Rating: PG
Genre:
Comedy Drama
Theatrical Release: 03/07/1986(USA)
Release Date: 10/02/2007
SubTitles: English/French/Espanol
Dubbed: English/French/Espanol
Sound: DTS
Run Time: 117 Minutes
Flags: Mild Violence, Nudity, Adult Situations
Distributor/Studio: BBC Warner
Adapted by
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala from the novel by
E.M. Forster,
A Room with a View is a shining example of
Merchant-Ivory's ability to achieve maximum quality and opulence at minimum cost. Set during the Edwardian Era, the film stars
Helena Bonham Carter as
Lucy Honeychurch, who like all proper young British ladies is compelled to tour Europe in the company of an older chaperone -- in this instance, her spinster cousin
Charlotte Bartlett (
Maggie Smith). While in Italy, the ladies make the acquaintance of a wide variety of personalities; the most fascinating of their fellow tourists -- at least in
Lucy's eyes -- is free-spirited
George Emerson (
Julian Sands). Aware that her cousin is becoming too familiar with
Emerson,
Charlotte demands that
Lucy return to England posthaste.
Lucy complacently settles for the tiresomely traditional courtship of nerdish
Cecil Vyse (
Daniel Day-Lewis) -- and then
Mr. Emerson moves into the neighborhood.
Lucy now finds herself on the horns of a dilemma: Should she opt for a safe, proper marriage to
Cecil, or the bohemian unpredictability of the charismatic
Emerson? A winner of three Academy Awards,
A Room with a View is not what one could call fast-moving, but fans of the
Merchant-
Ivory team will enjoy luxuriating in the film's leisurely pace and stimulating cast of characters.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
