A Room with a View (film)

1986 - UK - 117 min. - Feature, Color
Director James Ivory
Genre/Type Comedy Of Manners, Period Drama, Romantic Drama, Drama, Romance

Flags Questionable for Children, Violence, Nudity, Adult Situations, Strong Sexual Content, Acceptable Ending
MPAA Rating PG

Keywords aristocrat, dilemma, holiday, ideals, love-triangle, passion, romance, vacation
Plot Lines Coming-of-age, On-the-road, Love-triangle (complications of), Self-discovery
From book by Forster, E.M.

Produced by Cinecom

 

Adapted by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala from the novel by E.M. Forster, Room with a View is a shining example of Merchant-Ivory's ability to achieve maximum quality and opulence at minimum cost. Set during the Edwardian Era, the film stars Helena Bonham Carter as Lucy Honeychurch, who like all proper young British ladies is compelled to tour Europe in the company of an older chaperone--in this instance, her spinster cousin Charlotte Bartlett (Maggie Smith). While in Italy, the ladies make the acquaintance of a wide variety of personalities; the most fascinating of their fellow tourists--at least in Lucy's eyes--is free-spirited George Emerson (Julian Sands). Aware that her cousin is becoming too familiar with Emerson, Charlotte demands that Lucy return to England post-haste. Lucy complacently settles for the tiresomely traditional courtship of nerdish Cecil Vyse (Daniel Day-Lewis)--and then Mr. Emerson moves into the neighborhood. Lucy now finds herself on the horns of a dilemma: should she opt for a safe, proper marriage to Cecil, or the bohemian unpredictability of the charismatic Emerson? A winner of three Academy Awards, A Room with a View is not what one could call fast-moving, but fans of the Merchant-Ivory team will enjoy luxuriating in the film's leisurely pace and stimulating cast of characters. -- Hal Erickson

 

  • Maggie Smith - Charlotte Bartlet
  • Helena Bonham Carter - Lucy Honeychurch
  • Denholm Elliott - Mr. Emerson
  • Julian Sands - George Emerson
  • Daniel Day-Lewis - Cecil Vyse
  • Simon Callow - Mr. Beebe
  • Isabella Celani - Persephone
  • Judi Dench - Miss Lavish
  • Luigi di Fiore - Murdered Youth
  • Fabia Drake - Catherine Alan
  • Maria Britneva - Mrs. Vyse
  • Mia Fothergill - Minnie Beebe
  • Matyelok Gibbs - New Charlotte
  • Patrick Godfrey - Mr. Eager
  • Rupert Graves - Freddy Honeychurch
  • Mirio Guidelli - Santa Croce Guide
  • Joan Henley - Teresa Alan
  • Freddy Korner - Mr. Floyd
  • Patricia Lawrence - Mrs. Butterworth
  • Rosemary Leach - Mrs. Honeychurch
  • Elizabeth Marangoni - Miss Pole
  • Lucca Rossi - Phaeton
  • Peter Cellier - Sir Harry Otway
  • Kitty Aldridge - The New Charlotte and Lucy
  • Amanda Walker - The Cockney Signora

 

 Credits and description provided by American Movie Guide, http://allmovie.com

EMPATHY

Textbooks

Supplementary books

Recommended readings

Exercises

Popular films

Lyrics

Course web pages

Other web based resources