Howards End (1992)

	Directed by: James Ivory	COUNTRY United Kingdom Japan USA GENRE Drama NORWEGIAN TITLE Howards End RUNNING TIME 142 minutes
	Produced by: Ismail Merchant
	Written by (based on the 1910 novel by E. M. Forster): Ruth Prawer Jhabvala

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Margaret Schlegel	Emma Thompson
Henry Wilcox	Anthony Hopkins
Helen Schlegel	Helena Bonham Carter	½
Ruth Wilcox	Vanessa Redgrave
Charles Wilcox	James Wilby
Evie Wilcox	Jemma Redgrave	-
Leonard Bast	Samuel West	½
Paul Wilcox	Joseph Bennett	-
Aunt Juley	Prunella Scales	-
Tibby Schlegel	Adrian Ross Magenty	-
Annie	Jo Kendall	-

Review

The cinematography and production design are magnificent in this Merchant-Ivory film. With nine Academy Award nominations, it remains their most honoured work, edging out the eight nominations earned by A Room with a View and The Remains of the Day. But although Howards End is an accomplished picture, the meticulous storytelling and rather dull characters keep it continually short of fully engaging. It's a study of class and etiquette in early 20th-century England, but you probably won't find yourself as immersed in these people's lives as you might have hoped for. Emma Thompson won the Oscar for Best Actress and arguably delivers the strongest performance among a solid but never dazzling cast. Anthony Hopkins is too stiff and lifeless as the stiff and lifeless Henry Wilcox. We get the point already.