The intertwining fates of the Schlegels, Wilcoxes, and Basts become the gist of the plot of this E.M. Forster novel, made into an award-winning film adaptation by the Merchant-Ivory Production Company. It's got all the period panache you could ask for and a great collection of the finest British acting talent.

Historical Background: E.M. (Edward Morgan) Forster is widely considered among the finest British authors of the twentieth century. His novels are mostly set in Edwardian England and have therefore proven highly amenable to period adaptations for the big screen. Forster was born on New Year's Day in 1879. His father was an architect but died while Forster was still just a boy. Forster was then raised by his mother and a great-aunt, Marianne Thornton, about whom Forster would later write a biography. Forster and his family were part of an upper middle class that was beginning to challenge, in Edwardian times, the long-entrenched class structure.

Forster wrote his first novel, Where Angels Fear to Tread, in 1905. Then, The Longest Journey (1907), A Room with a View (1908), and Howards End (1910) followed in rapid succession. Though Forster was still just thirty-one years of age, he had already completely most of the works on which his reputation now rests. Forster was part of a circle of intellectuals known as the "Bloomsbury Group," which included novelist/feminist Virginia Woolf, economist John Keynes, artist Dora Carrington, and biographer/critic Lytton Stachey. After 1910, Forster continued to be productive, writing political essays and biographies and broadcasting for the BBC. His last great novel, A Passage to India, was published in 1924 and another novel, Maurice was published posthumously, though it had been written in 1913/14,

The team comprised of producer Ismail Merchant, director James Ivory, and screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala have made some fine British films during the last forty years, specializing in literary adaptation. Initially, the trio struggled. Their first real success came with the film Shakespeare Wallah (1965). Savages (1972) provided another moderate success. Gradually, the trio perfected their successful period piece formula, including gorgeous sets, correct period detail, strong character depictions, and acting by the cream de la cream of the British thespian pool. Merchant-Ivory Productions hit full stride with a 1979 adaptation of Henry James's The Europeans and followed with other successes, including Quartet (1981), Heat and Dust (1983), and The Bostonians (1984). Then, in 1986, Ivory-Merchant Productions had their greatest critical success yet with their first adaptation of a Forster novel, A Room with a View (1986), which won Academy Awards for Best Screenplay, Best Art Direction, and Best Costumes, as well as nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Cinematography. Their second Forster adaptation, Maurice (1987), was less successful, but still effective enough to share a Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival. For many viewers and critics, however, Howards End (1992) represents the pinnacle of success for the Ivory-Merchant-Jhabvala team.

James Ivory, the director of Howards End, was born in Berkeley, California in 1928. He grew up mostly in Kamath Falls, Oregon, where his father operated a sawmill. After studying fine arts at the University of Oregon, Ivory enrolled in the film department to prepare for a career as a director. Ivory's first film was a documentary, The Sword and the Flute (1959), which related to Indian art objects. That led to a commission from the Asia Society to make a documentary about India, in India. There, Ivory met producer Ismail Merchant, leading to a long-lasting, productive partnership. Soon, their team was augmented by scriptwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, a German-born writer of Polish-Jewish descent who had married an Indian man. The rest was history..

The Story: The year is 1910 and the story of Howards End concerns the intertwining lives of three families, the Schlegels, Wilcoxes, and Basts. The Schlegels are a sophisticated, liberal-minded, upper middle class family with a love for music, literature, and social issues. Margaret Schlegel (Emma Thompson) is the eldest of three siblings. She and her sister Helen (Helena Bonham Carter) and brother Tibby (Adrian Ross Magenty) live together in a London townhouse, and, less often, with their redoubtable Aunt Juley (Prunella Scales). The mother of the three Schlegel siblings had been British and the father German, but, Margaret hastens to add, the Schlegels were not "Germans of the dreadful sort." Tibby is a bit of a timid chap but the Schlegel sisters enjoy nothing more than a luncheon with young intellectuals or a gathering of the discussion club, the Blue-stockings, for talk about poetry or philosophy. Although Margaret and Helen are both attractive, vivacious, and intelligent young ladies, Margaret is nearing an age at which she will be at risk of eternal spinsterhood.

The Wilcoxes are also part of the upper middle class but are wealthier, snobbier, and more conservative than the Schlegels. Henry Wilcox (Anthony Hopkins) and his wife, Ruth (Vanessa Redgrave), have three irritatingly pompous offspring, Charles (James Wilby), Evie (Jemma Redgrave), and Paul (Joseph Bennett). The Wilcoxes have a choice of about four sumptuous dwellings in which to reside, including Howards End, the home in which Ruth was born and raised. As the film opens, we observe Ruth quietly walking about the tastefully sumptuous and peaceful grounds at Howards End while the rest of the family chatters away in the spacious living room inside. Ruth obviously derives a deep sense of inner tranquility from her surroundings. The discussion indoors is particularly animated on this evening because Evie has brought home Helen Schlegel as a guest, and the fiery Helen is full of modern ideas. Paul Wilcox takes such a shine to Helen that the pair is soon kissing in a quiet spot in the gardens. Helen immediately writes home to her sister that she is in love and feels certain that a marriage proposal will soon follow. Helen's letter to Margaret excites so much concern among the Schlegels that Aunt Juley set off for Howards End to "represent the family." Paul, however, having no money of his own and soon to be off to foreign lands, squelches his ardor in favor of common sense. The result is an awkward situation between the two families with accusations of false promises, on the one hand, and premature advertising of a momentary possibility, on the other hand. Both families are sufficiently embarrassed by the imbroglio to desire never to encounter one another again. Nevertheless, they will.

Back in London, Helen makes the acquaintance of a young working class man, Leonard Bast (Samuel West), after running off with his umbrella at the end of a lecture about meaning and music. When Leonard rings the bell of the Schlegel residence to recover his umbrella, the Schlegel sisters politely invite him to stop in for tea, but the young man soon runs off with only their card (and his umbrella). Leonard is married to Jacky (Nicola Duffett), though it is a common law marriage, at present, until he turns twenty-one.

Meanwhile, the pending marriage of Charles Wilcox to Dolly (Susie Lindeman) brings Charles's parents to London for a few weeks, where they take a flat, coincidentally, across the street from the Schlegel's townhouse. Helen decides she'll travel for a few weeks to avoid running into any Wilcoxes. The saintly Margaret, however, calls upon the ailing Mrs. Wilcox. Margaret and Ruth Wilcox feel the genuine rapport of kindred spirits. Ruth may be old-fashioned and somewhat conservative in her views, but emotionally, the two have a lot in common. The Schlegels are to be turned out of their home, where they were all born and grew up, in about a year, because the townhouses are to be razed to make way for modern flats. Margaret, therefore, has an intuitive understanding for Ruth's deep fondness for her own birth home, Howards End. Margaret calls on Ruth several times and helps her with her Christmas shopping. Ruth is so deeply touched by Margaret's gentle care taking that she later scribbles a coda to her will, while she is dying in the hospital, indicating that she wants to leave Howards End to Margaret.

Margaret has no knowledge of Ruth's act of generosity. Henry Wilcox is given the note by the nurses and consults with his Charles, Evie, and Molly. The greedy offspring insist that the note has no legal standing and that their mother couldn't have been in her right mind. The note is tossed into the fireplace and destroyed.

Back in London, Jacky Bass, having found the card of the Schlegel sisters in her husband's possession, goes looking for him at their house, much to the surprise of the sisters, who haven't seen the man for a year and don't even remember having met him. Leonard later pays call to apologize for his wife's behavior and this time stays for tea. The Schlegel sisters are very impressed with Leonard's interest in the arts and literature and his efforts to improve himself through learning. They decide to adopt him as something of a welfare project. Mr. Wilcox also pays a call to the Schlegel sisters, to thank Margaret for her kindnesses to his wife in her last days. He is impressed by Margaret's concern for the unfortunate Mr. Bass, though he himself considers the situation of the wretched poor largely beyond the benefit of charity or good will. "The poor are the poor, and one's sorry for them, but there it is," he says, dismissively. He does, however, opine that the company for which Bass works is insufficiently financed and is likely to go bankrupt in the near future. He advises that Bass seek employment elsewhere because it is always easier to find work while you still have a job than after you are unemployed. The Schlegel sisters pass on this information to Leonard, but it ends up backfiring for him. He takes a lesser job, but then a change in the tariff laws suddenly makes his old company more prosperous. Then, later, he is let go from his new position and is out of work altogether. Helen Schlegel is especially distraught by this turn of events for her friend. She feels responsible for Leonard's ill fortune and holds Henry Wilcox even more responsible.

Meanwhile, Margaret runs into Henry Wilcox as she is leaving a meeting of the Blue-stockings. Wilcox is again impressed by Margaret's gentle nature. Wilcox invites Margaret to lunch, along with Charles and Molly. Margaret uses the occasion to enlist Wilcox's help in locating a townhouse into which she and her siblings might move. Later, Wilcox invites Margaret to return to London from a visit to Aunt Juley, ostensibly to examine an available townhouse, but for the real purpose of asking for her hand in marriage. In a beautifully poignant scene, Henry stumbles through a very awkward proposal, which only Margaret's exceptional perspicacity permits her to comprehend. She very gently assuages his tension and later writes him a letter of acceptance. Their engagement doesn't sit well with either Henry's children or with Helen, but there's really nothing that any of them can do about it.

For Helen's part, she still holds Wilcox responsible for the terrible circumstances of her friend, Leonard Bast. She considers Margeret's engagement to Henry a betrayal of their liberal values. The conflict in views between the two sisters comes to a head at the ostentatious wedding for Evie Wilcox and her fiancé, Percy Cahill. Helen shows up, by surprise, with Leonard and Jacky Bast, who don't fit in, either in dress or manner, with the rest of the guests. The situation proves all the more awkward when it transpires that Henry Wilcox had once had an affair, some ten years earlier, with Jacky. Henry even imagines that Margaret had set up the situation to expose his indiscreet affair so as to get out of their engagement. Margaret, however, is more than happy to "forgive" Henry for an affair he had long before she even knew him. The rift between Margaret and Helen, however, is increased by the incident.

I won't reveal how the rest of the plot develops. There's violence, hypocrisy, animosity, shame, and, ultimately, reconciliation, but how it all plays out you'll need to learn from the film. It is mainly the wisdom and patience of Margaret that holds things together.

Themes: Implicit throughout this film are the battles for socioeconomic justice and woman's rights. It must have been difficult for Vanessa Redgrave, a well-known liberal activist, to deliver the line in which her character says that she's glad that woman don't have to vote! Various characters can easily be seen as representing different parts of the political spectrum. The Schlegels generally represent the cultured intelligentsia while the Wilcoxes represent the business and financial interests of their society. The Wilcox children are the most selfish and arrogant conservatives, Henry Wilcox is a more good-hearted but indifferent conservative, Margaret Schlegel is the patient kind of liberal hoping to achieve change by the steady application of positive action, while Helen represents the impatient and vitriolic kind of leftist. The marriage of Henry and Margaret can be seen as conservative and liberal elements of society working in harmony, at least in so far as such harmony as can be expected. All of these folks, however, are members of society's more fortunate classes, while the Basts represent the needy but deserving poor. Though Margaret Schlegel is presented as almost saintly, absorbing one betrayal after another and bringing about most of what can be viewed as positive, even she is unable, in the end, to positively impact the circumstances of the Basts.

Production Values: The beautiful script for Howards End, written by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, earned her an Academy Award. Howards End is probably the best of Forster's novel, and some of the film's success harkens back to the original. Forster was especially effective at building his stories to strong and satisfying denouements. The film flows along at a gentle but pleasing pace. The characters are beautifully drawn and complex, providing people who gain viewer sympathy. The script treats its characters with respect, not deriding them unduly for their flaws. Ruth Wilcox, for example, is not treated harshly for her old-fashioned views nor Henry Wilcox for his narrow mindedness. The script also manages to capture both the civilized priggishness of its time and place and the passions of the individual characters. There's rich social commentary, but it's always fully embedded in the context of the personal stories.

The House that was used to represent Howards End was the same one that Forster had used as a model in writing the novel. The grounds are so lovely that film viewers can readily understand Ruth Wilcox's deep reverence for her birth home. The period detail is sumptuous in all of the locales, which include Oxfordshire, London, and the British seacoast. Overall, the production design is simply magnificent. The soundtrack is both stylish and appropriate and nicely rendered on the Merchant-Ivory DVD in Dolby Surround sound.

The performances are so superlative that you'll feel that the events are truly happening as you watch the story unfold. The dialog is delivered with exquisite timing. Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins are especially outstanding in their roles. The two were later reunited in The Remains of the Day (1993). Emma Thompson won both an Oscar and a Golden Globe for Best Actress. Her other work has included In the Name of the Father (1993), Much Ado About Nothing (1993), Carrington (1995), Sense and Sensibility (1995), Primary Colors (1998), and Love Actually (2003). The subtlety of her expressiveness certainly places her among the finest actresses of her generation.

Anthony Hopkins has the difficult task, in this film, of portraying a character whose values most viewers will not especially like but who also has some gentle goodness about him. Viewers know that the man has the exquisite good sense to pick magnificent women with whom to associate: first, Ruth, and, later, Margaret. Hopkins succeeds in gaining our sympathy for his character, despite the rigidity of some of the man's social and political views. Hopkins's extensive resume includes The Lion in Winter (1968), A Bridge Too Far (1977), The Elephant Man (1980), The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Nixon (1995), Amistad (1997), Hannibal (2001), and The Human Stain (2003).

The revered Vanessa Redgrave has only a relatively small part in this film, but one critical to the credibility of the storyline. Helena Bonham Carter is compelling as the fiery liberal sister. She starred in the first Forster adaptation by the Merchant-Ivory team as well, A Room with a View (1985). Her other work has included Mighty Aphrodite (1995), The Wings of the Dove (1997), A Merry War (1997), Fight Club (1999), Planet of the Apes (2001), and Big Fish (2003). James Wilby, Jemma Redgrave, and Susie Lindeman are excellent as the nasty younger Wilcoxes and Samuel West and Susie Lindeman as the unfortunate Basts. Prunella Scales is wonderfully comic as Aunt Juley.

Bottom-Line: Howards End represents the perfection of the Merchant-Ivory formula for adapting great novels into lush period pieces. The DVD version provides a large number of fine extras on a second DVD. A new featurette entitled Building Howards End provides 42 minutes of interviews with Merchant, Ivory, and Helena Bonham Carter. Another 9 minutes short features production designer Luciana Arrighi, who won an Oscar for this film. There's a 48-minute documentary about the history of Merchant-Ivory Productions and a 1992 behind-the-scenes featurette. Optional English subtitles are available for the hearing impaired. In 1992, this film received nine Oscar nominations altogether, and captured three of the trophies. It's easy to see why.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older