Howards End (1992) User Reviews

Delicious adaptation from a superb novel

[khatcher-2 · 8/10 · 14 December 2003]

Here is another example of what the British are best at in film-making. Based on E.M. Forster's novel `Return to Howards End' this film is more or less a set piece in the strictest period-piece tradition, and thus in style is somewhat akin to that great TV series `Return to Brideshead' and even Robert Altman came up trumps with his splendid `Gosford Park' which most definitely takes its well-earned place alongside such classical pieces of this genre.

Likewise, `Howards End' relies heavily on British actors who have worked their way up through live theatre: it is here that you get the best interpretations, the best performances, admirably shown in so many films made on both sides of the Atlantic. If Vanessa Redgrave has long since been a legend among British actresses, Emma Thompson is no lesser performer, and as to the pedigree of Helena Bonham-Carter there can be no arguing. Anthony Hopkins is at least up to the mark in his always sober readings in these kinds of films.

The Bonham-Carter family were well known in the fashionable circles of 1930's London high-society life, for their extravagant soirées and philanthropic sponsoring of young artists, especially musicians, similarly to the Sitwell family from their Chelsea home. Thus it is hardly surprising that Helena Bonham-Carter finds these kinds of rôles admirably suited to her - A Room with a View, anything Shakespearean, among other select `comedies'. Prunella Scales is a grand old lady of theatre, cinema and television, and I can remember her offerings back in the late fifties-early sixties especially on radio programmes.

Beautifully filmed in mostly Oxfordshire and in several places in London, the film also has a few scenes on the coast, possibly Dorsetshire or more probably the south coast of Devon, surprisingly not included in IMDb's very detailed listing of locations. Richard Robbins' music seemed to be heavily influenced by Philip Glass at times, which seemed a misfit, though it was nice to hear a few snatches by Percy Grainger, as well as a version for four hands on the piano of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, possibly one of those tremendous transcriptions which Franz Liszt carried out.

The dialogues are mostly exquisitely delivered, with that peculiarly British panache and timing, though slightly spoiled in this recent re-viewing as there were some untimely cuts on the copy in question. However, the story holds its line and is faithful to E.M. Forster's original concept. He has long been one of the greatest of British novelists, with such works as `A Passage to India', `Where Angels Fear to Tread' and `A Room with a View' to his credit, for serious readers of real literature.

This film version maintains that seriousness for people interested in real play-acting.

Films Don't Get Much Prettier

[ccthemovieman-1 · 8/10 · 7 January 2006]

Being a man who appreciates beauty and great visual movies, I have checked out all the Merchant-Ivory films. I found this to be their prettiest, just stunning in its beauty.

Story-wise, I preferred "The Remains Of The Day," but this was okay. It just didn't have the appealing characters "Remains" had and it was a little too soap opera for my tastes but the visuals made up for that, ...and the story, to be fair, was solid and involving.

It also had Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson, and those two make a great pair. I would never get tired of watching either of these great actors, especially when they are together.

If you like period pieces - this is 1910 Edwardian England - along with fabulous sets and scenery, a solid cast, and an involving story, you'll like this. If you are a fan of melodramas then you'll really, really like this!

Okay, but a bit disappointing

[grantss · 6/10 · 15 November 2018]

England, early-1900s. Margaret Schlegel befriends Ruth Wilcox, the sickly wife of Henry Wilcox, a man of significant wealth. On her deathbed Ruth bequests her house, Howards End, to Margaret but this is deemed non-binding by her family and Margaret doesn't hear of the inheritance. Meanwhile, Margaret's sister Helen has taken a philanthropic interest in Leonard Bast, a poor, working class man. When Henry Wilcox and Margaret get engaged, Helen sees her chance to help out Leonard.

Okay, but a bit disappointing. I enjoyed The Remains of the Day (1993) and A Room with a View (1985), the other two prominent Ismail Merchant-James Ivory productions. I was expecting something akin to The Remains of the Day, especially as both movies starred Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson.

Unfortunately, Howards End doesn't quite have the same engagement levels as The Remains of the Day, nor the emotional impact. The Remains... was a great character drama with a powerful, poignant ending. Howards End is more about class divides and idealism than character depth.

Engagement is limited, as there are no characters to really pique your interest. Margaret / Emma Thompson is the central character but her story is quite dull. The characters we should be engaged in - Helen and Leonard - just aren't likeable enough.

Ultimately, however, it's a decent story with a poetic ending. The scenery and cinematography are amazing (as you would expect from Merchant-Ivory) and there are some top-notch performances. So is still watchable. Still, doesn't come close to The Remains of the Day in terms of quality and sheer engagement.

The Thompson Factor

[mocpacific · 10/10 · 17 October 2005]

If it's raining, if it's late, if I'm tired of working, if I'm restless or if I'm in a quandary of sorts, "Howard's End". I put the film on and Emma Thompson - presumably with the help of her accomplices, Ivory, Jhavhala, Hopkins etc - takes me away from whatever mood I'm trying to escape and leads me through her own, brilliantly drawn, gently torturous path. I don't recall when was the last time an actress has had this kind of power over my own psyche. The film is constructed with an Ivory attention to detail worthy of a vintage Visconti. The screenplay has no lapses of any kind and never falls into the usual traps. Loyal to its source material and yet, cinematic in the most revolutionary traditional sense of the word. The Britishness of Anthony Hopkins character is turned upside down giving us a glimpse into a character that's a mass of contradictions. But it is Emma Thompson's film from beginning to end. What a glorious achievement.

A Journey Everyone Should Take

[awoolsey · 23 January 1999]

The literary period piece is a difficult genre to master, requiring a difficult balancing between restraint and flowing emotion. Few films effectively achieve this as beautifully as Merchant-Ivory's astounding HOWARDS END, making it probably the best period film of the 1990's. The film juxtapositions the intellectual, emotionally unhindered Schlegel sisters against the restrained, imperious Wilcox family, and, for good measure, mixes in the differing attitudes toward class emerging early in the century. What could quite easily have been a dry study in the cultural dynamics of pre-WWI England becomes an enveloping tale, thanks in no small part to the performances by Hopkins, Emma Thompson, and Vanessa Redgrave, whose Ruth Wilcox remains enigmatic after every viewing. The emotions ringing through by film's end - not to mention its astoundingly pointed social criticism - give the film its power, a power missing even from Forster's rambling, distant novel. And this story is nestled amongst some of the most beautiful art direction, music, and cinematography to ever grace the screen. The haunting journey to HOWARDS END is one few other recent films can rival.

A synthesis of beauty, talent, and amazing cinematography

[sphinx-7 · 10/10 · 18 September 2000]

This is one of my all-time favorite movies. From the opening credits, superimposed over Vanessa Redgrave's skirt sweeping through the wet grass and flowers around Mrs. Wilcox's beloved Howards End, through to the final image of rural bliss, the cinematography is perfection. The costuming is amazing, the screenplay is adept, and the acting is stellar, to say the least. To have Emma Thompson, Helena Bonham Carter, Vanessa Redgrave, and Anthony Hopkins in one movie together is to see a true synthesis of talent, not to mention James Wilby and Samuel West. The scene where Leonard Bast goes walking into the field of blue flowers is breathtaking.

I recommend this film to anyone who loves Forster and who loves painterly cinematography. Also it is full of the finest performances by all of the actors involved.

Dense & intriguing

[onepotato2 · 7/10 · 11 February 2011]

Though lambasted by a minority as a Merchant/Ivory snoozer, Howard's End eventually inveigles its way into a thoughtful viewers mind with rather abundant ideas and plots about agency, good intentions in a weary/cynical world, passive cruelty, active cruelty, material transference, and cultural ascent, all stitched together in a story of class warfare, with surprising, sometimes hypocritical motivations. No one behaves as expected; as with Thompson selling out her values in preference to ascent; and the generally awful Hopkins secreting his true, malevolent nature, while fate endeavors to correct it in a roundabout way.

There is far more than most films provide to digest. And the ideas put into play are far more interesting than other movies deign to investigate, and certainly better than other similar chatty, period Emma Thompson films (Sense and Sensibility) which are fatal to the life urge. It's also superior to Remains of the Day (also with Thompson and Hopkins). One can imagine a much more modern, intriguing film (not bogged down with politeness and high production values) with these ideas, but this is the film we've got; and it's fine.

At no point can you guess where the circumlocutions will take you. Howard's End is a knot tied back into itself a half dozen times. I find its complexity extremely pleasing. Suffice it to say, this is 'Final Destination' for the thoughtful set.

Close to perfection...

[Baby Bunny · 10/10 · 21 February 2000]

Masterful performances make this splendid film adaptation of EM Forster's novel of the clashing of the classes a must-see. Anthony Hopkins, Helena Bonham Carter, Vanessa Redgrave, Samuel West, and Emma Thompson fill the screen with passion and vigor. One of the few good movies that does justice to the great book from which it was taken. Lushly filmed and directed with, though sometimes a heavy touch, great vitality by James Ivory. The setting is beautiful, the period feel is very accurate, and the story has subtle beauty. Watch for Ivory bringing out some interesting psychology between characters, especially of different classes. He captures attitudes of the time to near perfection. A cinematic treat.

not my type of tea and crumpets

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 14 November 2015]

Sister Helen Schlegel (Helena Bonham Carter) and Margaret Schlegel (Emma Thompson) are enlightened bourgeoisie. The Wilcoxes are rich and money-obsessed. Helen befriends matriarch Ruth Wilcox (Vanessa Redgrave). On her death bed, Ruth leaves her ancestral home Howards End to Helen who is about to lose the lease to her family home. The note has no date and no signature. Henry Wilcox (Anthony Hopkins) and his children decide to burn the note and ignore Ruth's wishes. The Schlegel sisters take an interest in the poor dreamer clerk Leonard Bast. Later, Henry spends time with Helen and they get married.

This is not my type of movies. It's long and slow and meandering. However, there is no denying that there is real craftsmanship here. The acting is superb. The movie looks beautiful. It's showing something about the classes in the era. However, I don't find the characters that compelling. The Schlegels talk too much. The Wilcoxes are too cold. Bast is too bitter. I can't really connect to any of these characters but the movie is still a masterpiece of filmmaking.

Only Connect

[bkoganbing · 9/10 · 7 April 2009]

I'm sure that even in 1910 when Kaiser Wilhelm still had a few fans who remembered he was the grandson of Queen Victoria and not ruler of the soon to be hated foe of World War I, E.M. Forster must have come in for a few critic's slings in having some of his protagonists of Howards End have a German surname. Even that early time there were many who saw Germany as a potential foe.

These two Schlegel sisters played by Emma Thompson and Helena Bonham Carter befriend the Wilcoxes, a family of newly rich plutocrats headed by Anthony Hopkins who seem to be a version of Lillian Hellman's the Hubbards lite. Their mother is the class of the family and she's played by Vanessa Redgrave who is in poor health.

While Bonham-Carter is rejected by Hopkins's son James Wilby as a suitable wife for marriage, Vanessa befriends Thompson finding her to be a kindred intellectual spirit in a house full of moneygrubbers. In fact before she dies she writes an unsigned note asking that a cottage that's in her family's name called Howards End be given to the Schlegel sisters. When Hopkins and the rest of the family find the note after she's dead it gets torn up and burned. Unsigned it has no probative value in any event.

But as fate would have it Thompson and Hopkins get into a relationship and they soon marry and she tries to polish some of the rough edges off him. Especially in regard to snobbery. Hopkins is the kind of man who wants no reminders of where he came from. Particularly with another of the Schlegel sisters friends, a young clerk named Leonard Bast played by Samuel West trying to make his way in the world as the Wilcoxes have.

Emma Thompson won the Academy Award for Best Actress for Howards End that year and the film also won Oscars for Art&Set Direction and for adapted screenplay. Though Thompson won the Oscar, my absolute favorite in this film is Susie Lindeman as Mrs. Dolly Bast. She's so incredibly common and obviously holding him back, you can't blame West for eventually getting involved with Bonham-Carter which leads to tragedy.

The team of Ismail Merchant producer and James Ivory director succeed again at bringing the look and manners of Edwardian England as seen by E.M. Forster to life. Who says they don't make literate films any more, whoever says that have them see Howards End.

Predictably ornate and poised, less predictably lively and passionate...

[moonspinner55 · 6/10 · 26 March 2008]

Merchant-Ivory film-adaptation of E. M. Forster's novel involves two turn-of-the-century English families crossing paths throughout many years. Emma Thompson and Helena Bonham Carter are superb as excitable sisters who somehow allow an imposing, sinister widower (Anthony Hopkins) to come between them. Costume drama is long but not too lofty, and director James Ivory provides some unexpected zest in his storytelling. Thompson won a well-deserved Oscar for Best Actress; Ruth Prawer Jhabvala also won for her screenplay. Flawed film may not catch on with every audience, though it has very strong moments, impeccable performances, and a lovely production (the art direction capping the film's third Oscar). Worth-seeing. **1/2 from ****

Great work, Merchant & Ivory!

[teejayniles2345 · 10/10 · 10 May 2002]

This film is a testimony to the creative novelist E.M. Forster! This early 90's full-length version of the novel is faithful to his 1921 masterpiece and beautifully realized by a team of film makers who know the "right moves." What a great trip back to early 20th Century Britain. The film moves briskly but in some ways we're experiencing some time gaps in a slow, slow manner; the outdoor scenes are great and almost multi-sensory. This highly atmospheric film also includes a great ensemble cast headed by Emma Thompson. The film never underestimates the intelligence of the audience and forces us to confront even our own class discriminations! Well worth a VHS or DVD rental; sorry I can't give any comments on DVD extras as I borrowed this free from our local library. Keep a copy of the book handy and notice the masterful interweaving done by Ruth Prawar Jandhlava. Life when fully realized is about much more than consumerist illusions and brief "ownership" by a selfish few. The novel's Motto is "Only connect" and the hard-thinking viewer of this great film will be enabled to do that as well !!!

Interesting...

[lemberg · 6/10 · 16 December 2002]

I cannot say, that I liked it very much. Emma Thompson was wonderful. But as character I liked mostly one played by Helena Carter.

***Spoiler***

I have a couple of remarks about the scenario. It is strange, that nothing was told above Jacky at the end. What happened to her? She lost her husband and all means for an existence. We were told about all but her. But she was a real victim of all others actions. Also who was the second kid playing with Helen? And frankly speaking I don't quite understand why Leonard Bast did not take money. He was not a noble person, so he could accept it, especially if he loved Helen. I guess, that idea was poor can only be poorer and rich can only be richer. Actually the script resembles me Balzac's writing.

Going back to Emma Thompson, you can really feel her compassion and goodness. I was a bit sorry about her, when she did not go to Howards End at beginning of movie, even she rushed to the train station. Nobody of Wilcox even really apologized to her.

Summing up I think, it is rather arty movie. It displays different shorts of buildings and gardens, but for some reason for me Howards End estate looks like a source of all evil in this movie. And by the way, sorry for my English, it is not my mother tongue.

***End***

6/10

Looks beautiful, lacks feeling

[gcd70 · 5/10 · 14 September 2007]

Very lavish and extremely impressive production is the definite highlight of this Merchant-Ivory film from the novel by E.M. Forster. The eye catching sets and immaculate costumes are perfect, giving one a real feel for the period.

The acting too, is good (especially Helena Bonham Carter as 'Helen' and Sam West as 'Leonard Baast'), but that is about the end of it. "Howard's End" fails to impress in any other way. Although adapted by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (from a marvelous novel), the film is not well-balanced, or evenly scripted. We never have time to absorb any of Forster's wonderful characters. Director James Ivory also fails to move the film in any direction quickly enough. Still, it's a good looking picture.

Saturday, May 30, 1992 - Hoyts Forest Hill Chase

One of my all time favorite movies.

[kdufre00 · 7 September 2000]

"Howards End" is certainly one of the best films of the last decade. I have seen this film several times over the past 7 years and each time I find myself in complete awe. I love how its intricate story gradually unfolds layer by layer, involving us more and more with the characters. "Howards End" also boasts breath-taking cinematography by Tony Pierce-Roberts and a rousing and rueful musical score by Richard Robbins.

The ensemble cast is perhaps the best reason to see this film. Emma Thompson won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance, and deservedly so! This is her best performance and her best film, in my opinion. I loved watching the character development in her portrayal of Margaret Schlegel, as she transforms from an open-minded intellectual to a class-conscious social climber. What's remarkable is that we still feel for her greatly as she is going through this transition. She still remains a sympathetic character up until the very end when she slowly comes back to her senses.

Anthony Hopkins also gives one of his best performances as the cold and hypocritical Henry Wilcox. So many scenes shed different lights onto his character. The scene where he proposes to Margaret stands out in particular. There is plenty of erotic tension, but at the same time it almost feels like he is making some sort of impersonal business venture with her.

Vanessa Redgrave is a presence to behold as the fragile Ruth Wilcox. Her performance may be brief, but it leaves an indelible mark, particularly in later scenes when Margaret visits Howards End. Helena Bonham Carter should have gotten an Oscar nomination for her performance. She really has great depth and passion that is well-suited to her character. The rest of the supporting cast is superb. Even the minor characters like Nicola Duffet's Jackie Bast and Jemma Redgrave's stony-faced Evie Wilcox are noteworthy.

"Howards End" is one of the richest, most nuanced films I have seen. It is beautifully shot, well-acted, and exquisitely directed. It deserves to be considered a classic.

Elegant, nuanced and fascinating adaptation of E.M.Forster's novel

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 29 March 2010]

Having already seen A Room with a View and loving it, I saw Howards End having a feeling it would be good. After seeing it, I absolutely loved it, and think it marginally better than A Room with a View. Directed by James Ivory, produced by Ismail Merchant and written by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, it is a remarkably faithful adaptation of the novel, and on top of this is also an elegant, nuanced and fascinating film.

The period detail is perfect. What I loved about A Room with a View especially was its gorgeous Italian settings. Here it is just as gorgeous, while also having a certain elegance about it. You can never go wrong with beautiful scenery, wondrous costumes and elegant-looking locations, Howards End had all three of those. The music is also a marvel, beautiful, haunting and hypnotic, somewhat reminiscent of a Phillip Glass score, while having a few snatches of Percy Grainger and Beethoven too.

The script is very faithful in style to the book and warmth and depth is given to the characters, and the direction is sensitive and nuanced very like how it was in A Room with a View. The plot is quite complex, even on first viewing I found it a little hard to keep up with everything. Then again, this is the sort of film you may need to see more than once. It is quite slow moving, and at over 140 minutes hard to sit through in one sitting, but the period detail, music, screenplay and acting made the film pleasurable, elegant and even moving.

Speaking of the acting, the whole cast give very strong performances, while not standing out from one another. Emma Thompson is endearingly-beautiful in Howards End, more beautiful than she looked in Much Ado About Nothing, and gives a moving and spirited portrayal of Margaret. Helena Bonham Carter delivers one of her best ever performances in this film, a performance filled with depth and passion that really wants to make you feel for her character. Vanessa Redgrave while her role is brief still leaves a lasting impression in a characterisation that is moving and wholly relevant, while as the cold Mr Wilcox Anthony Hopkins who a year later would give a brilliant performance in The Remains of the Day(another stylish and nuanced film) shows what a fine actor he is as he gives yet another fine performance. The more minor characters were also very well done, from a spirited Samuel West, whose character Leonard Bast exemplifies the low expectations of the clerking classes, to a suitably serious Jemma Redgrave as Evie Wilcox.

Overall, moving, elegant, nuanced and impeccably acted, Howards End is a must see. 9.5/10 Bethany Cox

Only Connect

[JamesHitchcock · 9/10 · 16 November 2012]

E. M. Forster began his novel "Howards End" with the epigram "Only connect…", words which have been interpreted as a plea for a greater degree of imaginative sympathy between people of different social classes and (just as importantly) between people with different attitudes to life.

The book tells the story of three Edwardian families, the Wilcoxes, the Schlegels and the Basts. Although Leonard Bast and his wife Jacky are from a working-class background, there is not much difference in socio- economic terms between the other two families, both part of the well-to- do bourgeoisie. There is, however, a big difference in their outlooks. The cultured, artistic and intellectual Schlegels, of German extraction, represent "old money". (Forster borrowed their surname from the Schlegel brothers, German writers and philosophers). The Wilcoxes, by contrast, represent "new money". The father of the family, Henry, is a self-made businessman, and he and his three children are far more interested in business and making money than they are in culture or the arts.

The Howards End of the title is the Wilcoxes' family home, a large farmhouse belonging to Henry's wife Ruth, who is more in sympathy with the artistic outlook of the Schegels than the rest of her family. She becomes a close friend of Margaret, the oldest of the three Schlegel siblings. In the meantime Margaret's younger sister, Helen, has befriended Leonard Bast, a clerk in an insurance company, who shares her reverence for high culture. (They meet at a lecture on Beethoven). The story then follows the complications arising from these two friendships.

This film was the last entry in the cinema's great Forster cycle of the eighties and early nineties, a period which saw filmed versions of five of his six novels. It was the third adaptation of a Forster novel by Merchant Ivory Productions, following "A Room with a View" and "Maurice". In my view it is, together with "A Room with a View", the best film of the Forster cycle, for a number of reasons.

The first is that the Merchant-Ivory style of film-making, with its meticulous concern for period detail and its gentle, unhurried method of story-telling, seems admirably suited to the works of Forster. David Lean's grand epic manner was never an ideal match for "A Passage to India", a novel which, although it deals with political questions, concentrates on intimate personal relationships rather than the great historical events which formed the subject-matter of Lean's other late works. Charles Sturridge tried to imitate the Merchant-Ivory method in "Where Angels Fear to Tread", but could never quite bring it off.

The second is the remarkable number of great performances which James Ivory was able to elicit from his cast. The film only won one acting Oscar, Emma Thompson for "Best Actress", but there were a number of other acting contributions of equal quality. Anthony Hopkins was perhaps not going to win a second Oscar so soon after "The Silence of the Lambs" the previous year, but to my mind he deserved "Best Actor" far more than Al Pacino in "Scent of a Woman". (Whether he deserved it more than Clint Eastwood in "Unforgiven" is perhaps another matter). Hopkins succeeds well in his difficult task of bringing out the two sides of Henry's personality. On the one hand he is arrogant, snobbish and autocratic, but on the other Hopkins needs to imply a hidden, more likable side to him if the audience is to accept him as Margaret's husband. (The two marry after Ruth's death).

Helena Bonham Carter was well-known around this period for her acting in period dramas; she had appeared in two earlier Forster adaptations, "A Room with a View", and "Where Angels Fear to Tread". There is a nice contrast between her Helen- passionate, impetuous and rash- and Thompson's calmer, more measured Margaret. Helen has a strong social conscience which Margaret seems to lack, and at first comes across as the more sympathetic of the two sisters, yet Helen's well-intentioned interventions in other people's lives can have disastrous unintended consequences. As for Thompson, she gives an object lesson in the art of portraying a quiet, reserved character without making her dull or uninteresting. Thompson and Hopkins were to act together in another Merchant-Ivory drama the following year, "The Remains of the Day".

Other excellent performances come from Vanessa Redgrave as Ruth Wilcox, James Wilby as Henry and Ruth's pompous, overbearing older son Charles and Samuel West as Leonard Bast. Bast is a tragic figure- he is clearly highly knowledgeable and intelligent, but because of his humble social origins is unable to put his intelligence to good use and is patronised and mistreated by those who consider themselves his social betters. He is also held back by his wife who shares neither his intelligence nor his aspirations.

The third reason why the film works so well is the way in which it brings out the themes of the excellent novel on which it is based and makes them relevant to the 1990s (without ever labouring the point). The story might be set in the 1910s, yet its themes of the contrasting values of business and culture, of unemployment, of wealth and poverty, are still relevant even today. Henry Wilcox might be a figure from the Edwardian era, yet in 1992 his values would have seemed very familiar to those who had just lived through the boom years of the "greed is good" eighties. Leonard Bast recalls those who lost their jobs when that boom turned to bust. Even Helen, the woolly but well-meaning member of the liberal Guardian- reading classes, is a familiar figure to modern viewers. British heritage cinema, and the work of Merchant-Ivory in particular, is sometimes criticised as a mere exercise in sentimental nostalgia, with no relevance to modern times. "Howard's End" serves as the best possible refutation of that sort of criticism. 9/10

The social class

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 9 January 2016]

Howards End is a story of class in a society evolving as it goes from the Victorian to the Edwardian era.

The Schlegel's are a middle class, open minded liberal family who have originated from Germany. The Wilcox are an upper class family, living a comfortable existence.

As Henry Cox (Anthony Hopkins) states during the film 'The poor are poor, and one's sorry for them but there it is.'

Howards End is a house in the fringe of the country owned by Mrs Wilcox (Vanessa Redgrave) left to her by her brother. In ill health and enchanted Margaret Schlegel (Emma Thompson) she scribbled in a piece of paper in pencil that she wanted to have Margaret have the house. Margaret does not know about this as the family burnt the piece of paper after her death.

Leonard Bast a lowly clerk comes across Helen Schlegel (Helena Bonham Carter) who mistakenly took his umbrella a chain of events that will ultimately lead to a downward spiral for him and his wife.

The chain is linked as we go through the film, Helen had a fling with on the the Wilcox's children. Later on it emerges that Mr Wilcox once had a fling with Mrs Bast.

We see as the film progresses that the families have different attitude. Leonard Bast might be lower class but he has his pride as he strives for employment. The Schlegel's are in essence Fabians striving for radical reform, votes for women.

The Wilcox are paternal, a rather superior and supercilious attitude that pervades with their children that will eventually result in tragic consequences.

Eventually Margaret winds up marrying Mr Wilcox, we can never fathom why she wants to marry this older widower who appears to be cold even aloof and has grown up children. In doing so Margaret feels the need to social climb and maintain a facade of not rocking the establishment until Helen ends up in a spot of bother.

By then Margaret realises the hypocrisy of the upper classes. Forster wrote about themes of class hypocrisy and hidden passion. Here we also notice in the adapted screenplay who thing come around to bite you on the backside.

Early on in the film after The Wilcox move into the apartment opposite them, the Schlegel brother remarks here is the boy I was suppose to thrash. A remark that is thrown back at him in contempt later on by one of the Wilcox children.

Of course at the conclusion Howards End, the house itself makes a poetic journey to its rightful owner.

The film is long, it can be dense leisurely going on as a picture pretty chocolate box Merchant/Ivory production. It does require a second viewing for you to get the subtleties of the Oscar winning screenplay.

When good breeding goes bad and when high class becomes low morals.

[mark.waltz · 10/10 · 17 March 2017]

What seems on the surface a simple tale of one woman's gift to another is much more complex in this story of one upper class family's involvement with two sisters, not so well off, but obviously of higher morals than some of the members of those who consider themselves everybody else's "betters". The story initially focuses on Helena Bonham Carter's Helen, a middle class lady who is involved with the upper class Joseph Bennett but unable to marry him because of his issues with his family. By chance, Carter's sister Margaret (Emma Thompson) meets the ailing matriarch of Bennett's family (a very subtle and gentle Vanessa Redgrave) who sees something special in the classy Margaret. On her death bed, Redgrave writes in pencil the desire to leave her childhood home, Howard's End, to Thompson, but at a family meeting, widower Anthony Hopkins is manipulated into preventing that by his other son (James Wilby).

Encounters on occasion with Thompson brings Hopkins' sudden proposal, perhaps out of loneliness, maybe out of guilt, but within time, growing into love. Carter and Thompson's friendship with a struggling clerk (Samuel West) causes all sorts of issues, especially when West's common wife (Nicola Duffett) comes to a wedding, gets drunk, and reveals a past with Hopkins. This becomes a story then, not only of a family deception, but the ties that bind all mankind, either through obligation, unexpected human interaction or in Hopkins and Duffett's case, a brief lust that tears away at him because of the differences in their social standing. West struggles, not only to try and find a new position after his suddenly ends, but with his feelings for Carter as well and his disgust in his marriage to Duffett. The so-called polite upper class becomes murderous in a shocking twist towards the end, and this explodes into many questions of what exactly is good breeding, and who has it.

Powerful performances by a magnificent cast gives this family drama a mesmerizing feel, just as dramatic as all six seasons of "Downton Abbey" whittled down to two and a half hours. There are comic bits here and there that prevent the film from becoming too staid, and the set-up of gentle matriarch Vanessa Redgrave making you care about what happens to her will require the need of Kleenex near by as her light fades and the story moves into new directions. Hopkins, playing a very conflicted man, shows all the human dimensions that makes this character very real, whether grieving over a wife he really didn't spend too much time caring about it seems in life, facing his own ordeal as an adulterer, or unable to forgive himself, both for cheating, keeping the truth away from Thompson and lastly, realizing what a bunch of greedy, selfish offspring he's raised. Prunella Scales is very funny in a small part as Carter and Thompson's no nonsense aunt.

Carter and Thompson are wonderfully cast as sisters, and while Thompson has the meatier part, Carter is impressive as well. She's moved on from "A Room With a View" to showing here all the tricks she'll later pull out in her character parts in Tim Burton movies. Thompson, deservedly winning an Oscar, is an actress of such gifts, and from the moment you meet her, she's somebody you'll want as a friend as much as Redgrave did. She faces tragedy with such dignity, being independent and resourceful, yet willing to stand by her man no matter how bad things become because she sees the truths that most humans are blind to. It's the writing surrounding these characters that make "Howard's End" a joy to revisit, and while the country home may not be immense like Downton Abbey, you can see why Redgrave adored it and would only want to see it in the hands of somebody she knew would treasure it like she did.

Bleak House

[writers_reign · 6/10 · 2 July 2017]

Although fairly engrossing this tends to lose its lustre after the first half hour which is roughly the point at which Vanessa Redgrave's character is killed off. Ms Redgrave is the best thing by far in the film and though Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson just about keep her from actually lapping them she leaves them for dead. Samuel West is hopelessly miscast which has the effect of making him seem inept whilst Helena Bonham-Carter wanders about ineffectually as if waiting for guidance in how to approach her role. In terms of overall appearance, period feel, etc, it's hard to fault the film and the social comment is on the mark albeit probably lost on two thirds of the audience. A lush, well-appointed soap.

"Howard's End" or the Beginning of a New Order ...

[ElMaruecan82 · 10/10 · 23 January 2013]

It is quite interesting that the French title says "Return to Howard's End", as if this addition pointed out the inexorable path of life that would allow the central character Margaret Shlegel (Emma Thompson) to own the very house she was once deprived of.

Indeed, when Ruth Wilcox (Vanessa Redgrave) left in her deathbed "Howard's End" to her new friend Margaret, the Wilcoxes couldn't believe she had all her mind, so they burnt the paper. Yet, a series of separate episodes converged to the final inheritance, making up for the first injustice. The French title might mislead by making think the film focuses on Margaret, while it's about a whole ensemble powerfully representing British classes circa 1910.

And as the original title suggests, the focus is "Howard's End" not the estate, but the symbol of the aristocracy's rural roots. The film fittingly opens with Ruth Wilcox wondering alone in the park, with this kind of intimate connection we feel in the places we grew up in. And the sadness that inhabits her heart is palpable. She's obviously misunderstood; since no Wilcox understands "Howard's End", too busy socializing and partying during that very night.

At the same night, Helen Shlegel, Margaret's sister, (Helena Bonham Carter) falls in love with the younger Wilcox son, but it wouldn't outlast the night. The opening incident is amusing, but like every detail in the film, not insignificant, it informs us that the Shlegels are of a German background from their father, they are well-educated middle-class bourgeois highly fond on arts and intellectuals. A few months later, to make up for the whole misunderstanding caused by her sister, Margaret finally meets Ruth Wilcox, in the neighboring house in London and a brief but poignant friendship begins.

Ruth discovers Margaret's social life, but also a woman of ideas, of artistic taste, not blinded by wealth like the Wilcoxes, so she can see the value of "Howard's End" And Margaret falls immediately in love with the house during a visit where she also catches the eye of Mr Wilcox, Anthony Hopkins as the shy, well-mannered but quite abrupt businessman, again a polar opposite to Emma Thompson's temperament (but isn't that what makes their interactions so irresistible?)

When Ruth Wilcox dies with her final wish, Mr Wilcox feels like he owes a gesture to Margaret, some help to find a house. They end up marrying each other, in probably the most awkward proposal from any film. Their union celebrates the constant symbiosis between the old aristocracy and the new enlightened bourgeoisie, but the portrait of the British classes would have been incomplete without lower people. And this is where the Basts enrich the film.

Sam West is Leonard Bast, a young and educated clerk, leaving with Jackie, a vulgarian we suspect to have a troubled past. Bast strikes as a taciturn, sickly and insecure man, and after another incident involving a lost umbrella, the Shlegel sisters grow rapidly fond on him, especially the fiery Helen. But victim of their good intentions, the sisters ask Mr Wilcox for advice: he suggests Bast leaves his company before the bankruptcy. Not only Bast leaves his job, but the previous company prospers and the second fires him. Bast, who was poor, ends up in a worse situation.

Helen can't accept Wilcox' lack of remorse and brings the ill fated Bast and his wife to the Wilcox daughter's wedding party. And while indulging herself to some punch drinking, Jackie recognizes Mr Wilcox and his "gay old habits". The dynamics of the film is constantly driven by incidents; it's all about the serene and honorable standard of the British upper classes, perturbed by wake-up calls. This one illustrates the pervert interactions between the rich and the poor, the same Wilcox who didn't shed a tear for Bast, for "the poor are the poor, and one's sorry for them" didn't care of abusing an underage woman.

Margaret forgives Wilcox, but Helen can't forgive herself to have caused Bast' descent to poverty, she stays close to him. So close that we're not surprised, a few months later, to find her pregnant, for the ultimate plot device that highlighted the British system's greatest sin: hypocrisy. Helen is in the same position than Jackie was because of Wilcox, yet Wilcox forbids her to stay in Howard's End. The rich demonstrates an incredible zeal when the poor degrade British values, while their noble status launder all their faults. Wilcox, no matter how well mannered and intentioned he is, wouldn't allow Helen to stay.

And while his marriage comes to a dead-end, a failure to communicate, it's like Ruth's own spectra commanded the irresponsible Charles, the most foolish thing to do. Enthralled by his new ownership, Charles confronts Bast, and inadvertently kills him, leaving his father in a desperate need of Margaret, more than ever. The loop is looped, and "Howard's End" reveals itself to be more than a story of inheritance and property, it's a magnificent Oscar-winning screenplay made of sumptuously interlocking stories that paint an insightful and incisive portrait of the British classes, their interactions, and perceptions. And the ending translates into a fictional story, the very future of Britain, an aristocratic house left to a bourgeois, and who's going to benefit of it? The son of a poor man.

"Howard's End" is not just a riveting story, carried by superb performances -Emma Thompson totally deserved her Oscar as the sweet, caring but strong-willed Margaret- it's also the magnificent epitaph of an old order, in the same intensity and human resonance than "Gone With the Wind", like only the Ivory-Merchant could have produced.

Speaking of them, I'm glad I watched it after "The Remains of the Day", for the magnificent chemistry between Hopkins and Thompsons, probably the defining on-screen duo of the 90's (both nominated 4 times in this very decade) made up for their previous inhibitions.

Emma Thompson - Anthony Hopkins

[SancarSeckiner · 7/10 · 5 November 2017]

Dir. James Ivory-Pro. Ismail Merchant' s excellent work Howards End , 1992 with Emma Thompson-Anthony Hopkins is adapted from novel of E.M.Foster.

The following year, 1993 , we see another gorgeous performance , the Remains of the Day with same people. This time adaptation is from Kazuo Ishiguro ' s novel. Writer was awarded Nobel Literature Price in 2017.

Recently , we heart that a new co-operation with Emma Thompson- Anthony Hopkins is on the way : King Lear, 2018. This time , director is Richard Eyre.

P.S. Two important adaptation by James Ivory : A Room with a view (E.M.Foster), 1985 and Golden Bowl (Henry James), 2000.

Two additional adaptation info. : A Passage to India(E.M.Foster) by David Lean , 1984 and Washington Square(Henry James) by Agnieszka Holland , 1997.

So subtle, yet so very clever . .

[onewhoseesme · 10/10 · 1 February 2010]

So subtle, yet so very clever. There are some films you watch again and again just because you like them, or something about them. Even if you don't think them among the best ever - they're one of your favorites. This is not that. There are others you really have to watch several times just to penetrate the layers of things hidden - multiple meaning and real subtext. Modern film goers aren't used to this. Many find even the idea of intelligent films that require your intelligence to watch them, a foreign concept. This is one of those.

Now mind you I'm not saying this is a hard film to watch, it is not. It's extremely easy to watch, and very enjoyable - if you like people (or at least the idea of liking people). If you don't like people, you probably won't like this or any period piece. This movie actually has something to say, which is easy to miss. Meaning if you stay on the surface of it, it's very easy to take for granted - looking at the lovely and missing the principles and truths on display. Attention is something you have to Pay, and some are simply not willing to do that. They feel the price of the ticket should have covered it.

If you love excellence then you'll love this film, because it it is filled with excellence. It's not fast paced like a thriller, but not a single moment of the film is wasted. All the transitions from scene to scene are seamless, and every scene is full. The language here is the language of relationships. With one of the stronger underlying themes being that of the Biblical law of reaping what you sow, and accountability for one's actions.

Pay special attention to where the film begins and the offense (morally) that occurs there, where the film ends - and who is given what would have been theirs (at least in part) had the right thing been done instead of the offense, and the way that it all comes about. Which is part of what causes you to not notice it. Believe me, it is so subtle pretty nearly everyone misses it. In an almost altruistic sense the story comes full circle by ending exactly where it began. Watch how the inanimate objects of an umbrella, a sword, and a house participate in the flow of events, and thereby the direction of lives. This is probably the most nuanced film you'll ever see, and it is a masterpiece . . .

fullgrownministry.com

Enjoyable film about the social and class divisions in early 20th century England through the intersection of three families

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 20 April 2020]

Nice rendition based on E.M.Foster's 1910 novel , the most successful rendition to date , dealing with privilege , class difference, and Edwardian time , all of them are brought to compellingly life by tthe magnificent team Merchant-Ivory-Ruth Prawer Jhabvala . A dramatic series of happenings occurrs after two obstinate middle-class sisters Margaret (Emma Thompson) and Heln (Helena Bonham Carter) become involved with the wealthy Wilcox family (Anthony Hopkins , Vanessa Redgrave , James Wilby) and working class Basts (West , Duffett) .

An agreeable and attractive film with a lot of tragic and dramatic elements regarding the wealthy Wilcoxes, the gentle and idealistic Schlegels and the lower-middle class Basts . An interesting and brooding stuff that sounds like conversation of actual people . It is a visually impressive effort with subtle acting , where a gesture or glance says as much any dialog. Top-notch performances all around . Emma Thompson is especially terrific as the compassionate Margaret , whose Oscar was richly deserved , and her sister Helen played by Helena Boham Catter is really notable . They are both better than one could possibly have imaginated . While Anthony Hopkins , clearly relishing playing , gives a wonderful piece of work . James Wilby is pretty well , he is a more effective player than heretofore.

It contains colorful and evocative cinematography by Tom Pierece Roberts , his mobile camera work makes wonders on the lush settings, photographing countryside , station , mansion interiors , Banks and cavernous offices of an insurance company . And a classy and sensitive musical score by Richard Robbins , including a long-standing leit motif . The movie is vigorously and enchantingly shot by James Ivory in his usual style . His films usually have a "visual beauty, mature and intelligent themes, shrewd casting and superb acting". This Howard's End won numerous prizes and wide critical acclaim , getting Academy Award to best actress : Emma Thompson , Art direction and production design , Costumes and adapted screenplay . The splendid filmmaker James Ivory directed three features nominated for a 'Best Picture' Academy Award, all produced by Ismail Merchant: A room with a view (1985), Howards End (1992), Remains the day (1993). The three features also all earned nominations for James Ivory as 'Best Director' and for Ruth Prawer Jhabvala as 'Best Adapted Screenplay'. His first films are all set in India and are very much influenced by the style of Satyajit Ray and Jean Renoir. After this period, he filmed three stories in New York and then dedicated his work to the great works of the English literature which made him internationally famous. Examples of this period are The European (1979) and Las Bostonians (1984) by Henry James, Jane Austen in Manhattan (1980) by Jane Austen, Quartet (1981) by Jean Rhys or A room with a view (1985) and Maurice (1987) by E.M. Forster. At age 89, James Ivory became the oldest winner of a competitive BAFTA on 18 Feb. 2018 : Best Adapted Screenplay for Call Me by Your Name (2017) . James Ivory's last feature film as a director was The city of your final destination (2009), which he shot mostly in Argentina from Dec. 2006 to Jan. 2007. Rating : 7/10 . Better than average , worthwhile seeing . Essential and indispensable watching .

Much ado about absolutely nothing

[Qanqor · 3/10 · 25 April 2009]

Quite a disappointment. This movie fit a class that I run into from time to time: the movie that engages me well for the whole movie, such that I don't find out that I hate it until I get to the ending. In this case, it was the kind of ending where the movie doesn't so much end as run out of stuff. That is, there's no real resolution that ties everything together or anything, and you realize that what we've seen is more a series-of-events rather than a cohesive plot. Was it a happy ending? A sad ending? I still can't tell. But it certainly was an unsatisfying ending.

If the plot isn't coherent, neither are the characters. I *still* don't understand a lot of the characters' motivations. Why was Wilcox such an obnoxious, stubborn fool about letting Helen stay one night in the house? When Meg has clearly and superbly delineated his hypocrisy, it just bounces right off of him. He doesn't concede the point, he doesn't deny the point, he just ignores it. That was just a weird way to behave. If nothing else, it paints the guy as a complete, irredeemable jerk. So the movie seems to strike a triumphant note when Meg finally tells him she's leaving him. That was the kind of wonderful moment which made it seem like the film was going somewhere. But then, *poof*, nothing comes of it, she's still with him and kissing him at the end. Huh? She ultimately makes no sense as a character, one can never see what she sees in this jerk, or why she constantly kowtows to him, despite being a strong enough character with everybody else. Then there's the brother, Tippy or Flippy or whatever his name was. Why? Why is he in this movie? He does NOTHING. He adds nothing, does nothing, says almost nothing, he's more a piece of the set than a character. Someone else here also pointed that out. And speaking of props-rather-than-characters, there was Jackie. The first thing I noticed at the end of the film was that she was given NO resolution. So ultimately, she, as a character, went nowhere and amounted to nothing. You could have entirely omitted her and nothing would've been any different. It was also pointed out, very appropriately, the way that Helen's character is slapdash. There's the whole big deal about her stealing umbrellas, then that utterly disappears. Comes off as pretty contrived. And what about the whole original thing with her having the aborted affair with young Wilcox? That too went nowhere and amounted to nothing.

And, by the way, I waited half the movie for the family-history tidbit about the original Mrs. Wilcox having a brother or uncle or someone who asked for that other woman's hand and was rejected-- I waited half the movie for that to become relevant, trying to figure out who that might've been and how they tied in. Answer? Went nowhere, meant nothing, just another irrelevant detail. This movie was a complete soup of irrelevant details.

Yes, the performances were fine (given what the actors had to work with). Yes, the sets and costumes and all provide a fine period recreation. And the music was quite good (but more about that in a minute). For those three things I gave it three stars instead of one. But the fact is, at the end of the movie I find myself frustrated and cheated. There was no real plot, and, in the end, there wasn't a single character in the movie that I *liked*. I had liked Meg for almost the whole movie, but when she went back with The Jerk at the end, that was just too much for me.

And finally, let's talk about the music. I was enraptured when they did the bit with the Beethoven fifth (some of the finest, most moving music ever written). Especially when the naked piano version from the lecture hall morphs into the full, powerful orchestral score. I was excited, thinking, "Excellent! They're using the wonderful 3rd movement as a leitmotif! This'll be great!" But no, as with all else in this film, it means nothing and goes nowhere. It comes back exactly once, and only as a concrete flashback, when Umbrella Man is dreaming of the day he met Helen. What did it signify? Nothing. Just the concrete event.

In short, this film did a great deal to raise my expectations and hopes and extremely little to actually fulfill them.