A Brief Introduction to The Room with a View

A Brief Introduction to The Room with a View | Appreciation | Comment

1985 color movie 1 17 minutes

Produced by Merchant and Avery film companies in Britain.

Director: James Avery Screenwriter: Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (based on edward morgan forster's novel of the same name) Photography: Tony Pierce-Roberts The main actors: maggie smith (Charlotte bartlett), helena bonham carter (Lucy Honeychurch), Julian Sands (George Emerson) and Daniel Day-Lewis (Cecil Weiss).

This film won three awards of 1986 British Academy of Film and Television Arts for Best Film, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, three Oscar awards of American Academy of Film Arts for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Costume Design and Best Artist, best film of American Film Critics Association, best film of London Film Critics Association and best supporting actress of American Golden Globe Award.

abstract

1907 Lucy Honeychurch, a miss British society, accompanied by her unmarried cousin Charlotte, traveled to Florence and stayed in Bertolini apartment. They wanted a room with a view, but they were disappointed because all the rooms were full. Emerson, a reporter who came before them, and his son George live in a room with a view. At the suggestion of the owner, Emerson and his son exchanged rooms with Lucy's cousin.

The next day, Charlotte was invited by her good friend Eleanor to travel, so Lucy went for a walk nearby alone, and it happened that there was a fight in the street. One person was killed and fell at her feet. Lucy fainted with fear. Fortunately, Emerson and his son were nearby, and George hurried forward to help her up. They fell in love at first sight, but they didn't show it. Young and beautiful Lucy has been influenced by the traditional British upper class hierarchy since she was a child, so she is cautious and unsmiling. George helped him up today for fear of being seen, so he told him to keep it a secret. A few days later, Lucy and Charlotte went for an outing at the invitation of a priest. When Lucy is alone, she doesn't want to see George again. Simple and frank George could not help kissing Lucy, and Charlotte, who came to see Lucy, saw him. Both women thought George was frivolous, so they were afraid to stay in Florence and went home early. Charlotte assured Lucy that she would never tell anyone about it.

Lucy lives with her mother and brother Freddie in the parish of Reverend Bibby in the suburb of London. After Lucy returned to China, Cecil Weiss, a gentleman of noble birth, came to propose. Lucy's mother immediately agreed out of hierarchy, and Lucy felt that her family was very similar. At the instigation of her mother, she agreed, but she always felt bored and often played the piano to amuse herself. Cecil became a guest of Lucy's house, flattering and arrogant. In fact, there is no affection between them. He just took a fancy to her beautiful appearance and piano playing skills and regarded her as a precious ornament. Lucy thinks he comes from a good family and has a good education.

At this time, two new tenants, Emerson and his son, lived in a small villa near Lucy's house. It turns out that they have known Pastor Bibby for a long time. Introduced by Pastor Bibby, Lucy's brother Freddie often goes to George, and they go swimming in the forest pond together. George often goes to Freddie's house and sees Lucy again. George confessed his thoughts to Lucy at the first opportunity and kissed her again. Although Lucy didn't forget George, because she was engaged, she dared not let anyone know about it, so she urged George to leave as soon as possible and explained the reason to him. Cousin Charlotte often comes to Lucy's house and finds that Lucy and Cecil are not in harmony, and their engagement may break down. Lucy's mood fluctuates in the contradiction between ethics, family values and love. Finally, in order to escape emotional entanglements, I planned to travel to Greece and broke off my engagement with Cecil. However, when she was about to leave home, her cousin Charlotte unexpectedly changed her past concept of family status and advised her to fall in love with sincere George. In particular, Mr. Emerson, who has liberal thoughts, had a long talk with her, reminding her to stop deceiving herself and others, face the reality bravely and break through the shackles of hierarchy. With their encouragement, Lucy suddenly realized that she really loved George and finally married him. On their honeymoon, they came to Florence again, still living in a room with a view of the Arno River in their original apartment, enjoying the beautiful scenery of Florence.

Distinguish and appreciate

Foster is a famous novelist in modern England. His novels are characterized by reflecting and exposing Britain's hierarchy and racial prejudice, and have been frequently adapted into films by British filmmakers in recent years. Foster wrote six works reflecting the social problems in England in his life, but he thought it was the best one.

Avery, a 60-year-old British director, has worked with three old partners, Indian producer Machete and Indian playwright Ja Bowala for more than 20 years. Their works mainly reflect British social problems and historical films of ancient costumes. In the past, they have co-produced films such as Europeans, Bostonians and Heat Wave and Dust. Their works are always literary and artistic, aimed at intellectual audiences, without much consideration for the commercialization and popularization of movies.

On the surface, the film describes the heroine Lucy's confusion when she chooses two completely different men as her lifelong partners. In fact, it reflects that she is a victim who obeys the feudal hierarchical concept, or a master who seeks true love, dares to break the shackles of old ideas and dominate her own destiny. The film attacked Britain's hypocritical feudal hierarchy and family status with mocking strokes. Lucy, who was born in the upper class, received a so-called good education from an early age. In fact, rigid education imprisons people's body and mind. She is cautious, unsmiling and elegant in appearance, but her heart is full of emotions, so her face always shows a melancholy expression. When she is at home, she likes to sit in a room with a view, play the piano to amuse herself and express her inner pain. When she arrived in Florence, she insisted on living in a room with a view. This shows how much her self-enclosed and depressed heart needs to be opened to absorb the open and romantic atmosphere of the Italian Renaissance holy land. But Lucy's tragedy is that she has been imprisoned by feudal thoughts for a long time and has become the defender of that set of old habits and customs. Although she fell in love with sincere George at first sight, she thought his kiss was frivolous. George comes from a commoner, so she should quickly avoid this young man who intruded into her quiet life. She hates Cecil's pretentious and arrogant expression and treats her as a plaything, but because he is a gentleman of noble birth and "education", he agrees to get engaged, but he is unwilling at heart. When George confessed to her again, she still deluded herself into rejecting him and asked him to leave as soon as possible and leave him alone. But at this time, she can't stand Cecil's contempt for her mother and his macho attitude. She decided to break off her engagement to Cecil. In order to escape the emotional vortex and confusion, while maintaining the moral standards at that time, she chose to travel abroad to solve emotional contradictions. If her cousin Charlotte hadn't suggested that she marry George who really loved her, and if it hadn't been for the heartfelt words of the open-minded Mr. Emerson, she would have been deceiving herself. For a young girl who has been educated by hierarchy for a long time, this description is true and credible. From the initial refusal to admit that she loved George to the final determination to break with Cecil, Lucy experienced a difficult ideological struggle. As Foster said in the original work: "It is useless to deceive yourself, accommodate to reality and escape from reality. Only when you have the courage to face the reality and dare to break the shackles can you get real happiness. " It is through Lucy's emotional confusion that the director vividly highlights this theme.

An important role in Lucy's final happiness is her cousin Charlotte, and this role is also very successful. Charlotte, an old maid from a poor family, accompanied Lucy to Florence as a guardian. She was conservative and naturally dissatisfied with George's behavior, so she took Lucy back to China in a hurry. However, she later found out that Cecil and Lucy were not in love, and she felt that the marriage might break up. Therefore, when she learned that George had courted Lucy again, and Lucy hesitated, she turned her back on her old attitude and advised Lucy to get back together with George. Charlotte, who has always been conservative, lost the opportunity to get married because of the hierarchy and took a sharp turn for the worse. Now she has learned her lesson and doesn't want the person she likes to make the same mistake again.

It is also worth mentioning in the film that Emerson and his son are journalists who are born in common people and have free thoughts. My father is rich and smart, and my son George is a handsome young man, frank and sincere, and does not like to talk. It was George's innocent feelings that opened Lucy's mind after being imprisoned for many years and made her realize that there are such unpretentious people in the world. Old Emerson's heart-to-heart advice made Lucy have the courage to ignore the family's censure and public opinion, and turn from escaping from reality to facing reality and get true love. The director obviously used a brush stroke of praise for these two roles.

The success of the film also lies in the fact that the actors selected by the director meet the requirements of Foster's original works in appearance and temperament. For example, helena carter, who plays the heroine Lucy, is very similar to Lucy played by Foster in appearance and temperament. The director Avery chose Helena because she was not only from a famous family, but also her great-grandfather was former British Prime Minister herbert asquith. My father is a banker and my grandmother is a politician. Helena grew up in an aristocratic school and was educated by the upper class. She has an elegant demeanor, plus she has a classical beauty. 19-year-old Helena has thick brown hair, a round face full of childishness and a petite figure. As soon as director Avery saw her, he decided that she was the best candidate. Julian Sands, like Helena, didn't play many plays, but he played the lofty, natural, naive and frank young image in Foster's Dream just right.

Compared with the two young actors, maggie smith, an old actress who plays her cousin Charlotte, is very skilled. Smith revived an old maid who was born in poverty, conservative, pretentious, withdrawn and enthusiastic. She is both worried and jealous about Lucy's marriage. From the initial dissatisfaction with George's behavior to the changes in their thinking and behavior, she can clearly show it.

The film shows the charming scenery of Florence, the holy land of the Renaissance, from the perspective of Lucy and her cousin visiting Italy. At the same time, Jeangeorges, a pure, frank and helpful young man and an open-minded Mr. Emerson, appeared in this background, which made it in sharp contrast with the dignified architecture of Victorian England, the traditional conservative morality of the upper class and countless red tape. Although the upper-class families are luxurious and comfortable, their interpersonal relationships are cold and full of hypocrisy and intrigue. Obviously, the director intends to compare the open Florence with the closed London, and compare the frank and sincere George with the hypocritical and ridiculous Cecil. The title of the film is also aimed at Lucy's self-imprisonment, which means that "spring can't close the garden".