The Golden Bowl

Tags

2000's, Anjelica Huston, James Fox, James Ivory, Jeremy Northam, Kate Beckinsale, Merchant Ivory, Nick Nolte, Period Drama, The Golden Bowl, Uma Thurman

Film Title

The Golden Bowl

Director

James Ivory

Starring

• Uma Thurman as Charlotte Stant
• Jeremy Northam as Prince Amerigo
• Kate Beckinsale as Maggie Verver
• Nick Nolte as Adam Verver
• Anjelica Huston as Fanny Assingham
• James Fox as Colonel Bob Assingham

An adaptation of the Henry James novel brought to the screen by Merchant Ivory, The Golden Bowl is an elegantly mounted story of betrayal, adultery and love that is finely acted by a star-studded cast and filled with the right period touches you’d expect from a literary production like this.

It’s the turn of the century and Prince Amerigo is a charming but impoverished Italian prince, from a once noble family. Thankfully, he is engaged to the pretty Maggie Verver; an American heiress whose doting father Adam is a billionaire business tycoon whose work largely relates to the world of art. Yet into the pretty picture once the couple are married and have a baby son is Charlotte Stant, who is a friend of Maggie’s from school, but also the former lover of Amerigo. The couple, as we find out, had to part with one another due to both being poor, but the passionate Charlotte is still very much in love with Amerigo. None of this is known to Maggie, who is a sweet and green girl who thinks the best of everyone. Amerigo panics with Charlotte back in the frame and tries to dissuade her, but he himself can’t deny the fire that still burns intensely within him for her. The two resume their affair, while the driven Charlotte, in an attempt to be closer to him and also secure a comfortable lifestyle, marries the much older Adam. The pair believes that due to Maggie being extremely close to her father that their indiscretions will go unnoticed, which id not the case. Watching from the sidelines is society maven and matchmaker Fanny, who knows the secrets of all parties involved due to her eagle-eyed ways. But as betrayal rises and passions spill over, so do suspicions from Maggie and Adam that something is going on with their spouses. What consequences will emerge due to the intertwined relationships?

The work of Henry James is renowned for at times being difficult to transfer to the screen, but with the talents of James Ivory, Ismail Merchant and Ruth Prawer Jhabvala on board, The Golden Bowl makes for a dazzling film. James Ivory as director loses none of the scathing indictments that Henry James so often focused on, instead bringing out the deceit and treachery with subtle touches and foreshadowing. The symbolism of the eponymous bowl is a great metaphor for the seemingly ideal but cracked underneath unions as the bowl looks so splendid, but has  a flaw when one looks closely upon it. Another excellently written script from Ruth Prawer Jhabvala contributes to the intelligence of the story and the ways that little phrases of dialogue and exchanges can have an extremely big impact on the overall events swirling. Threats and observations from characters are made but hidden behind a veneer of polite society as manipulations begin to figure heavily. Social standing and fortune do come into the story, but The Golden Bowl is much more concerned with the complexities of the heart and the cruel side of human nature when desire comes into play, which it explores magnificently and with assurance. There are a few times when the pace falters during the running time, but that flaw can easily be forgiven due to the engaging and intelligent work on display. A visual style of opulence is employed and contains some stunning pieces, particularly a dance recital of Arabian Nights that also doubles as an expression of the passion and secrets being guarded by everyone. A grand score imbues the film with a passionate core while highlighting the dangerous and manipulative treachery carried out by many of the characters in the name love and station.

One of the biggest draws from The Golden Bowl is the utterly splendid and distinguished cast it has. Making a huge impact is Uma Thurman as the driven and willful Charlotte, whose desire to be with Amerigo and her emotional slips that threatens to bring down the tidy house of cards he has built with Maggie. Any other actress would probably have made Charlotte very villainous, but Uma Thurman wisely plays her as definitely manipulative and sly, yet still with a deep sense of desolation and obsession that can’t be stopped. Jeremy Northam in the part of the impoverished but charming Amerigo shines too; revealing a man caught right in the middle of two women and unable to resist the temptation of the temperamental Charlotte, despite his conscience. Kate Beckinsale is equally as good portraying the initially naive and almost childlike Maggie. Yet once Maggie gets an inkling of something untoward going on, Beckinsale magnificently charts her emergence from the innocent victim to steely and quietly ruthless survivor with conviction. It was good to see Nick Nolte in this film making his character of the gentlemanly Adam appealing, yet laced with the feeling that you wouldn’t want to cross the man with your life. Clearly having an absolute ball in The Golden Bowl is a delightful Anjelica Huston who stars as the meddling matchmaker Fanny, who knows exactly where to put her loyalties and when to play her cards right. Fanny is one of the supporting characters, but Anjelica Huston’s work brings memorability to the character. James Fox is quite amusing as Fanny’s husband, who is a jolly man who leaves matters of the heart and intrigue to his wife, but is still protective to save any bother for her.

With eloquence and subtlety, The Golden Bowl emerges as an underrated film from Merchant Ivory, that more than deserves to be better known due to its compelling story, visual splendour and first-rate performances.

A Room with a View

Tags

1980's, A Room with a View, Daniel Day-Lewis, Denholm Elliott, Helena Bonham Carter, James Ivory, Judi Dench, Julian Sands, Maggie Smith, Merchant Ivory, Period Drama, Romance, Rupert Graves, Simon Callow

Film Title

A Room with a View

Director

James Ivory

Starring

• Helena Bonham Carter as Lucy Honeychurch
• Julian Sands as George Emerson
• Maggie Smith as Charlotte Bartlett
• Daniel Day-Lewis as Cecil Vyse
• Denholm Elliott as Mr. Emerson
• Simon Callow as The Reverend Mr. Beebe
• Judi Dench as Eleanor Lavish
• Rupert Graves as Freddy Honeychurch

The film that established Merchant Ivory as excellent purveyors of the period drama and brought them to international acclaim, A Room with a View is a marvellously witty, engaging and romantic story of a young girl’s awakening in a restrictive society. Based on the novel by E.M. Forster, A Room with a View is a romantic period drama at its best, complete with wonderful scenery, cracking script and committed work from the cast.

The setting is the Edwardian Era, which is restrictive and stifling. Young and pretty Lucy Honeychurch is on holiday in Florence with her much older cousin Charlotte Bartlett, who acts as a chaperon. Charlotte is a fussy women who believes in abiding by rules to a strict degree and so keeps Lucy on a tight leash. Lucy herself is a repressed young girl who doesn’t know a lot about the world and is quite impressionable. While in Florence, the two meet a whole host of different characters; most prominently the free-thinking Mr Emerson and his quiet, thoughtful son George. There is an immediate spark between George and Lucy, but because of the conventions of the time, Lucy puts these feelings off, due to her naivety and the buttoned-up nature of the society she has been brought up in. Eventually, George expresses his love to her by passionately kissing her while everyone is exploring the Italian countryside. Uptight Charlotte witnesses this act and whisks Lucy back to England as quickly as she can; warning her that she shouldn’t speak about her actions to anyone. But reluctant Lucy finds it hard to forget her encounter with George, as it has left a deep mark on her. Later, back in England, Lucy has put the memory of Florence to the back of her mind and is engaged to the snobbish and priggish Cecil Vyse, who views most things and people with contempt. Although not passionately in love with the disagreeable Cecil, Lucy is engaged as it is deemed a socially acceptable match.  Things appear to be going swimmingly, until it is revealed that the new tenants moving into nearby house are Mr. Emerson and George, who carries a torch for Lucy still from Florence. Lucy is put into a tailspin over what to do and must choose between her upbringing and her heart. But which will Lucy choose as she begins to awaken to the fact that rules and stifling society aren’t everything in life?

The combination of director James Ivory, producer Ismail Merchant and screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala is an inspired one that brings Forster’s tale of buried passions beginning to surface and the stiff upper lip of the Edwardian Era to life. The direction from James Ivory is paced with a deliberate but effective pace, that charts Lucy’s blossoming into a woman and the decision that only she can make. I admired how Ivory was not in a rush to tell the story and made it thoroughly engaging throughout. He also makes stunning use of both the English countryside and the beauty and freedom of Florence, which if anything act as ends of the spectrum in terms of emotion on display. In England, emotions are kept carefully under wraps by a society that prides itself on rigid conventions(embodied the most by Charlotte), while the scenes in Florence have emotions reaching a crescendo of passion and expression. Adapting the story from the source, Prawer Jhabvala’s witty and insightful script(which garnered an Oscar) splendidly pokes fun at the stuffiness of Edwardian times, while balancing the romance at the heart of it that provides the catalyst for Lucy to open up and feel passion instead of forceful rules. Operatic arias and wistful strings on the score provide A Room with a View with a blithely enjoyable, romantic and delightful quality. The costume design is simply beautiful and authentic in equal measure, down to the last hem and frill that deservedly collected an Oscar. Also winning an Oscar was the art direction, which is also a marvel to behold for the splendour of it.

Assembled and all well provided for by the source material, the cast is utterly splendid down to the smallest role. In her breakthrough role, Helena Bonham Carter is simply lovely and wonderful as Lucy. Imbuing her with a girlish temperament and slowly evolving passion that is awoken by George, Bonham Carter succeeds in bringing about Lucy’s subtle change to life and she does it with graceful aplomb. As she is the beating heart of the story the character of Lucy needed someone to make an indelible image and boy did Helena Bonham Carter deliver it and then some. Julian Sands is quiet yet full of soulful passion as George, who serves as the intrusion into Lucy’s restricted world and the one who challenges her. The always excellent and dependable Maggie Smith has fun with the part of Charlotte, who is obstinate in her belief of following the rules society had for everyone. Making a huge impression is the ever versatile Daniel Day-Lewis, who essays the role of contemptible Cecil. With a smarmy accent, dissatisfaction with everything and sneering glances, Day-Lewis crafts an effortless portrait of a privileged individual, stuck on his high horse and unable to get off. Denholm Elliott as the garrulous Mr. Emerson, as well as Simon Callow as a gossipy Reverend are fine additions to a distinguished cast. Also there is the reliable Judi Dench; exuding imagination and gleeful intelligence as the romance author in Florence and Rupert Graves, all puppy eyes and enthusiasm as Lucy’s playful brother Freddy.

Wonderfully rendered with a feeling for the time in which it is set and the examination of both cultures clashing, following ones heart and archaic society, A Room with a View is a thoroughly delightful film.