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There is nothing I love more than a good period piece romance. A large portion of my movie collection is various miniseries and film adaptations of classic literature just waiting for me to pull them off the shelf the next time I’m home sick or in need of a break from life. Almost instantly they make me feel better, filling me with the sort of innocent joy that can only be found in tales of love that are restricted because of the culture of the time. The kind of love story with a lot of talk and veiled flirtation and minimal–but exciting–physical contact. One of my favorite of these is A Room with a View.
E.M Forster’s 1908 novel A Room with a View holds the honor of being the only one of the author’s books I ever made it through (this despite the best efforts of my AP English teacher in high school). Most of this has to do with the absence of any dark and lurking subtext about social class, but also because of its rather simple plot and clipping pace. In fact, this straightforward narrative lent itself to become one of the best film adaptations I’ve ever seen and is why I adore the 1985 Merchant-Ivory rendition so much.
The story follows Lucy Honeychurch (Helena Bonham Carter), a young English woman on holiday in Italy with her older cousin, Charlotte Bartlett (Maggie Smith). While there, they meet a whole crew of quirky characters including a romance novelist (Judy Dench), a reverend (Simon Callow), and the unique bohemian father and son family by the name of Emerson (Denholm Elliott and Julian Sands). The younger Mr. Emerson, George, takes a liking to Lucy after a shared experience watching a crime of passion on the streets of Florence. So, in a rather picturesque moment in the countryside, George takes her up in his arms and kisses her. Of course this is a scandal to cousin Charlotte, and she removes the vacation to another part of the country.
In contrast, Lucy and Cecil sharing a deliciously awkward kiss.
The story then moves to the much tamer England where Lucy is engaged to the snobby, uptight, and not at all romantic Cecil Vyse (Daniel Day-Lewis). Even Lucy’s own mother (Rosemary Leach) and brother Freddy (Rupert Graves) can hardly fake enthusiasm for the upcoming nuptials. But when the Emersons move into town, Lucy is forced to recognize whose company she really wants and what kind of person she really is.
So in a way, A Room with a View is like most other romantic-comedies, with two options but one glaringly obvious choice. But the story is more sympathetic because it is also about a young woman growing up. Lucy’s still under the influence of her old maid cousin and has yet to discover that she has a more passionate spirit than what society might expect (except for the fact that everyone from the reverend to the older Mr. Emerson suspects her to be fit for more excitement than as a wife to a pretentious snob like Mr. Vyse). She finds herself through her relationship with George Emerson, but the film manages to be as much a coming-of-age tale as it is a romance.
The film also stands out from other rom-coms since it’s set in the early 20th Century. In Merchant-Ivory’s usual fashion, the film has gorgeous production design and costuming to create a sense of time and place, both in exotic Italy and pastoral England. But it should also be noted that the sets aren’t distracting since the actors seem to fit in them so well. The Honeychurch family, in fact, seems quite natural and modern in this setting with all their joking and rough housing. That these relationships translate so well to a modern audience is a the sign of some truly great filmmaking.
One of the fun, small moments that end each scene: the Honeychurch family isn't excited about Cecil.
And of course there’s the perfection of a cast that works well as an ensemble. Helena Bonham Carter is in one of her first film roles, and her youth and inexperience fit Miss Honeychurch’s naiveté to a T. Judy Dench is also a delight as the mischievous writer that regales George and Lucy’s Italian adventure in her latest terrible novel. But Daniel Day-Lewis as a turn-of-the-Century douche is the best. Day-Lewis has proven time and again that he is a great actor in more impressive roles, but this is my favorite. He’s skinny and awkward and so unaware of how silly he looks to other people as this character. It’s really a treat to see the actor as the comic relief in a film.
And in the end, the whole movie is a treat. It’s frivolity at its best, like a perfectly written pop song. I can never find anything I would want to change in A Room with a View (well, maybe trim back the weirdly long bathe-in-the-lake scene), and I’m always delighted when I sit down and watch it. It’s funny and sweet and easy to get caught up in the world of this rather simple tale. And if nothing else, it reminds me of how exciting an on-screen kiss can be.
Directed by James Ivory. Adapted for the screen by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. Cinematography by Tony Pierce-Roberts. Edited by Humphrey Dixon. Production design by Brian Ackland-Snow and Gianni Quaranta. Art direction by Elio Altramura and Brian Savegar. Costume design by Jenny Beavan and John Bright. Original music by Richard Robbins.
Starring: Maggie Smith, Helena Bonham Carter, Denholm Elliott, Julian Sands, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Judi Dench.
