Continuing my Merchant Ivory viewing. After the summer playfulness of A Room with a View, was dampened by the sad tale of Maurice. I’m prepared for a bit more shade with Howard’s End. Like Maurice, this is based on a E.M. Forster novel. I suspect it might pack a punch. The cast is impressive, many returning from previous Merchant Ivory productions. Some with big roles, others notable faces in smaller scenes. Simon Callow plays a piano, Mark Tandy turns up to lunch. We have two well-to-do families in southern England. The Wilcox’s and the Schlegel’s. Helen (Helena Bonham Carter), a Schlegel, is staying with the Wilcox’s at their country pile, known as Howard’s End and after a mistaken midnight kiss with the youngest son, Paul (Joseph Bennett) kicks off a bit of a to-do. The episode not forgotten, months later Paul’s older brother Charles (James Wilby) gets married to the dotty Dolly (Susie Lindeman) and takes a flat opposite Helen, her sister Margaret (Emma Thompson) and brother Tibby (Adrian Ross Magenty) in London. The families appear karmically bound. They are chalk and cheese. The Schlegel’s are modern and progressive. The Wilcox’s including the sickly Ruth Wilcox (Vanessa Redgrave), doesn’t even want the vote for women. Margaret and Ruth though find an odd friendship, based around Ruth’s concern of the Schlegel’s housing situation. Their town house lease is to expire and be turned into flats. Something the house proud Ruth finds impossible to comprehend. Leading her to a grand gesture on her deathbed that will feel satisfactorily prophetic. It’s a joy the way this unfurls. Little subplots blossom unexpectedly. Helen seems particularly gifted at weaving webs, hers is the glue in this story. After inadvertently stealing Leonard Bast’s (Samuel West) umbrella, he’s drawn into a world he doesn’t yet know he’s already connected to. I’m barely at the hour mark when I’ve already fallen head over heels. The Schlegel’s are delightful, a family sat in the middle of Britain’s antiquated class structure, Thompson and Bonham Carter are utterly captivating as they pull the story together. They are the shining light, their characters wanting to help their friend Mr Bast reach his potential. The widowed Mr Wilcox, Henry (Anthony Hopkins) on the other hand, is the cold hearted fat cat. Watching Thompson and Hopkins go head to head makes the hairs stand on end, but don’t think for a second you know where this is headed. This epic twists and turns delightfully. The locations are stunning and why is it everyone in the Merchant Ivory stable has magnificent hair. If you think this is merely some period drama puff piece with fancy frocks and bow ties, think again. It’s nothing short of masterful, in its plot, its characters and execution. I thought it might pack a punch, this is a knockout. Subtle magnificence.
9/10
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