A Room with a View

Movie review by Nell Minow, Common Sense Media
A Room with a View Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 11+

Glorious romance most likely to appeal to older kids.

NR 1985 116 minutes
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Parents say

age 15+

Based on 8 reviews

Kids say

age 12+

Based on 5 reviews

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A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this movie.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that this movie deals with issues of intimacy and self-repression. There's nonsexualy male full-fruntal nudity as men bathe in a pond. A man is killed in a very brief knife fight.

Community Reviews

Scoutmom2
Scoutmom2 Adult
December 9, 2018
age 16+

TMI! Not for children younger than 16

A wonderful, authentic and richly made period movie depicting the mores, behaviors and wealth of the Edwardian age. It shows a young woman coming of age during her Grand Tour, with her chaperone, and Meeting her real true love on this trip. Lovely. But not for young children. There is a brief knife scene where someone gets killed, and a river scene with male frontal nudity, and a honeymoon scene. In this present age where, I believe, children are exposed too early to certain adult themes before they are mature enough to process the information, I think this movie is not for them. It would make a great talking point springboard for older teens.
Nanwmer
Nanwmer Adult
August 5, 2015
age 13+

Requires maturity to appreciate

This movie is one of my all-time faves, and I first saw it at 15. I disagree with the high "sexuality" rating given by this website. Although it does emphasize "sensuality," it is not necessarily about sexuality, but rather about being fully present, knowing and expressing yourself. I have a mature 12-yr old to whom I have not yet shown it, mainly because I don't think she would enjoy the subtle satire and humorous dialogue. It is not a fast-paced movie and requires an attention span and interest in that time period (post-Victorian England). There is frontal male nudity (swimming in a pond), but completely innocent, which I don't find inappropriate. There are a couple of passionate kisses, but the one slightly intense romantic scene is at the end, between a married couple. Beautiful movie about living life fully and being true to yourself.

This title has:

Great role models
See all 8 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Lucy Honeychurch (Helena Bonham Carter) arrives in Italy with her straitlaced aunt Charlotte (Maggie Smith). Disappointed at not getting the room with a view they had been promised when making their reservations at the inn, they are not sure whether it is proper to accept the offer of Mr. Emerson (Denholm Elliot) and his son George (Julian Sands), staying at the same inn, to switch rooms so they may have a view after all. Reassured by the clergyman, Mr. Beebe (Simon Callow), they agree. Later, out in the countryside, George impetuously kisses Lucy, and her aunt, horrified, whisks her back to England. There, Lucy is engaged to Cecil. The Emersons move into a cottage near the Honeychurch family, invited by Cecil, who does not realize that Lucy knows them. Lucy does her best to resist her attraction to George, but ultimately breaks the engagement to Cecil, marries George, and returns with him to the room with a view.

Is It Any Good?

This lush, satisfying romance is about having the courage to face one's feelings, and to risk intimacy, fully knowing and being known by another person. George never hesitates to take that risk. Cecil, sensitively played by Daniel Day-Lewis as a full character and not a caricature of a fop, has feelings but will never be able to "take to live as (he) plays." Clearly, he does care deeply for Lucy, but he does not have the passionate nature to respond to hers fully, as George does. As George says, Cecil "is the sort who can't know anyone intimately, least of all a woman," someone who wants Lucy as an ornament, perhaps to enjoy her passionate nature by proxy, not realizing that his own proximity is likely to stifle it. George wants Lucy "to have ideas and thoughts and feelings, even when I hold you in my arms."

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how lush natural settings have a powerful effect on fictional characters, especially those in love, or wanting to fall in love. In Shakespeare, lovers go to the woods to straighten things out. In the British literature of the 19th and early 20th century, they often go to Italy, which represents freedom from repression. The wheat field where George kisses Lucy is in sharp contrast to the manicured lawns of the Honeychurch home, as the precise and cerebral Cecil is in contrast to the passionate George. Questions for Kids: What leads Lucy to break her engagement to Cecil? What leads her to accept her feelings for George. Mr. Emerson refers to a "Yes! And a Yes! And a Yes" at the "side of the Everlasting Why." What does this mean? What is the meaning of the title?

Movie Details

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