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Review

A sumptuous re-creation of E.M. Forster's novel of class struggle in the dying days of the Edwardian era. The story centers around the tragic confluence of three families from London's various social strata. Redgrave and Hopkins personify the upper crust as the Wilcoxes. The Schlegel sisters (Thompson and Bonham Carter) represent the liberal middle class. And Leonard Bast (West), an educated Cockney trying to make his way into the world of business, and his wife (Duffett) embody the lower depths. Filmed with all of the pomp and circumstance one has come to expect of Merchant Ivory productions, and acted with loving attention to both the mannerisms and prose of the era, Howards End is a truly marvelous and engaging period piece. Thompson won a well-deserved Oscar for her portrayal of the elder Schlegel, and is equally matched by Hopkins.