Howard's End also saw Merchant Ivory's first of two collaborations with both Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins. Thompson won her only acting Oscar for her role as Margaret Schlegel, a young woman who currently resides in London with her sister Helen and brother Tibby. The country estate of the title is an abode owned by the Wilcox family with whom the Schlegel sisters have their various dealings with over the course of the film. Their initial interaction comes when Helen rashly agrees to marry the younger Wilcox brother before they both change their mind. But Margaret gets wind of the event and the social faux pas that has been committed inadvertently leads her to befriend the lady of the house, Ruth. With Ruth at death's door and the Schlegel's requiring a new home; she bequeaths Howard's End to her newest friend. But Ruth's husband Henry, played by Hopkins, and the rest of her family tear up her handwritten will and agree not to tell Margaret of his late wife's wishes. However his guilt over this decision ends up with agreeing to find the Shlegels a new abode and in turn he starts to grow fond of Margaret. Meanwhile the sisters take to Leonard Bast, working class gentleman who they view as being intelligent beyond his standing. It's implied that Helen and Leonard are drawn to each other despite the fact that he's married to the quite uncouth Jacky. The Wilcoxes, the Schelgels and the Basts all collide in the film's memorable wedding scene in which revelations are made and families come to blows. The final third of the film really sees Thompson at her best as she realises the importance of those around her and sees her learn the ultimate truth about her place at Howard's End.
There's no denying that Thompson's performance in Howard's End see the actress at her very best. Three years after making her big screen debut, in then husband Kenneth Branagh's version on Henry V, Howard's End really made Thompson a star. She deals well with Forster's snappy dialogue and makes you care about the fact that Margaret missed out on owning the house she truly deserved. Thompson perfectly portrays Margaret's transformation from the free and easy Miss Shlegel to the reserved future Mrs Wilcox. Her body language alone is able to convey a multitude of emotions and at times she's the best thing about the entire film. I feel that Helena Bonham Carter deserves an equal amount of praise for her role as the feisty Helen, who is the one character who speaks her mind regardless if she's in the wrong. Carter has certainly grown a lot since we last saw her in A Room with a View but still maintains that joyful innocence that makes her the perfect actor to appear in these sort of films. Despite his character being detestable for the most part, Anthony Hopkins still lends some gravitas to the role of Henry. Hopkins is particularly great at perfecting the small looks that suggest that he is developing feelings for Margaret. One thing that confused me slightly was the fact that Vanessa Redgrave received a Supporting Actress nomination for her small role as Ruth. Although I found Redgrave captivating, she was only on screen for a matter of minutes and never astounded me in the way that Thompson did. As you would expect, the film looked fantastic with every costume and set feeling utterly convincing. The film won a further two awards; one for the brilliant Art Direction and one for Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's adapted screenplay which was incredibly well-paced from start to end. Despite all of these positives I couldn't help but feel oddly removed from Howard's End and it wasn't a film that I ever warmed to. Thompson's performance aside, there was nothing much that really made the film stand out from all of the other costume dramas around and I felt that Ivory could've made more use out of having the talented Hopkins on board.
Luckily, just one year later, Ivory got his chance to better utilise Hopkins and pair him with Thompson in such a way that the trio would create something special. The film was The Remains of The Day, another literary adaptation this time of the book written by Kazuo Ishiguro, with Jhabvala once again on screenplay duties. The movie centres round Hopkins' Mr Stevens, the loyal butler at Darlington Hall, a building that has just been saved from demolition by a new American owner Mr Lewis. Whilst in the present day Stevens begins a journey to see Darlington Hall's former housekeeper Miss Kenton, the film flashes back to explore their relationship over the years. Through these flashback scenes we quickly learn that Stevens is a loyal butler who never questions his master's orders and always believes in formality. His style somewhat clashes with that of Kenton's to the extent that he can't understand why she's brought a flower in to brighten up his study. They later argue over the extent of duties that Stevens' elderly underbutler father can perform after she notices that he's becoming more forgetful. These scenes culminate in Stevens learning of his father's death during a banquet and we see him continue to serve despite receiving this tragic news. Stevens' lack of outward emotion is a recurring theme of the film with Hopkins excelling at letting the audience know when his character his hurting inside. This is certainly true of Hopkins' relationship with his employer, Lord Darlington who is gradually revealed to be involved in having direct contact with the Nazi party. In the present day we learn that Darlington has recently died after being outed as a Nazi conspirator in The Daily Mail. Stevens lack of opinion on any matter extends to his possible romance with Miss Kenton who is seemingly drawn to her boss. The two share several glances over the years but it's his lack of ability to open up that ultimately sees her marry another man. Their exchanges in the present day are extremely emotional and their parting on a seaside bench is particularly memorable. As the film comes to an end Ivory suggests that Stevens is like a trapped bird who is stuck in Darlington Hall until his dying day.
The Remains of the Day was almost a purely perfect film primarily thanks to the complex performance from Hopkins. Hopkins' performance lets the audience in on Steven's secrets to the extent where we realise he's lying even though the other characters don't. It's his subtle turn in the film that makes the reserved Stevens a character we want to follow despite not being an overly likeable person. Whilst not as emotionally-stunted as Stevens, Emma Thompson still makes us believe that Miss Kenton isn't as open about her feelings as she should be. This is demonstrated when Darlington orders Stevens to fire some refugee maids, an order that Kenton is opposed to but at the same time isn't prepared to wholly stand up for what she believes in. Thompson and Hopkins share a lot more chemistry here than they did in Howard's End which is odd seeing as their characters were a couple in Ivory's previous film. I believe that their chemistry is needed here in order for the audience to will Stevens and Kenton to be together even though we realise that their match is doomed to fail. James Fox provides reliable support as Darlington as he portrays him as a man who wants to do the right thing but is ultimately swayed by stronger forces. Both Christopher Reeve and Hugh Grant are on form as Lewis and Darlington's journalist godson respectively with the latter particularly shining in a scene where Stevens has to explain the facts of life to him. Richard Robbins score perfectly captures the emotional nature of the film whilst once again the art and costume direction are flawless. Unfortunately, The Remains of The Day had the bad luck to come up against Schindler's List at that year's Oscars and therefore didn't win a single one of the eight Oscars it had been nominated for. I feel that it's a real shame that Hopkins in particular didn't win a Best Actor Oscar for what I consider to be his best performance to date.
Next time we see Emma Thompson win her second Oscar as she introduces a new British actress to the public's attention.
There's no denying that Thompson's performance in Howard's End see the actress at her very best. Three years after making her big screen debut, in then husband Kenneth Branagh's version on Henry V, Howard's End really made Thompson a star. She deals well with Forster's snappy dialogue and makes you care about the fact that Margaret missed out on owning the house she truly deserved. Thompson perfectly portrays Margaret's transformation from the free and easy Miss Shlegel to the reserved future Mrs Wilcox. Her body language alone is able to convey a multitude of emotions and at times she's the best thing about the entire film. I feel that Helena Bonham Carter deserves an equal amount of praise for her role as the feisty Helen, who is the one character who speaks her mind regardless if she's in the wrong. Carter has certainly grown a lot since we last saw her in A Room with a View but still maintains that joyful innocence that makes her the perfect actor to appear in these sort of films. Despite his character being detestable for the most part, Anthony Hopkins still lends some gravitas to the role of Henry. Hopkins is particularly great at perfecting the small looks that suggest that he is developing feelings for Margaret. One thing that confused me slightly was the fact that Vanessa Redgrave received a Supporting Actress nomination for her small role as Ruth. Although I found Redgrave captivating, she was only on screen for a matter of minutes and never astounded me in the way that Thompson did. As you would expect, the film looked fantastic with every costume and set feeling utterly convincing. The film won a further two awards; one for the brilliant Art Direction and one for Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's adapted screenplay which was incredibly well-paced from start to end. Despite all of these positives I couldn't help but feel oddly removed from Howard's End and it wasn't a film that I ever warmed to. Thompson's performance aside, there was nothing much that really made the film stand out from all of the other costume dramas around and I felt that Ivory could've made more use out of having the talented Hopkins on board.
Luckily, just one year later, Ivory got his chance to better utilise Hopkins and pair him with Thompson in such a way that the trio would create something special. The film was The Remains of The Day, another literary adaptation this time of the book written by Kazuo Ishiguro, with Jhabvala once again on screenplay duties. The movie centres round Hopkins' Mr Stevens, the loyal butler at Darlington Hall, a building that has just been saved from demolition by a new American owner Mr Lewis. Whilst in the present day Stevens begins a journey to see Darlington Hall's former housekeeper Miss Kenton, the film flashes back to explore their relationship over the years. Through these flashback scenes we quickly learn that Stevens is a loyal butler who never questions his master's orders and always believes in formality. His style somewhat clashes with that of Kenton's to the extent that he can't understand why she's brought a flower in to brighten up his study. They later argue over the extent of duties that Stevens' elderly underbutler father can perform after she notices that he's becoming more forgetful. These scenes culminate in Stevens learning of his father's death during a banquet and we see him continue to serve despite receiving this tragic news. Stevens' lack of outward emotion is a recurring theme of the film with Hopkins excelling at letting the audience know when his character his hurting inside. This is certainly true of Hopkins' relationship with his employer, Lord Darlington who is gradually revealed to be involved in having direct contact with the Nazi party. In the present day we learn that Darlington has recently died after being outed as a Nazi conspirator in The Daily Mail. Stevens lack of opinion on any matter extends to his possible romance with Miss Kenton who is seemingly drawn to her boss. The two share several glances over the years but it's his lack of ability to open up that ultimately sees her marry another man. Their exchanges in the present day are extremely emotional and their parting on a seaside bench is particularly memorable. As the film comes to an end Ivory suggests that Stevens is like a trapped bird who is stuck in Darlington Hall until his dying day.
The Remains of the Day was almost a purely perfect film primarily thanks to the complex performance from Hopkins. Hopkins' performance lets the audience in on Steven's secrets to the extent where we realise he's lying even though the other characters don't. It's his subtle turn in the film that makes the reserved Stevens a character we want to follow despite not being an overly likeable person. Whilst not as emotionally-stunted as Stevens, Emma Thompson still makes us believe that Miss Kenton isn't as open about her feelings as she should be. This is demonstrated when Darlington orders Stevens to fire some refugee maids, an order that Kenton is opposed to but at the same time isn't prepared to wholly stand up for what she believes in. Thompson and Hopkins share a lot more chemistry here than they did in Howard's End which is odd seeing as their characters were a couple in Ivory's previous film. I believe that their chemistry is needed here in order for the audience to will Stevens and Kenton to be together even though we realise that their match is doomed to fail. James Fox provides reliable support as Darlington as he portrays him as a man who wants to do the right thing but is ultimately swayed by stronger forces. Both Christopher Reeve and Hugh Grant are on form as Lewis and Darlington's journalist godson respectively with the latter particularly shining in a scene where Stevens has to explain the facts of life to him. Richard Robbins score perfectly captures the emotional nature of the film whilst once again the art and costume direction are flawless. Unfortunately, The Remains of The Day had the bad luck to come up against Schindler's List at that year's Oscars and therefore didn't win a single one of the eight Oscars it had been nominated for. I feel that it's a real shame that Hopkins in particular didn't win a Best Actor Oscar for what I consider to be his best performance to date.
Next time we see Emma Thompson win her second Oscar as she introduces a new British actress to the public's attention.
No comments:
Post a Comment