{"id":7005,"date":"2025-08-01T03:03:45","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T07:03:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/?p=7005"},"modified":"2026-05-04T12:04:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T16:04:54","slug":"howards-end-1992","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/?p=7005","title":{"rendered":"Howards End-1992"},"content":{"rendered":"

Howards End-1992<\/strong><\/p>\n

Director James Ivory<\/strong><\/p>\n

Starring Emma Thompson, Helena Bonham Carter, Anthony Hopkins<\/strong><\/p>\n

Top 250 Films #79<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Scott’s Review #702<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Reviewed December 1, 2017<\/p>\n

Grade: A-<\/strong><\/p>\n

Howards End is my favorite film adaptation of E.M. Forster’s novel, which was also adapted into a film during the 1980s (1985’s A Room with a View and 1987’s Maurice are the other two notable works).<\/p>\n

The novels were written during the early 1900s and set during the same period, focusing on class relations in 20th-century England.<\/p>\n

The film is lovely and picturesque, telling an interesting story about romance and drama between the haves and have-nots during this period.<\/p>\n

The film was a success and received heaps of Academy Award nominations in 1993.<\/p>\n

Margaret Schlegel (Emma Thompson), an upper-middle-class intellectual and member of London’s bourgeoisie, befriends wealthy and sophisticated yet shockingly conservative Ruth Wilcox (Vanessa Redgrave).<\/p>\n

The two women strike up a powerful friendship, which results in her beloved country home being left to Margaret when Mrs. Wilcox, ailing, dies.<\/p>\n

To complicate matters, Margaret falls in love with a businessman (and husband of Ruth), Henry (Anthony Hopkins), while Margaret’s sister Helen briefly becomes engaged to Paul Wilcox (Joseph A. Bennett), <\/span><\/span>Henry’s son.<\/p>\n

The two families’ lives further intersect when they become neighbors in London, and the true owner of the beloved “Howards End” is questioned.<\/p>\n

Added to the mix are several other characters of various social backgrounds, having connections to the families.<\/p>\n

The writing in Howard’s End is rich and emotional, with each character perfectly fleshed out, including both supporting and lead characters.<\/p>\n

Thompson and Hopkins, both sensational actors, have tremendous chemistry, and, unsurprisingly, Thompson won Best Actress in this competitive year.<\/p>\n

Thompson carries the film seamlessly with her upper-middle-class ideals- not conservatively rich, but far from working-class- she epitomizes poise, grace, and empathy for those less fortunate than she.<\/p>\n

Hopkins, on the other hand, is calculating and confident, yet charismatic and sexy as an old-school, controlling businessman.<\/p>\n

Somehow, these two characters complement each other exceptionally well despite their varied background.s<\/p>\n

The role of Helen may very well be Helena Bonham Carter’s finest. Not being an enormous fan of the actress, who is overrated and too brooding in my opinion, I enjoy portraying an interesting character in Helen.<\/p>\n

Lovelorn and earnest, yet somewhat oblivious, she develops a delicious romance with the young clerk, Leonard Bast, my favorite character in the film.<\/p>\n

Living with Jacky, a woman of dubious origins, he is the ultimate nice guy and sadly winds up down on his luck after heeding terrible business advice.<\/p>\n

Bast, thanks in large part to actor Samuel West, who imbues his character with an innocent, good-guy quality, deserves major props.<\/p>\n

The cinematography featured in Howards End is beautiful, with extravagant outdoor scenes- the lavish gardens of Howards End- just ravishing and wonderful.<\/p>\n

Kudos, too, to the art direction, set design, and costume departments for making the film look so enchanting.<\/p>\n

There is something so appealing about the look of this film, and director James Ivory undoubtedly deserves praise for pulling it all together into a suave picture. Whether the scene calls for sun or rain, tranquil or bustling, every scene looks great.<\/p>\n

If I were to knock any points from this fine film, it would be at two hours and twenty-two minutes. Howards End drags ever so slightly, and many scenes involve the characters merely chatting with each other, with little action.<\/p>\n

But this criticism is small potatoes when compared to the exceptional writing and well-nuanced character development displayed throughout the piece.<\/p>\n

Admittedly, and perhaps shamefully, I have not read any of the Forster novel. Still, Howard’s End appears to be the film that is most successfully adapted, gleaming with textured finesse, grace, and style.<\/p>\n

With the film’s finest actors along for the experience and intricate, fine storytelling, Howards End (1992) is a film well worth watching.<\/p>\n

Oscar Nominations: 3 wins-<\/strong>Best Picture, Best Director-James Ivory, Best Actress-Emma Thompson (won)<\/strong>, Best Supporting Actress-Vanessa Redgrave, Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published (won)<\/strong>, Best Original Score, Best Art Direction (won)<\/strong>, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design<\/p>\n

Independent Spirit Award Nominations:\u00a0<\/strong>Best International Film<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Howards End-1992 Director James Ivory Starring Emma Thompson, Helena Bonham Carter, Anthony Hopkins Top 250 Films #79 Scott’s Review #702 Reviewed December 1, 2017 Grade: A- Howards End is my favorite film adaptation of E.M. Forster’s novel, which was also adapted into a film during the 1980s (1985’s A Room with a View and 1987’s … Continue reading Howards End-1992<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7984,323,1746,192,1311,1774,362,1445,286,41,215,211,227,1444,1543,10674,10676,10677,261,10675,222,10673,7530,7464,771],"tags":[7985,324,1749,193,1313,1775,363,1448,287,73,216,212,228,1447,1548,10679,10681,10682,262,10680,221,10678,7533,7460,772],"class_list":["post-7005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-79-favorite-film","category-1992-movie-reviews","category-anthony-hopkins","category-dramas","category-e-m-forster","category-emma-thompson","category-favorite-film-of-the-year","category-helena-bonham-carter","category-historical-dramas","category-indiefilms","category-indie-comedies","category-indie-dramas","category-indie-romantic-comedies","category-james-ivory","category-james-wilby","category-jemma-redgrave","category-joseph-a-bennett","category-nicola-duffett","category-period-dramas","category-prunella-scales","category-romantic-dramas","category-samuel-west","category-top-100-films","category-top-250-films","category-vanessa-redgrave","tag-79-favorite-film","tag-1992-movie-reviews","tag-anthony-hopkins","tag-dramas-2","tag-e-m-forster","tag-emma-thompson","tag-favorite-film-of-the-year","tag-helena-bonham-carter","tag-historical-dramas","tag-independent-films","tag-indie-comedies","tag-indie-dramas","tag-indie-romantic-comedies","tag-james-ivory","tag-james-wilby","tag-jemma-redgrave","tag-joseph-a-bennett","tag-nicola-duffett","tag-period-dramas","tag-prunella-scales","tag-romantic-dramas","tag-samuel-west","tag-top-100-films","tag-top-250-films","tag-vanessa-redgrave"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7005"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7005\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23053,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7005\/revisions\/23053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}