Aug. 22, 2002 - 12:41 am
another Best Picture nominee this evening. this time it's actually a period film that got nominated. that hasn't happened that much in the 90s i don't think. this film is directed by James Ivory and stars Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson. Helena Bonham Carter also plays a supporting role as Emma Thompson's sister.
the plot for this one is rather difficult to put into words. basically there are three separate classes of people in England at the turn of the century that come together for a year or two for this episode. to put it a bit more simply, there's a poor couple, a very slightly wealthy family of two sisters and a brother, and then a full rich household that occupies a huge estate called Howards End. the sisters and brother live in London, as do the poor couple. their lives all become intertwined and everyone gets into everyone else's business. there are some deaths, marriages, and a lot of unhappiness. it all somehow relates back to who will own Howards End. everyone seems to want it, but no one ever seems to be able to quite live in it. symbolism anyone?
i somewhat enjoyed this film. it was shot really well and has a beautiful score. the acting is quite good. the story is a bit of a downer. lots and lots of negativity and you kind of end up feeling like everyone is in the wrong in some way or another. maybe i just like to be able to identify with at least one character. that's why people read books called biographies. and that's why i didn't rate this film higher. maybe it's a petty reason, but it's my call and this film gets a 6/10.
while looking up info about this film i noticed that James Ivory actually directed another film that was nominated for Best Picture in the 1990s. it's called The Remains of the Day (1993). apparently this is the exact same film. (well not literally, but come on.) it also stars Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson. amazing. you wouldn't think something like that would happen. but it did. same screenwriter, same director, same cast, and even the same composer. we'll see what it's like i guess. oh that one has both Christopher Reeve and Hugh Grant in it though. nice.