Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Days 330-331: Emma T and Ivory Work Together in Perfect Harmony

Back in the 1980s we witnessed the first success of director James Ivory and producer Ismail Merchant as their adaptation of Forster's A Room with A View was nominated for Best Picture. Their success continued with two Best Picture nominations in the 1990s, the first of which came via another Forster adaptation in Howard's End

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. 

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Days 294-295: Forster's Flicks

Recently, when reviewing Tess, I talked about how a lot of the Best Picture nominees have been adaptations of classic works of English literature. That is the theme that ties the next two films on the list as both have been adapted from novels by EM Forster.

The first film, A Passage to India, is also the list picture to be directed by the legendary David Lean whose films had previously featured in four different posts. By this time in his career Lean had become synonymous with the audacious epic and, from a visual standpoint, A Passage to India. But, unlike some of his other films, I feel that A Passage to India was as concerned with its characters as it was with its stunning scenery and incredibly filmed set pieces. Set in during the 1920s, it tells that tale of Adela Quested who journeys to India to visit her fiancée Ronny who has become a magistrate in the country. Adela is joined by Ronny's mother Mrs Moore who is a lot less stuffy than a lot of the English folk they encounter in India. During one of her first nights in India, Mrs Moore meets the widowed Dr Aziz and the two strike up a friendship of sorts as they talk about their lives. Adela quickly discovers that Ronny's friends in India have quite a bigoted view on the natives and try to keep themselves to themselves as much as they can. After asking Aziz to help them find the real India, Adela and Mrs Moore quickly find themselves on an expedition to the Marabar Caves. When Mrs Moore becomes claustrophobic, Adela and Aziz go along with only a guide for company. However, Adela later emerges from the cave with her clothes torn and it's later insinuated that she's been raped by Aziz. Although the hysterical English folk rally round Adela and Ronny, Mrs Moore fails to believe her friend would act in such a way while Aziz's ally Richard Fielding feels the same. The court case soon brings out everybody's true feelings and results in a couple of tragic events along the way. I also found that everything that came after the court case went on far too long and A Passage to India could've ended about ten minutes before it did.

When I see a film is over two and half hours long I often approach it with some trepidation however A Passage to India just flew by. Part of the reason for this was the combination of Lean's sumptuous direction and is adaptation of Forster's compelling novel. Ernest Day's cinematography transported you to 1920s India allowing us to experience the sights and sounds of what the country offered at the time. Lean's long-time collaborator Maurice Jarre won another Oscar for his original score which once again perfectly suited the tone of the film. But possibly the biggest reason for A Passage to India's success was in its casting of actors who brilliantly brought the characters to life. I'm not alone in thinking that the stand out performance in the film belonged to Peggy Ashcroft as Mrs Moore. In fact Ashcroft won the Best Supporting Actress prize for her portrayal of an elderly woman who is still a lot more open-minded than her younger counterparts. Ashcroft's performance is both tender and strong as she makes you really believe in the courage of Mrs Moore's convictions. I do feel that Judy Davis' performance as Adela should have also earned her an Oscar as the Australian actress superbly portrayed a rather naive English rose. Davis lit up the screen as the damaged yet principled young woman who struggled to know where her loyalties should lie. Similarly excellent was Victor Banerjee as the wronged Dr. Aziz as he is able to switch his character from eternal optimist to jaded realist. Fantastic support is lent from a cavalcade of memorable British actors including Nigel Havers, Richard Wilson, James Fox and Art Malik. In fact the only questionable piece of casting comes in the form of Alec Guinness as Indian Professor Godbole. It just seemed a little odd that an incredibly famous Brit was playing a role that could've easily been taken by a talented Indian actor. But that's just a minor criticism in a costume drama that I enjoyed a lot more than I thought I would. Though overlong, I was swept up by the performances and Lean's superb direction. It's odd to think that the master of the epic will no longer feature on this list and I feel that A Passage to India was a perfect way to end his marvellous career.

Picking up the baton from Lean in a way were director James Ivory and producer Ismail Merchant who became synonymous with costume drama during the 1980s and 1990s. Merchant Ivory productions' first entry into this blog comes in the form of another Forster adaptation - A Room with A View. In addition to being the first Merchant Ivory film to feature during the challenge, A Room with A View was also one of the first movies to be co-produced by the then-fledgling Film 4 company. Although a lot lighter in tone, A Room with A View shares many similarities with A Passage to India including the fact that it focuses on a foreign holiday taken by a young woman and an older companion. In this case the country is Italy, the young woman is Miss Lucy Honeychurch and her older companion is her cousin and chaperone Charlotte Bartlett. The first half of the film looks at their stay in Italy which is initially plagued by the fact that they haven't got the room with the view they ordered. Their holiday is partly influenced by the people they meet including their local vicar, a pair of gentlewomen and a worldly novelist who is currently researching her next book. However Lucy's head is turned by the free-thinking George Emerson, who is staying at her hotel along with his father. Their time in Italy is cut short by a kiss that George steals from Lucy, an act that Charlotte is later appalled by. The second half of the film then takes place in Lucy's small Surrey town where her somewhat foppish family is criticised by the local snobs. One such snob, Cecil Vyse, is intrigued by Lucy and eventually asks her to marry him, a proposition she accepts. But when George, and later Charlotte, arrive in town things chance for Cecil and Lucy all together.

The third part of the Merchant Ivory family was screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala who often proved adept at providing accessible adaptations of English literature. I certainly think she did a great job with A Room with a View as I found the film to be well-paced and delightfully comic throughout. The majority of the characters within the film, with the possible exception of Lucy, were utter eccentrics but I have to say I didn't mind this too much. Jhabvala also broke down the story beautifully by interspersing various sections with the original titles of the book's chapters and was rewarded for her work here with an Oscar. Tony Pierce-Roberts' perfectly captured both the Italian scenery and the English countryside giving both unique identities and making sure they were the ideal backdrop for the story to take place. Richard Robbins' score provided great accompaniment for each scene and really enhanced the joy of the film. The art direction and costume design was equally fantastic and both areas were similarly honoured by Oscar. In another similarity with A Passage to India, A Room With a View is bolstered by a cast of reliable English actors. Maggie Smith is excellent as the reserved Charlotte as she excels at playing the woman who has never really lived life. A fresh-faced Helena Bonham Carter excels as the innocent Lucy who grows over the course of the film as do her feelings for Julian Sands' George. Plenty of reliable support is provided by Rupert Graves as Lucy's idiot brother, Judi Dench as the aforementioned novelist and Simon Callow who goes full-frontal as the local vicar. Interestingly, Daniel Day-Lewis also makes his debut on the blog as the incredibly insensitive Cecil whose incompatibility with Lucy didn't seem to affect his desire to propose to her. Even at this early stage in his career, Day-Lewis proved that he could become the character he was tasked with playing and indeed he is able to portray Cecil as the fool of the piece. Whilst not an outstanding film, A Room with a View was an enjoyably light period drama with plenty of eccentrics played by reliable actors. It perfectly demonstrated why Merchant Ivory were successful for so many years and why they would go on to garner a number of Oscar nominations in the next decade.

Next time we remain in British period drama territory as we focus on a war film with a difference.