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.

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: **)

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

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

Remains a Favorite

[moviefan2003va · 9 July 2003]

This movie remains one of my favorites of all time. The acting is extremely pro. A case in point, I didn't realize for 5 years after first seeing the movie that Daniel Day Lewis was "Cecil Vyse". That's acting! "Lucy Honeychurch" (well played by Helena Bonham-Carter) embodies the struggle that most people must face at the beginning of their adult lives. Whether to listen to their own voice or the voice of others. Choosing one or the other can severely change the course of one's life. "George Emerson" as perfectly captured by Julian Sands, is the perfect man that most hope to find in their lifetime and we all push for "Lucy" to realize this. The supporting performances by the veteran cast that include Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Denholm Elliot, Simon Callow (the wonderful Reverend Beebe) equally are brilliant. Well done!

It's a Good Movie If You Can Stay Awake Through It

[evanston_dad · 7/10 · 6 May 2008]

I'm pretty sure I've seen "A Room with a View" from beginning to end, but I can't say with any certainty that I've done so sequentially. See, my wife loves this movie, but every time she puts it in it lulls me instantly to sleep. It's like an adult version of a "Mr. Rogers" episode.

This Merchant/Ivory production is typically polished and oh-so-tasteful, but like all of their movies it feels like the cinematic equivalent of one of those museum dioramas. It's not very lively, even if it is painstakingly accurate in its period detail.

Maggie Smith and Denholm Elliott were awarded Oscar nominations, but the standout actors are Daniel Day-Lewis, playing a hopelessly uptight and ridiculous suitor, and Judi Dench, who plays an adventurous novelist who's far more exciting than any other character in the film.

Grade: B+

romantic and funny

[abbynyc · 9/10 · 1 April 2004]

This movie made me go to Florence, Italy. And once I got there, they actually showed it every other night at the pensione I stayed in. Though set in Victorian times, it is reminiscent of a Jane Austen novel- romantic and humorous, but more passionate. Characters are lovingly made fun of. The acting is wonderful. People you've seen elsewhere, but in unusual roles. Helena Bonham Carter is the confused heroine, Maggie Smith plays her passive-aggressive aunt, you won't believe it's Daniel Day-Lewis playing the most irritating pompous man, Judi Dench is a gossipy romance novelist, Julian Sands is adorably weird, and the supporting characters are also wonderful. It's one of favorites.

Luscious period drama

[george-102 · 7/10 · 25 May 1999]

This film is what I expect from Merchant Ivory, a tourist guidebook of a movie with wonderful scenery and acting. I don't see much else beyond a very ordinary boy-meets-girl plot. I have only seen this film once, so there are probably nuances I've missed. But I think there are much better nostalgic movies about the English upper classes as they never were, such as "A Passage to India" or (if it counts as a movie) "Brideshead Revisited".

All the ways lead to Rome ... but Florence leads to all the ways ...

[ElMaruecan82 · 9/10 · 31 July 2013]

The remarkable thing about the Merchant-Ivory productions (in fact a solid triumvirate if we count the writer Ruth Prawer Jhabvala) is that they're generally less about plots than characters, and so real they never seem to act according to a specific screenplay, but are rather conditioned by the two main forces of the story: space and time.

Indeed, over the course of time, relationships are done and undone and the coldest heart can melt like Anthony Hopkins in "The Remains of the Day". "Howard's End" was much about an estate, symbolizing the rural roots of British aristocracy, before it surrendered to business-driven modernism. Generally set at crucial periods of British history, the Merchant-Ivory productions are about people who are the products of their age while a new one is coming, and they generally use their houses as a symbolic stronghold to resist the ineluctable changes.

And "A Room with a View", adapted from E.M Forster's novel of the same name, is the metaphor of the very point the story makes. Even the smallest room can open onto a large town, the sky, the infinite, like so many paths one can take from life, if he or she dares to get rid of the weight of past and conventions. A room can be made of beds and austere furniture to welcome a young woman from a British hamlet, Lucy Honeychurch (Helena Bohnam Carter) and her restraining chaperon Charlotte (Maggie Smith), but it can offer a panoramic view of one of the most romantic towns in the world: Florence.

And the first pages of this cinematic book open in Florence, in a small pension, where a group of vacationers meet. Miss Charlotte complains about the missing view in the room, to which, invited during the following dinner, a free-spirited man, Mr. Emerson (Delnhom Elliott) proposes to switch their rooms. Emerson came with his son, and both belong to another class, high enough to afford a voyage to Italy, but whose philosophical views suggest that they embraced the turn-of-century, contrarily to the Victorian Charlotte, who refused the proposal, shocked by Emerson's lack of tact, while his reaction proves that he meant no disrespect. She eventually accepts, convinced by other guests of the pension, Reverend Beebe (Simon Callow) and the old Allan sisters.

This benign episode foreshadows the coming conflicts between the old and new order in England circa 1910, to which space and time provide crucial elements. The film is set during the Edwardian period; a sort of in-between decade where British people could nonchalantly enjoy the achievements of the more prestigious Victorian era, like a historical calm before the storm of the Great War. And being a film of dazzling imagery, the sight of these British vacationers enjoying a picnic in a Tuscan setting, savoring tea and bathing under a sepia summer sun, and a cool summer breeze, is an eloquent illustration of the quiet optimism that prevailed during that period.

And this bourgeois idleness, combined with a natural setting, creates the perfect cocktail for a passionate romance, leading to the inevitable moment when the mysterious George Emerson, played by the handsome Julian Sands, gives a passionate kiss to an unchaperoned Lucy. She didn't see it coming, nor did she expect the kiss' everlasting effect, awakening the most passionate impulses. The kiss sweeps off all the conventions, the good manners that condemned Lucy to a life of rigidity, giving all its meaning to the setting in Florence, the most defining town of the Renaissance. Literally, George's kiss is Lucy's renaissance.

But this is only the first act and back home; the kiss is already history after Charlotte's intervention. And when during the next scene, we meet Cecil Vyse, Daniel Day-Lewis as Lucy's future husband, a living caricature of snobbish prig with his oiled hair, rigid stature and annoying noise clip, we're puzzled but not surprised. The film doesn't embarrass itself with explanations and trusts us enough to connect the events together. So, regarding the mysterious choice of Cecyl as a husband, I guess, we should get back to the 'room with a view' metaphor.

Indeed, with George, Lucy had 'a room with a view', with Cecyl, she would have thousands of rooms with no view at all. Breaking his eternally taciturn facade, George is given one opportunity to have a heart-talk with Lucy; he tells her that her marriage with Cecyl would turn her into an ornament, for the man would never be able to value her, or any woman for that matter. This is one of the outbursts of passion the film serves at the right moment to remind us that there is still a story after all, and a question: to which direction will Lucy's heart lean? And it's not just a choice between two men, but two orders, two states of mind, two kissing ways.

Roger Ebert, in one of his most enthusiastic reviews, insisted on the conflict between heart and mind, passion and intellect. I wish he had a few words about space and time as either the restraining or catalyzing elements in our lives. It's restraining when you have characters with the privilege to enjoy some escapism in a beautiful Italian landscape, but are still tied to Victorian good manners, or catalyzing, when three men, including a priest, play like children in a lake, all naked. The swimming sequence is exhilarating, and the massive male nudity never bothers, a credit to the directing and the cast's performances.

Of course, as enchanting as it is, "A Room with a View" is less politically oriented than other Ivory-Merchant productions while there was more to say about socialism, feminism, weight of traditions, bourgeois insouciance, but the specific pretension of "A Room with a View" was to depict another slice of British life, from which two hearts would converge in a small point of the world, a room with a view … on the infinite, on the future, on love.

I'd visit again

[thinbeach · 7/10 · 30 August 2018]

When pitched as romance fate is a charm, and such is the theme of Room With a View. A coincidence that Lucy's brief lover in Florence should become her neighbour in England, shortly after the announcement of her wedding to another? Nay, fate! This outlook conveniently neglects the many poor souls in the world that never get their second chances, their happily-ever-afters, but when a story is presented as beautifully as this, its easy to understand the appeal. Set mostly in wealthy estates of the Edwardian era, every centimetre of this film screams beauty, the elegant costumes and manicured gardens like an old master painting come to life, soundtracked with classical music. Whimsical travels, leisurely tennis, piano sittings, woodland walks, leather bound books, mahogany furniture, the list goes on, few films make me wish to get lost in their world such as this one.

On the other hand, the opening sequences in Florence don't have half the sway of the rest in England, by which point some may have already nodded off. The romance here is only communicated effectively in cinematography, not character, as there is no chemistry between Lucy and George until their spontaneous kiss. The mannered conversations make some moments hard to relate, and the performances are a mixed bag, but ever so steadily true passions under the surface are revealed, as Lucy chases the ecstasy of desire, over the sensibility of position.

NEVER GET TIRED of this wonderful film

[Andreapworth · 10/10 · 17 February 2011]

Although I've seen it many times, I stumbled upon it on TMC the other night, and although it was late, absolutely HAD to watch it all again. Maybe I should buy my own copy???

Daniel Day-Lewis is the most 'sublime' and although he was offered the role that went to Julian Sands, he chose Cecil. And his acting speaks quiet volumes when Lucy has refused him and before going up to his bedroom, sits on the stair and calmly puts on his shoes.

The music, the scenery, and the period feel of the entire movie is just so perfect. So no wonder I didn't go to sleep, even though I've seen the movie 30+ times. It's just that good!! Denhom Elliot must also be mentioned - it was once said of him "don't ever get in a scene with him or a cute animal because nobody will pay attention to the other 'star'.

Ah for the days of Merchant-Ivory

[blanche-2 · 9/10 · 25 April 2007]

"A Room with a View" is perhaps the jewel in the Merchant-Ivory crown, done in 1985, during their marvelous heyday. It was an era in film of lushly photographed dramas of another time and place, popular perhaps because many of us yearned for a simpler life and a return to some basic manners and standards. But these films also pointed up how much better women have it now, given the repressive ways women in earlier times were forced to live, and how often true love had to give way to convention.

Beautifully orchestrated with Puccini operatic music from "Gianni Schicchi" and "La Rondine," "A Room with a View" is a story set in Victorian times and concerns a young woman named Lucy, the petite Helena Bonham-Carter, who, while in Italy with her chaperone (Maggie Smith), meets George Emerson (Julian Sands). He falls madly in love with her, but unaccustomed to such boldness, she snubs him. Back home in England, she becomes betrothed to the tiresome, proper and erudite Cecil (Daniel Day-Lewis). Then George appears on the scene again. The passion only evidenced in Lucy's piano playing begins to surface, and it frightens her.

The story is told with both lightness and humor, and this intimate film is buoyed by wonderful acting. With her petite figure, magnificent head of hair, and a face full of expression, Bonham Carter is perfect as a confused and resentful young woman who doesn't know what's happening to her emotionally. Maggie Smith is brilliant as a troublesome chaperone who lives life by strict rules; Judi Dench is equally good as a novelist who lives in the exact opposite way. As George, Sands is a subtle yet ardent swain, and both Denholm Elliott as George's caring father and Simon Callow as the good reverend create marvelous, full characters. The chameleon, though, is Daniel Day-Lewis as Cecil, Lucy's skinny, snobbish fiancé. Each performance he gives is so drastically different from the one before - he is truly an amazing actor.

The film is an allegory in its way for the passage from Victorian England to the Edwardian period, and it's clear that E.M. Forester had no use for the repressions of the day and celebrated a boldness of spirit. Both the repressed and the rebellious are perfectly represented in "A Room with a View," a true Valentine to love.

Typical XIX century romance

[k844140 · 7/10 · 11 February 2022]

A Room with a View comprises many of the cliches of the romantic novels written between the beginning of the XIX century and 1920's. Their foundations are mostly impossibility of love, and, in case when both main characters are rich, unbearable lightness of their being. This is my main reproach for this film. This picture's characters are typical types of that time, when people couldn't behave like a real human beings. They couldn't say they love someone; they couldn't admit it to the others, they just behaved like adult children. I didn't like it in Wuthering Heights and didn't like in this film either, though in this case characters behave way more human and mature and don't die from their stupidity. And I don't like this "great suffering" of rich people who just don't know what to do since they don't work and don't have real problems, so they just fool around. But I guess these XIX century romances are just not my type of a story. If you're fond of these unreasonable suffering, it won't be a problem for you.

Still, this film is brilliant in all the respects which don't concern the story basis. It has more or less good script (for this type of story), great directing, beautiful land- and cityscapes, glorious setting and costumes and remarkable cinematography. It is visually brilliant. Advantages concern cast's performances as well. Maggie Smith, Denholm Elliott and Daniel Day-Lewis did a great job. Others are not that great, but good enough as well. And of course, Helena Bonham Carter in first role looks great for a beginner. Thus, you may also watch A Room with a View if you're not this genre's fan, since it's mostly great, but be aware of the genre's specifics.

Utterly incomprehensible

[elplatero · 1/10 · 22 December 2019]

Viewing the 'A Room with a View' on DVD did not compensate for my disappointing read of the novel (which offers more style than substance). Quite the opposite. The film, for all its scenery, its English country houses, its lawns (with tennis), its green landscape, its stuffy interiors, its Edwardian costumes, its unavoidable elderly spinsters, its inescapable piano playing damsel, its snooty, tiresome tittle-tattle about trivialities, for all this and that and the other clichés that are so typical of British historic period dramas, this film is terribly tedious, beyond boring and about as interesting as watching paint dry (to quote Gene Hackman's judgement of Eric Rohmer). So what is the plot about? First there is a kiss, then there is another, and as a result there is the end of one engagement and the beginning of another. That's about it. So how do you fill 112 minutes with that? Easy: you stuff your film with banalities that even in real life would make you walk away yawning with ennui: a room is changed for another (the title), a letter is read, a horse coach is transporting characters from one house to another, tea is drunk, a cigarette is smoked, a book is read, a bike is ridden, a character stumbles on the lawn, another trips between the flowers, yet another goes up the staircase, only to come down again etc.etc. Utter emptiness. The only 'remarkable event' is probably the skin dipping and running around naked of three men in nature, a scene that is so insufferably long drawn out that even the slowest of simpletons can not miss the hint that hits him in the face: Forster was a homosexual. Ah! Now I understand! Of course the film is nice visually, but that doesn't make up for the utter void of the plot. So it is utterly incomprehensible for me that this film got some rewards, including three Oscars (one even for the best 'scenario'! Excuse me?) and still get raving reviews from enthusiastic viewers. All the best to them, but this film is not my cup of tea. I rather need a cup of strong coffee to recover from the drowsing state it brought me in.