A Room With View

Jump in the Spring!

I'm in love with Andrew Davies. He's the genius behind such wonderful screenplays like the A&E version of Pride & Prejudice, BBC Masterpiece Theatre's recent Sense & Sensibility and now my new favorite, A Room With A View.

E.M. Forster' classic novel gets respectful and loving treatment by a talented caste, writer, director and editor. The restrained passions of Miss Lucy Honeychurch are torn many directions - by Italy, by piano playing, by a suitable suitor, and most importantly, by an unsuitable working-class suitor named George. Playing the wilds of a foreign Florence with its rougher and more open streets and people against the natural wilds of the English countryside and spring pool bring Lucy into states of unsettled confusion. And of course she tries to resist the lust, passion, perhaps love that brews when around George. The result is pure voyeuristic watching by me, the hopeless romantic.

While I liked the Merchant Ivory Production from 1986, I now view it as rather too romantic, cutting off the story as to ensure a happy ending. What I liked about this version is it seemed to portray Lucy's struggles much more rawly; she comes across as truly befuddled, even lying to herself and sometimes this makes her a little imperfect. I really thought the booked approach to the opening and ending worked superbly well ... and got me to cry. I didn't see one scene coming at all, and I like that unpredictability with such a classic story. Thank goodness for PBS and BBC.