1908, "gentlemen" were giving way to a merchant class that respected those who earned their keep.

Consider that in 1885, Victorian Lucy would have fainted dead away if she saw George skinny dipping - or she would have been expected to fake it. She would not have understood the subtle suggestion that Cecil is probably gay. But our Edwardian Lucy of 1908 laughs, rather than faints, at the pond. She fully understands what George means when he says that Cecil is "the sort who can't know anyone intimately, least of all a woman." It's perfectly reasonable to expect that many viewers lack this context, and as a result are bored to tears by this film. Those of us who enjoy this sort of thing, however, will find reason to enjoy this film time and time again, year after year.

A dreadful bore with a pleasant stop by the pool

[rgcustomer · 6/10 · 15 February 2011]

Sorry, but I find the 7.5 rating of this film on IMDb to be laughable. This film was a total bore. I didn't feel anything for any of the characters, some of whom I couldn't identify from scene to scene, and others I couldn't understand over the blaring music with their heavily-accented whispers.

Indeed, the only good thing about this film is the delightful water frolic that woke me up for a pleasant minute or two before returning me to dull boredom.

This film is a drama, with no drama. Romance, with no romance. Comedy, with no comedy.

A Room with a View

[FilmFanatic09 · 9/10 · 8 December 2006]

"A Room with a View" is certainly a film rarity, in that this adaptation fully lives up to an expectations set by E.M. Forster's classic novel. The film is set during the Edwardian period, a time marked by the replacing of Victorian ways with more liberal ideals. This idea is personified by the static characters of freethinking George Emerson (Julian Sands) and prudish Cecil Vyse (Daniel Day Lewis). Between these two extremes, we find our heroine Lucy Honeychurch (Helena Bonham-Carter), a young woman with a zest for life, but unsure of exactly what to do with it. In referencing her skills at the piano, one character puts it quite nicely, "If Miss Honeychurch ever takes to live as she plays, it will be very exciting- both for us and her." It proves to be exciting for the audience too, as we watch her coming of age through fascinating interactions with both fiancée Cecil, and George, the young man she meets while abroad in Italy.

It certainly doesn't hurt that these interactions are staged against some of the most beautiful scenery ever seen on the screen. Watching segments of the film with no sound could serve as an effective travelogue for Florence, Italy or Surrey, England. Of course that is just an added bonus, as it is Forster's characters who make the film come so alive. In addition to the three points of the love triangle, veteran actors such as Judi Dench, Denholm Elliot, and Maggie Smith give such performances that upon rereading the novel, I suspect it would be an impossible task to imagine these characters any other way. In addition to the perfect ensemble cast, directing/producing team Ismail Merchant and James Ivory give absolute proficiency to their adaptation of the novel. All the right scenes are there. (We forgive them for a slight alteration to the classic "kiss in field of violets" scene, as violets were not in season during production.) Dialogue is taken directly from the pages of the novel. And they show boldness in their unrestrained filming of a playful skinny-dipping sequence. I suppose it would be hypocritical to shoot a scene lampooning repression in a repressed manner, however.

The basic story of "A Room with a View" is one which may have been told before, but like that special parent or teacher we all had growing up, this film tells that story better than anyone else could ever hope to. Its characters, their sensibilities, and their nuances enchant us. The entire production is a shining example of period film-making and the finished product is one worthy of repeated viewings. It truly gets better each time you see it. You'll notice more too. For instance, pay attention to Lucy's love scenes with her two men, particularly what transpires and whether they take place in or out of doors. It is a testament to the adapters, that other such literary elements from the novel remain intact here. In short, Forster laid the blueprint from which these filmmakers built a tour de force.

Disappointing view, Victorian repression yet again

[roghache · 6/10 · 7 April 2006]

I admittedly did not read E.M. Forster's novel and haven't seen this movie for quite some years, but was extremely disappointed with it at the time, having had great expectations.

The story revolves around a young English girl, Lucy Honeychurch, who has traveled to Florence with her strict cousin & prim spinster chaperon, Charlotte Bartlett. While in Florence, their hotel room lacks the desired scenic view, so fellow English tourists, Mr. Emmerson and his son George, offer to exchange rooms with them. Lucy and the liberal George begin a romantic attraction, much to the displeasure of cousin Charlotte, as Lucy already has a more suitable & aristocratic (though insufferably snobbish) fiancé, Cecil, back in England. After returning home, Lucy is torn between her socially expected marriage to Cecil and her desire for George.

Helena Bonham Carter is competent in the role of the genteel Lucy, though I personally failed to become that engaged in her predictable romantic tale and in fact found her rather annoying. Maggie Smith is of course wonderful as her thwarting chaperon, 'poor Charlotte', who alas, is invariably mocked and labeled as uptight.

The film indeed features impressive period costumes, wonderful cinematography (including magnificent Florentine vistas), and beautiful musical scoring (Puccini operas & Beethoven piano sonatas). However, there is some lazy writing here. Bit of a coincidence, isn't it? that the young English tourist, George, whom Lucy meets at her hotel in Florence just happens to become her new neighbour back home in England. All very convenient.

Also, this is yet another variation on the theme of Victorian sexual repression, not exactly a novel concept. In Forster's 1984 A Passage to India, the repression theme again manifests itself in the personage of Adela Quested, but I greatly preferred that particular tale with its conflict between the Raj and native Indians. I absolutely adore Jane Austen's novels and their modern cinematic versions, but, frankly, this particular costume drama is no Jane Austen.

One reviewer commented that anyone complaining about this movie 'has issues'. Funny, Austen's stories continue to remain popular two centuries or so after her death, without including any nude bathing scenes or whatever. Call me repressed, but I'm with Cecil and wouldn't be particularly comfortable myself stumbling upon a group of bathers skinny dipping. I wouldn't swoon, but neither would I go out of my way to lallygag about. I have no objections to nude bathing, but neither am I of the opinion that those who choose to do so necessarily represent a more enlightened form of humanity than those who do not. Pity, but I guess the point being made here is that modesty is an undesirable quality and is synonymous with being 'uptight'. Of course that's the modern philosophy, but I beg to differ. As for the vicar bathing nude, just the usual modern cinematic attempt to mock or denigrate the clergy.

Why couldn't the more traditional Cecil (with his sensitivities about modesty issues) have been made the nice guy rather than a boorish snob, and the sexually liberal George have had a nasty streak? I guess conservative (repressed? uptight?) equals snob and liberal equals loving & caring. This tale is just so predictable, I don't understand why people sing its praises so highly, other than for its obviously impressive cinematography, music, and costuming.

Yes, a depiction of period styles & manners, but the focus on personal passions versus social expectations is not a very original idea. I fully expected to love this picture, but simply found it had both an unoriginal romantic conflict and a very predictable ending. My stars are for the views of Florentine art & architecture, the Beethoven sonatas, and yes, perhaps even that beautifully photographed, romantic kiss in the field of flowers...but not for the generally hackneyed theme or the stereotypical characters.

A boring movie about nothing

[ironman817 · 2/10 · 6 June 2009]

The fact that anyone likes this movie is a complete mystery to me. I have watched it several times and I see no merit in it whatsoever. I can not even figure out its genre. It is not a drama and I am shocked that anyone would describe it as a comedy. It is a full length feature film about a stolen kiss. Beautiful scenery, music and clothing are used to disguise the fact that there is no story, no suspense, no emotion, nothing. I can only conclude that the people who like this movie like movies about nothing. It is the Seinfeld joke in the form of a movie – a movie about nothing. I also think there are people nostalgic for the innocence of this bygone era. The fact that this movie has never to my knowledge appeared on any sort of great films list, not even for the 80's, is just proof of the fact that it was over-rated at the time and now has largely been forgotten. This is I think the fate of Merchant Ivory films, to be forgotten.