Howards End takes place in Edwardian England and concerns three families who represent three social classes: the Wilcoxes are wealthy capitalists, the class that is displacing the aristocracy; the Schlegel sisters standing for the enlightened bourgeoisie; and the Basts, a young couple down on their luck, who may be traced to the lower middle class. (Forster is clear that the novel is “not concerned with the very poor”.) The film asks the question “Who will inherit England?” and answers it through the ownership of the house, Howards End, as it passes from person to person.
The younger sister, Helen Schlegel (Helena Bonham Carter), briefly becomes engaged to the younger Wilcox son, Paul. They realise their mistake and break it off by mutual consent. Later, when the Wilcox family takes a house in the vicinity of the Schlegels in London, the older sister, Margaret Schlegel (Emma Thompson), resumes her acquaintance with Paul’s mother,
Ruth Wilcox (Vanessa Redgrave), whom she had briefly met before. Ruth is descended from English yeoman stock and it is through her family that the Wilcoxes have come to own Howards End, a house she loves dearly. It stands symbolically above class distinction (in both the film and the novel), representing rural England, the rich tapestry of its manifold traditions, and the deeply rooted cultural heritage associated with them.
Over the course of the next few months, the two women become very good friends, and Ruth eventually regards Margaret as a kindred spirit. Hearing that the lease on the Schlegels’ London house is due to expire, and knowing she is soon to die, Ruth bequeaths Howards End to Margaret in a handwritten will. This causes great consternation to the Wilcoxes, who refuse to believe that Ruth was in her “right mind” or could possibly have intended her home to go to a relative stranger.
The Wilcoxes burn the piece of paper on which Ruth’s bequest is written, and decide to keep her will a secret. Henry Wilcox (Anthony Hopkins) is aware, as Margaret is not, that he has prevented the Schlegels from finding a home at Howards End. Therefore, he offers to help Margaret look for a new place to live. As a result, they get to know each other quite well. Henry proposes marriage. Margaret accepts.
Some time before this the Schlegels had befriended a young, poor, yet highly intellectual clerk, Leonard Bast (Samuel West). Both sisters find him remarkable, infused with a spirit of “romantic ambition” as Margaret puts it. Wishing to improve his lot, they pass along advice from Henry to the effect that Leonard must leave his post, because the insurance company he works for is supposedly heading for a crash. Leonard acts on this advice in good faith, but finds himself in a far worse position; indeed he is unable to find any employment.
Howards End is a 1992 British romantic drama film based upon the novel of the same name by E. M. Forster (published in 1910), a story of class relations in turn-of-the-20th-century England. The film—produced by Merchant Ivory Productions as their third adaptation of a Forster novel (following A Room with a View in 1985 and Maurice in 1987)—was the first film to be released by Sony Pictures Classics. The screenplay was written by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, directed by James Ivory and produced by Ismail Merchant.
Howards End was entered as Official selection for Cannes International Film Festival and won 45th Anniversary Award. In 1993, the film received nine Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture for Ismail Merchant and Best Director for James Ivory. The film won three awards, including for Best Art Direction (Luciana Arrighi and Ian Whittaker). Ruth Prawer Jhabvala earned her second Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, while Emma Thompson won the 1992 Academy Award for Best Actress.
Part of the film was shot at the Baltic Exchange, 30 St. Mary Axe, London. Soon after filming there it was bombed by the IRA, razed, and the Swiss Re building, or The Gherkin was erected on its site. Other scenes were shot in the quadrangle of the Founder’s Building at Royal Holloway, University of London, in Surrey. The “Howards End” house in the countryside is Peppard Cottage in Rotherfield Peppard, Oxfordshire, and the Wilcoxes’s house is nearby. Some scenes were also shot at Brampton Bryan in Herefordshire.
Howards End (1992)
Directed by: James Ivory
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, Vanessa Redgrave, Helena Bonham Carter, Joseph Bennett, Prunella Scales, Jemma Redgrave, Susie Lindeman, Samuel West
Screenplay by: Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
Production Design by: Luciana Arrighi
Cinematography by: Tony Pierce-Roberts
Film Editing by: Andrew Marcus
Costume Design by: Jenny Beavan, John Bright
Set Decoration by: Ian Whittaker
Art Direction by: John Ralph
Music by: Richard Robbins
MPAA Rating: PG for mild language, violence and sensuality.
Distributed by: Sony Pictures Classics
Release Date: March 13, 1992 (United States), May 1, 1992 (United Kingdom)
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