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Rating: 3 out of 5
On my journey of watching all these Academy Award-winning films, I stopped upon the 1992 romantic drama film Howards End. A film based upon the 1910 novel of the same name by E. M. Forster, a story of class relations in turn-of-the-20th-century Britain. Now, if anyone knows me, I probably wouldn’t like to see rich people be mean to the poor and all that class structure. It just really doesn’t appeal to me at all. I was right in a way because it was a romantic drama that I just found genuinely annoying.
So, what was this film about? Directed by James Ivory, Howards End begins in early twentieth-century London. The upper-class and beautiful Schlegel siblings, Margaret (Dame Thompson), Helen (Bonham Carter), and Tibby (Ross), are liberal, straight-talking people who indulge themselves in philanthropy and in discussions of the arts and literature. This is seen with Helen going to hear some talk about goblins or something like that. I wasn’t paying too much attention because I was more intrigued by how homegirl took another man’s umbrella and walks off. The Schlegel siblings are associated with the equally upper-class family, the Wilcoxes. The Wilcoxes are conservative and wealthy, led by hard-headed businessman Henry (Sir Hopkins) and Ruth (Redgrave). The friendship between the two families is good until a bit of uproar causes some major drama. Helen becomes engaged to Paul Wilcox during a moment of passion while staying at the Wilcox family’s country home, Howards End. While this drama is unfolding, a friendship develops between Margaret and the sickly Ruth. Helen and Paul’s relationship falls as the two families have differences in opinions. The Wilcox children take after their father, the children who believe Margaret has ulterior motives in befriending their mother. Also, Helen doesn’t like the Wilcoxes beyond her past association with them, even though she was hooking up with one of them. Wait, it doesn’t end there because the Schlegels also befriend a man named Leonard Bast (West), a poor clerk, who has what Margaret refers to as a romantic ambition in life and a strong sense of doing the right thing. Leonard is married to a woman name Jacky. Things get really crazy when Margaret marries Henry, and all that mess beings because it is just drama.
This film was a STRUGGLE for me to watch because I didn’t have anything in common with them. It sucks being poor, and watching people in the earlier twentieth-century talk about their problems is blah to me. To me, the whole film and jump-off point happened when Ruth died, and she left Howards End to homegirl Margaret who didn’t even want the house. What is crazy is that the Wilcoxes sat around the table and tried their best to figure out how not to give the house to Margaret. They went as deep as saying things written in pencil doesn’t count until they ultimately decided to burn the will and forget all about it. In the words of one of my best friends, “Scandalous.”
Fine, that is one thing, but for Henry to straight-up marry Margaret after not giving her the house is straight-up bold and wrong. During the wedding of Henry’s daughter, Leonard and Jacky roll up, and Jacky is stuffing her mouth. I don’t blame her, and you drink that fine wine. Well, Jacky becomes drunk at the reception, and when she sees Henry, she recognizes and exposes him as a former lover from years ago. OH DAMN! Gotta love the drama. Henry acts like a punk and is embarrassed and ashamed to have been revealed as an adulterer in front of Margaret, but she forgives him and agrees to send the Basts away. Let that girl get drunk and have fun. Your little willy has probably been in a lot of people.
Also, what was up with the ending, and this is what I’m talking about with nothing but drama. Leonard got his freak on with Helen even though he is still unhappily married and in poverty with Jacky and arrives at Howard’s End to see the Schlegels. When he arrives, he finds the pair, as well as Henry’s eldest son Charles. Charles quickly realizes that Leonard is the baby’s father and gives him a discipline slap. Now I don’t know about you, but Charles picks up a sword and beats Leonard with the flat of a sword. Okay, a little weird until Leonard grabs onto a bookcase for support. The bookcase collapses on him, which causes Leonard to have a heart attack and die. In the words of Anchorman, “That escalated quickly.” Also, Margaret gets the house in the end because Henry said it and said she wouldn’t get any of his money when he died. She was like cool old husband; I didn’t want your money anyway.
Whatever, on to the acting. It was good. I guess for the time the film was made, it was good. Emma Thompson did win the Academy Award for it. Anthony Hopkins was his old self. I don’t know what to say; I wasn’t blown away by it. I was mostly like, okay. You do your thing, Emma. Helena Bonham Carter was also good. I mean, she defiantly evolved as an actress. I love her later works.
Overall, Howards End is one of those films that others love. It is rich people’s drama. Actually, fighting over a house and then people having babies. All in all, the film was decent but not for me. I guess I am not worthy of how great this film is.
