A Room with a View (1986)

Such a frustrating disappointment

Memorable, crazy movie

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

I shall be forgiven for using this somewhat odd headline (as an analogy to a famous book written by Jerome K. Jerome) but the one scene with the 3 naked men (one of them being a vicar) taking a bath in a pond and chasing each other around it is quite striking, because it does not really fit in with the prudery from the rest of the movie and it also illustrates that the whole story does not lack a certain sense of humour.I had the movie in good memory from my first watching in the movie-theatre back in the eighties and I was not disappointed now when streaming it, although I realized only this time that it is in fact a coming-of-age story besides being a period movie. It is the story of a well-educated teenager from the Edwardian period who has yet to learn to listen to her heart instead of trying to meet the expectations that strict society rules seem to demand from her. This is not such an easy achievement if you were raised in those days where society rules plaid a much bigger role than today and if you had always a chaperon next to you. Then there was the great financial dependence of women, which may have made them consider proposals in a positive way which they would not have otherwise. This must be taken into account to understand why Lucy at first accepted the engagement to Cecil (great performance by Daniel Day Lewis), a textbook example snob but wealthy enough for not having to work. Cecil however, is not the only snob in the movie. It seems that snobbery was quite widespread in the English upper classes in those days and the film is quite good in making fun of it, especially in the Italian scenes at the beginning. Less convincing in my eyes is the stabbing scene in the center of Florence with a young Italian guy getting killed out of the blue, which makes Lucy faint and fall into the strong arms of George. Also the fact that George and Lucy meet again in England seems to be a bit too coincidental (according to George it is fate) but on the other hand coincidents do happen and if so they are likely to be narrated.Anyway, it is quite enjoyable to watch unfold the obstacles to a love story in a period only about 110 years from now. There is already bicycles, trains and even tennis so that it is more the changes in society which makes it seem such a faraway time.

The first major Merchant Ivory motion picture won multiple awards primarily for visual elegance, stunning period wardrobe. and a glorious score. The characters are portrayed as they are in the EM Forster novel but unlike the 2007 Masterpiece Theater A Room With a View the storyboard is not. Many famous performers are featured among them a short and memorable appearance by Judi Dench but in my opinion Maggie Smith changing the fcus of the role of Charlotte as EM Forster wrote her is the finest. The Forster them of deceiving oneself to fit in with the rules of one's society ruins one's chance at happiness is perhaps better portrayed in the tacked on ending of this film than in the Forster novel.

The reason why people are constantly comparing this to Jane Eyre is beyond me. I couldn't care less about how beautiful Italy is because I myself was born there, and the cast is something that I seldom rate compared to the writing. it's hard for me to label this a "romance" when there barely was any interaction and zero chemistry between the unlikable characters: Lucy is a one-dimensional, annoying and irresponsible girl, which obviously, since the target audience is supposed to be naive little girls, experiences a sudden epiphany that makes her realize her mistakes and just how dumb she has been throughout the whole movie (how can you dislike this masterpiece?), Cecil is a complete and utter plot device, whose sole function is to drive the story to an end, being a downright flat stereotype of a snobby English gentleman, George is... who's George again? Oh, right, the "nice guy" who is supposed to hook up with the protagonist somehow, in spite of being uninteresting and bland, I don't think the other characters even had a purpose to begin with, so I'm not going to make a list of them. The romantic side of the movie doesn't show up until the latter half, which is slightly too late for my standards. The ending is very predictable and quite disappointing. Calling this movie "romantic" would be like trying to squeeze orange juice out of a prune, side effects included. According to the reviews above me I can speculate that the users who enjoyed this fall into two different categories: first there are people who watched it into their childhood/adolescence, who probably have completely forgotten about this movie, nevertheless they're inclined to rate it highly regardless of the way their opinion changed in their current age, no critical thinking whatsoever. The latter category is unable to find the flaws in this movie because they're blinded by the beauty of the colors and the setting, often coming with an extreme fawning of the actors and their performance. It was hilarious to see the characters mentioning Italian literature and culture, however, my chuckles only lasted twice or thrice. I would have appreciated it more if the movie kept being on its funny side, rather than degenerating in a dull romance. But then again, the majority of the reviews above me hardly feature any statement that isn't made with the mental age of 12, and is the reason I'm prone to distrust IMDb, especially when it comes to movies whose rating is higher than 7.0.

in this case, important is the taste. clear, delicate, special. like spring air. because , portrait of a society, charming love story, full of drops of lovely humor, creation of an extraordinary cast, adaptation of lovely novel, it is a kind of sentimental jewel - small, hided, admirable. a film like a state of soul. or slice of holiday because each viewer is part of it. because the joy of performance, the Italian images, the crumbs of Victorian manner to understand reality, the roots of a special revolution, the masks and the bath scene, Maggy Smith in one of her adorable roles, all is part of a seductive circle. a film like an open window.