A Room with a View gallery
What parents need to know
Violence
Sex
Language
Consumerism
Drinking, drugs, & smoking
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.
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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?
QUALITY
A ROOM WITH A VIEW 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."
Families can talk 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
| Theatrical release date: | April 1, 1985 |
| DVD release date: | November 13, 2001 |
| Cast: | Daniel Day-Lewis, Helena Bonham Carter, Julian Sands, Maggie Smith |
| Director: | James Ivory |
| Studio: | Merchant-Ivory |
| Genre: | Romance |
| Run time: | 116 minutes |
| MPAA rating: | NR |
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QUALITY
Decieved not for kids tainted by nudity and groping.
I was deceived, Who wants to see naked men running around. I was thinking this movie was like a Jane Austen movie, but it lacked taste. Not only were there naked men but he totally groped her with his mouth at the end. This story and message could have been good if it was not tainted so. I don't need my kids watching this and missing the whole story because all they could remember were a few tactless moments, this is definitely not for kids.
What other families should know
Too much sex
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QUALITY
Beautiful period romance but beware some violence
A lovely movie with a beautiful Italian setting and wonderful acting from some British greats. I am mostly surprised that the website (and other parents) have made no mention of a disturbing and bloody murder scene, which is pivotal, and is used to illustrate the heightened emotions experienced in Italy by the two romantic leads. Instead, the site and parent reviews have focused on the male nudity, which is comic and inconsequential. My two girls, 13 and 8, will see plenty of female nudity in film -- I welcome a little equality in that department. We all enjoyed it very much.
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QUALITY
A great adaption of an excellent book
This is a great film adaptation of the classic novel by E.M. Forster. It's very true to the plot of the novel, and does a great job of capturing most of the book's themes - particularly equality in relationships and being true to oneself rather than conventions. It is also a sweet love story. I was surprised that this website has the movie rated 10+ because there is male frontal nudity in this film. The nudity is not at all sexual - in fact, it's just plain silly - but it is still something I'd be hesitant to let a child watch. I think this would be a great movie for a teenager in high school. 15+
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