A Room With A View (1985)
Spouse Hunters: International
Buongiorno and welcome back to I’d Like To Blank The Academy. This next chapter in the ILTBTA saga centers on 1985 Best Picture nominee A Room With A View, starring Helena Bonham Carter as a young woman in the early 20th century torn between two drastically different romantic options and life paths. So pack your Baedeker and formal evening wear and read on!
Previews
What, if anything, did we know about this coming attraction before we watched it?
Ellen: Add this to the pantheon of films about which I would be completely unaware if not for my beloved Gilmore Girls. I know that Maggie Smith has beef about North rooms without a view far apart, when she clearly wanted South rooms with a view and close together. After that, before that, amidst that: who can say!
Tyler: I know jack diddly squat about this movie. Hopefully it stacks up to the other hotel-based movie titled Best Picture nominees I’ve seen (Grand Hotel and The Grand Budapest Hotel), both of which I generally enjoyed. I’ve also never seen a young Helena Bonham Carter or Maggie Smith before, so this should be a fun change of pace from the Harry Potter-based visions I have of them in my head. Let’s check in, shall we?
Plots & Feelings
This one’s pretty self-explanatory.
Short Version (courtesy of IMDb): Lucy meets George in a Florence pensione and the two share a brief romance before Lucy returns home, where she becomes engaged to Cecil. However, it isn't long before George unexpectedly enters her life again.
Long Version (modified from Wikipedia and formatted to fit your screen):
Santa Croce Cathedral; fine leather goods; the Arno River; an English spinster tutting about the lack of view1: these are the sights and delights of Florence, Italy, 1907. Said spinster is Charlotte Bartlett, cousin and chaperone of young Lucy Honeychurch2. The Cockney Signora (the actual character name) had promised them rooms with views in her Pensione Bertolini. The pair continue to bicker about the lack of view and whether it matters well into dinner with their fellow English tourists. It gets to the point where the other holidaymakers are weighing in and acting as intermediaries between the ladies and Mr. Emerson and his son George, who are happy to trade their view-endowed rooms. George and Lucy exchange some significant glances, probably mostly because Lucy is confused by the literal and figurative question marks the young man leaves in his wake.
Looking for plots in all the wrong places (Source) Ellen: Dame Judi Dench in a striped tie and a big ole cloak is *chef’s kiss*.
Tyler: That outfit presumably won her a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress despite being on the screen for all of like five minutes.
Morning comes and brings with it a spectacular view of The Arno and the Duomo. Lucy is playing piano with gusto bordering on physical exertion3, and the Reverend Mr. Beebe is quite impressed, as are the two elderly Misses Alan (they’ll all come up again later). Anyway, while the sheltered Charlotte is being shown Florence by the spicy romance author Eleanor Lavish, Lucy elects to visit Santa Croce Cathedral. She demurely wanders the wondrous structure and meets up with Mr. Emerson, who is not quite as demurely contradicting and contesting the tour guide. He asks that Lucy give George a chance, because the young man cannot (and will not) stop brooding about the big questions in life, which manifests as him creating question marks in his food, among other things.
Lucy exits into a square, and right into the middle of an Italian fistfight! The opposing groups grapple about until one man is fully laid out in front of Lucy, and he’s DEAD!?! She understandably swoons, and George appears out of nowhere to catch her. He wants to trauma-bond about it, and she would like to leave. Cut to the next day, when the English group is taking carriages up into the countryside to see yet another view and picnic. Eleanor Lavish and Charlotte want to gossip, so they send Lucy off to trudge down the unkempt hillside as gracefully as she can. She sees George staring off in the distance (fresh off of yelling his creed from an olive tree), and he strides up and passionately kisses her! Lucy is dumbfounded, Charlotte is scandalized, and George is elated enough that he chooses to walk home in the rain. Back at the hotel, Charlotte uses a gentle brand of manipulation to get Lucy to agree not to tell her mother, or anyone at all, of this “incident.” A bewrinkled George returns to the pensione, but the object of his desire is whisked away by her chaperone all the way back to Surrey.
A swoon with a view (Source) Ellen: I had read beforehand that the crux of this movie was Lucy deciding between a straitlaced fiancé and a bohemian romantic. Throughout this portion of the movie, I kept waiting to meet the free spirit. Was it a fighting man in the square? Was it one of the Italian cab drivers? Oh, it’s this man in a tan suit yelling “love” and “beauty” from a tree? Really? I guess…
Tyler: George’s character is so oddly written and I don’t understand his appeal. He’s barely even a caricature of a bohemian, free-spirited guy. We learn so little about him to support this apparently major character trait, aside from him screaming his creed and I guess moping about societal problems?
In the backyard gardens of Windy Corner4, Lucy has accepted a proposal from the pompous, pince-nez-wearing Cecil Vyse, a man who is proudly without a job and sees his family as superior to the Honeychurches. We’re offered a stilted selection of scenes of their engagement, wherein Lucy’s brother Freddy is clear that he’s not thrilled with the match. Cecil’s mother is particularly hyped after hearing Lucy play piano at her dinner party. In other small town news, a mutual friend, Sir Henry, needs a tenant for his house. Lucy and Mr. Beebe plan to get the elderly Misses Alan in there, but Cecil swoops in and suggests some eccentric randos he met at the National Gallery as a joke. Those randos? None other than Mr. Emerson and George, of course! Speaking of jokes, Lucy and Cecil’s first kiss also occurs…
Cause of death: watching this scene (Source) Ellen: It becomes apparent in these scenes that Cecil is one of those “I hate everyone but you” kind of dudes, and if we’ve learned anything from pop culture about these gentlemen, it’s: RUN!
Excited by the prospect of a new friend, Freddy heads to George’s new place to invite him and Mr. Beebe to bathe in the woods, and they all have a lovely, naked time until the newly engaged couple and Mrs. Honeychurch stroll by! Somehow not eternally embarrassed by this, George is later invited to play tennis at Windy Corner. Cecil brings the only thing he can to a backyard tennis match: mockingly reading the latest Eleanor Lavish book aloud and sneering at a description of two young lovers in a Florentine field. Lucy rushes inside to confront Charlotte about this suspiciously familiar passage, and she is briefly waylaid by George who kisses her again! She yells at Charlotte for telling Eleanor and then at George, whose defense is that her fiancé is terrible and sees her as an object.
Tyler: For a scene that went on for what seemed like forever, what was the point of the lake bathing scene? It seems like we sacrificed actual relationship development between the two main characters so we could watch George develop his friendship with Lucy’s brother. Also, both kisses between George and Lucy involve George somewhat aggressively surprising Lucy with a kiss in a seemingly one-sided display of passion. Lucy’s seems to be so taken aback that it barely looks like she ever kisses him back.
In a fit of decisiveness shocking teen girls everywhere, Lucy breaks off her engagement with Cecil, who takes it better than one would have expected! They agree to keep it quiet. Despite being the initiator, Lucy is not taking it well, and she begins making plans to abscond to Greece with the Misses Alan, with the enlisted support of Charlotte and to the confusion of her mother. The spinsters are not convinced Lucy is still engaged, as she lacks the “glow.” That’s just the tip of the iceberg for the rumor mill to begin churning. It even reaches Mr. Emerson, who is planning to move out of his rental in Surrey almost as quickly as he came due to rheumatism. Lucy crosses paths with him, and a sobbing conversation ensues, wherein the young lady finally admits to herself her feelings for George. Cut to voiceover of a letter from Lucy to Charlotte, detailing hers and George’s honeymoon at Pensione Bertolini, where they have a spectacular view.
Intermission
Even though ILTBTA is free, please indulge us further and enjoy this quick “advertisement.”
This installment of ILTBTA is brought to you by … the Pensione Bertolini!
The Pensione Bertolini: your number-one lodging option for English tourists with their noses buried in Baedeker and unable to fathom a meal more exciting than boiled beef and vegetables. Rooms are affordable as long as you are, at a minimum, part of the lower aristocracy. Views range from sweeping vistas of architecture and the River Arno to dirty brick alleys. Ask us about a day trip to one of Florence’s picturesque nearby villages, and we’ll arrange transportation from a local brother-sister carriage driving team.
Mention ILTBTA when booking, and the Cockney Signora will tell the kitchen not to water down your wine! Don’t be a Berto-weenie, book with Bertolini!
Wiki-Wiki-Whaaat?
Love a good Wikipedia rabbit hole in search of some fun facts? Us too.
A Room With A View’s Wikipedia page has some interesting facts and anecdotes that we recommend you read through, but here are a few of our favorites:
A Room With A View was adapted from the 1908 novel of the same name by E.M. Forster. Some editions of the book include an appendix, written by Forster 50 years after its initial publication, that details Lucy and George’s lives after they elope to Florence.
Tyler: Even though this appendix isn’t particularly happy, I really appreciate Forster going back and “updating” his readers on where the characters are at now and how they responded to different events in their lives. It’s like rebooting a TV show without the forced nostalgia and disappointment.
Two of Forster’s other books, A Passage to India and Howards End, were also adapted into Best Picture nominated films.
Ellen: You could say the Academy gives his work four-sters ★!
Forster was offered $25,000 for the film rights to ARWAV in 19465, but he refused. After his death in 1970, King’s College at Cambridge (his alma mater) assumed the rights to his books. Following years of refusing film offers, a film enthusiast professor became chief executor and allowed for Merchant Ivory Productions to produce ARWAV.
Director James Ivory argued with Dame Judy Dench on set after he suggested, amongst other things, that she play her character Eleanor Lavish as Scottish.
The Villa di Maiano was used to film the Pensione Bertolini where the main characters first stayed in Florence.
Ellen: As long as no one tries to replace delicious Italian food with boiled beef, I’m down to visit!
Oscar NomNomNomz
Since we all know a movie is nothing without the food and drink it incorporates.
It’s now time to award the Oscar for Best Snacktor in a Supporting Role6. And the Pensione Bertolini-heavy nomnomnominees are:
A picnic packed by the Cockney Signora
Lemonade (which we
suspecthope is spiked)George’s dinner he fashioned into a question mark
And the Oscar goes to … lemonade! Unfortunately, we drank the lemonade because it’s been so hot here in Houston, so we will accept this award on its behalf.
Fill In The Blank
How did we really feel about The Academy nominating this?
Ellen: I’d like to present the Academy with a plate of food in the form of a question mark. It’s not charming enough for me to simply be happy with just existing with the characters and their lives: I need a point with these people. And one might say, the point is Lucy’s internal struggle between Cecil and George, but it’s TOO internal! I can’t tell if it’s the character or HBC’s performance, but I did not understand what she was thinking except when she was rolling her eyes. If she’s got a personality besides piano, then the confines of the society are too tight for me to see it. The uptight, blundering, self-deprecating-to-avoid-responsibility character of Charlotte was a far cry from the formidable women I’m used to seeing Maggie Smith portray, but I thought it was still more interesting than the main plot. My understanding is that this movie was quite well-received, so the nomination was by no means a hot take, but not for me.
Tyler: I’d like to remind the Academy that not every British period piece is worthy of a nomination. At first glance, ARWAV seemingly checks all the requisite Oscar bait boxes: a setting that allows for some noteworthy costuming and production design; a strong enough lead performance from a relatively unknown, young actress; and, most importantly, a difficult romantic decision from that female lead. Tie in the fact that the third point is made even more complicated by the first point (given the societal expectations Lucy is subject to during that era), add in some big-name British actors, and (on paper) I can see how the Academy came to the conclusion that this was Best Picture worthy.
Beneath the surface, though, ARWAV was painfully British in the most boring way possible. The characters range from “technically there” (Lucy and her entire family) to downright unlikeable (hello George); Daniel Day-Lewis’ Cecil was at least insufferable on purpose. With respect to the central romance, Lucy and George barely spent any time together at all (even their two kisses had people around), so their “love story” felt completely unearned. As I’ve noted before, when the timeline of the main love story compares favorably to The Bachelor, I’m going to have a hard time taking it seriously. Quantity of time aside, I also didn’t see any chemistry between the two of them, which theoretically could’ve made up for the lack of one-on-one time. Alas, ARWAV is not my cup of tea.
Let The Credits Roll
Thanks for reading! Some quick housekeeping as you exit the theatre:
If you have plots and feelings of your own (on the movie or ILTBTA in general), feel free to comment on the post or simply reply to the email. If you liked reading this: tell your friends! If you hated reading this: tell your friends how much you hated it by forwarding it to them!
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If you’d like to start a wild Best Picture journey of your own, feel free to download a copy of The Spreadsheet. Bonus: checking off the boxes is oddly satisfying.
Post-Credits Scene
Get a sneak peek at the next ILTBTA installment.
And now for a completely different take on the young female romantic lead, it’s Bette Davis in 1938’s Jezebel! You can see her and her giant skirts with a subscription to HBO Max, as well as for a small fee on most other streaming services.
Until then, remember: there Arno rules in love!
Sounds like my ex-wife!
Beg pardon, but a first draft-sounding name.
Tyler: Nothing like going to an exciting foreign country to … stay inside and play piano?
Ellen: Maybe it’s Lucy’s equivalent of when we go see a movie in a charming local theater when we travel?
Ellen: Look, I get the desire to name your family estate, but Windy Corner is some Wuthering Heights level of bleak.
That’s about $370,000 in today’s dollars!
Results tabulated and certified by the accountants at Ernst & Yum™.
Melodrama without the drama - right? It’s been decades since I’ve seen this movie and my overwhelming memory was that it was lovely to look at and had great costumes. Always remember: turn-of-the-century women had no voice (or personality, or brain for anything but gossip) until they found ‘the right man’.