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.
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.