A Room with a View (1985)

Director: James Ivory (1 BAFTA Film Award for Best Picture)
Writers: E.M. Forster (novel), Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (1 Oscar for Best Screenplay)
Stars: Maggie Smith (1 Golden Globe, 1 BAFTA for Best Actress), Helena Bonham Carter, Denholm Elliott



In sunny Florence, Lucy Honeychurch (Helena Bonham Carter), a young and clever upper-class Englishwoman, meets George Emerson (Julian Sands), a young and uninhibited Englishman. While taking a walk together, he unexpectedly kisses her. What she experiences during that short moment while his lips touch her lips later on forces her to begin suspecting that she might have fallen in love with him.

Lucy's mind, however, insists that her heart is playing tricks on her. Later on, without George next to her, she comes to the conclusion that a woman of her stature couldn't possibly fall in love so quickly.

A few months later, Lucy announces her engagement to Cecil Vyse (Daniel Day-Lewis), a wealthy moralist obsessed with his public image. Initially she is uncertain if she loves him, but because she feels safe with him she concludes that he is in fact the man she deserves. True love, she assumes, will come as they become more comfortable with each other.

The more time Lucy spends with Cecil, however, the more she begins to realize that they have vastly different expectations of each other. Around the same time, George reemerges together with his father (Denholm Eliot) and Lucy begins to wonder whether she should have listened to her heart instead of her mind.

The contrasts in the film are brilliant. Initially, the footage from Florence creates the impression that one would witness a beautiful story about two people who discover that they were meant to be together and then fall madly in love with each other. There is a lot of talk about feelings and passion, but the more one learns about Lucy and her world, the more one begins to realize that the film is in fact an uncompromising condemnation of the British class system and the values that define it.

Initially, the countryside also seems like the perfect place for progressive and romantic minds to coexist in peace. But this is Edwardian England and the only free-thinker around actually looks and acts a lot like a depressed eccentric struggling with impure thoughts. The gentleman who has stolen the girl he wants is also an unbearably pretentious snob who loves to prove that his opinions are always right with quotes from his favorite books.

Lucy senses that something isn't right, but instead of questioning her 'logical' mind she second-guesses her heart. She also shares her doubts and secrets with her trusted chaperon (Maggie Smith), but discovers that they were never safe with her.

The exchanges are elegant but largely meaningless. The game of manners also never stops but the plays are always the same and the players no longer seem to care about it. And because they are not willing to walk away from it, most of them look like talent-less actors rather than real people who care about their lives.

The film ends with a positive message, but one wonders whether it is in fact possible for true love and happiness to exist in Lucy's world. It just feels too sterile, too intellectually suffocating and painfully dishonest.

Director James Ivory and producer Ismail Merchant adapted E.M. Forster's popular novel together with screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. In 1987, their film won Academy Awards for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, and Best Costume Design.



1. Thought and Passion - in this brand new documentary, director James Ivory recalls his interactions with producer Ismail Merchant before shooting of A Room with a View, some of the difficulties that had to be addressed during the funding of the film, and his initial impressions of Helena Bonham Carter, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Julian Sands, the locations E.M. Forster had described in the book (and how later on very specific sets were built for many of them), etc. Cinematographer Tony Pierce-Roberts explains how he was approached and then invited to join the project, how various sequences were shot (there were no storyboards), the critical reception of the film, etc. Costume designer John Bright discusses the film's period look, the use of color (with some great comments about the contrasts between the Italians and the English visitors in Florence), and the various costumes that were chosen for the actors. The documentary was produced exclusively for Criterion in 2015. In English, not subtitled. (22 min, 720p, 172 MB).


2. The Eternal Yes - in this new documentary, Helena Bonham Carter explains how she was cast to play Lucy Honeychurch, and recalls her interactions with Ismail Merchant, her work with composer Richard Robbins, her confusion during the shooting of the film, etc. Simon Callow discusses his contribution to the film, James Ivory's directing methods, and the film's style. Julian Sands remembers his work with the rest of the cast in Florence, his initial impression of the final version of the film, and its success. The documentary was produced exclusively for Criterion in 2015. In English, not subtitled. (37 min, 720p, 346 MB).


3. NBC Nightly News - presented here is an excerpt from the March 29, 1987 episode of NBC Nightly News which takes a closer look at the creative partnership between director James Ivory and producer Ismail Merchant as well ass the success of A Room with a View in America. Included in it are short comments from critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert. In English, not subtitled. (5 min, 720p, 65.7 MB ).

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