Masterpiece Theatre: Room With a View

Amazon.com Made for Britains ITV network, this Masterpiece presentation of A Room with a View introduces a fuller version of E.M Forster's 1908 novel. If it isn't as romantic as Merchant Ivory's 1985 film--with that picturesque kiss at the end--Nicholas Renton's adaptation offers its own unique charms. For one, it provides a look at the self-possessed woman Lucy Honeychurch (Elaine Cassidy, Felicia's Journey) a decade after her Italian sojourn. The action alternates, somewhat confusingly, between 1912 and 1922. In both cases, Lucy travels from Surrey to Florence. On the first trip, she and her companion, Miss Bartlett (a fidgety Sophie Thompson) are both taken aback by the left-leaning Mr. Emerson (Timothy Spall) and his railway clerk son, George (Rafe Spall). Not only are the men outspoken in their views, but George is Lucy's social inferior. Despite the obvious attraction between them, she accepts a proposal from the bookish Cecil Vyse (Laurence Fox, giving a more sympathetic performance than Daniel Day-Lewis). For the tragic ending, screenwriter Andrew Davies (Bleak House) draws on notes the author left behind, but didnt incorporate into his book. Ideally, Davies should've turned to Forster's more upbeat 1958 epilogue A View without a Room. Further, it takes awhile to warm up to the central character (previously portrayed by Helena Bonham Carter), though Cassidy ultimately rises to the occasion--especially in the post-war sequences. It's unfortunate Davies didnt support her efforts with stronger material. --Kathleen C. Fennessy Product Description A fresh and poignant adaptation of E.M. Forsters classic novel, A Room with a View tells the story of the coming of age of Lucy Honeychurch in 1912 Florence, Italy. Longing to burst free from the repression of British upper class manners and mores, she must wrestle with her inner romantic longings to choose between the passionate George and the priggish but socially suitable Cecil. Review "...a rich, romantic, finely cast production about repressed early-20th century England..." --Brian Lowry, Variety "[Elaine] Cassidy gives an exceptionally natural performance as Lucy, engaging in the age-old and very Jane Austin-ish internal battle between heart and head." --Brian Lowry, Variety "...bubbles with terrific performances, including that of Elaine Cassidy, who manages to show the conflicts in Lucy's heart and mind without making her look like a ditherer." --David Wiegand, San Francisco Chronicle
ASIN: B0015LPRSI
VSKU: DBV.B0015LPRSI.N
Condition: New
Author/Artist:Nicholas Renton|.
Binding: Dvd
Note: Any images shown are stock photographs and product may differ from what is shown.