A Room With A View
Nominated for eight Oscars in 1986, including Best Picture, and winner of three (Costumes, Art Direction and Adapted Screenplay), A Room with a View is the film that defined Merchant-Ivory as the masters of the romantic period piece. A brilliant adaptation of E.M. Forster's novel, A Room with a View tells the story of the coming of age of Lucy Honeychurch (Helena Bonham-Carter).
Longing to burst free from the repression of British upper class manners and mores, she must wrestle with her inner romantic longings to choose between the passionate George (Julian Sands) and the priggish but socially suitable Cecil (Daniel Day-Lewis). Boasting a brilliant supporting cast, A Room with a View is one of the most romantic of romantic comedies ever filmed.
Member Reviews
A beautiful romance - palmtree
This movie has a wonderful romance. About a repressed girl who finds love against her own pre-conceptions and the wishes of her family. The characters are delightful and well-written. I especially enjoy Daniel Day Lewis as Cecil. Watch out for a nude bathing scene, it has full nudity, but its not "sexual", just some guys jumping in a pool. But it made my grandma's eyes pop out of her head!A Room With A View - AppsScraps
An Ivory and Merchant film that is - as all Ivory and Merchant films are - exquisite. A Room with a View puts to film E.M. Forrester's fabulous novel of the same name. The film is a gorgeous love story with a overriding social commentary that pokes fun at English sensibilities at the turn of the century. Starring oh-so-young versions of Helena Bonham Carter as Lucy Honeychurch and Daniel Day Lewis as her pompous fiance Cecil Vyse; Julian Sands is Lucy's paramour George; the great Denholm Elliott is his father Mr. Elliott; Julie Dench is writer Eleanor Lavish - gotta love that name! - Simon Callow plays Reverend Beade and the great Maggie Smith is Lucy's cousin and chaperon, and ever-in-a-muddle, Charlotte. The film is rich on too many levels to count and the scene of Lucy coming upon George in the field high above Florence remains one of this reviewers most favourite movie scenes of all time.
My rating 9 out of 10.One of the More Romantic Literary Adaptations - Artimus_Zeln
I am a considerable fan of E.M. Forster's novels. However, I did not enjoy the souless and uninteresting Merchant/Ivory adaptation of Howards End. Thankfully, A Room With a View does not suffer from that fate. It is sweet, kind hearted, and engaging. That isn't to call the film perfect, it's not, but it is successful in winning over a viewer's heart.
The main reason for the success, besides the plot, is the acting. Helena Bonham Carter gives her best performance here. She is delightfully charming, but also somewhat difficult. Likewise the supporting cast is excellent. However, the most brilliant performance here is that of Daniel Day Lewis. He is almost totally unrecognizeable as a prudish, English intellectual. Compare his performance his with his work in (the otherwise terrible) Gangs of New York. The range is amazing.
As I said the film has flaws, most lie in James Ivory's direction. Bizarre title cards and clumsy editing do their best to hinder the film's flow, but the rest of the film triumphs. Under a more capable director this would have been a masterpiece.
The DVD is a solid release with good extras and a decent transfer. Worth seeing.
Member Reviews
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A beautiful romance - palmtree
This movie has a wonderful romance. About a repressed girl who finds love against her own pre-conceptions and the wishes of her family. The characters are delightful and well-written. I especially enjoy Daniel Day Lewis as Cecil. Watch out for a nude bathing ...A Room With A View - AppsScraps
An Ivory and Merchant film that is - as all Ivory and Merchant films are - exquisite. A Room with a View puts to film E.M. Forrester's fabulous novel of the same name. The film is a gorgeous love story with a overriding social commentary that pokes fun at ...One of the More Romantic Literary Adaptations - Artimus_Zeln
I am a considerable fan of E.M. Forster's novels. However, I did not enjoy the souless and uninteresting Merchant/Ivory adaptation of Howards End. Thankfully, A Room With a View does not suffer from that fate. It is sweet, kind hearted, and engaging. That ...