Look, Howards End is a competent, mildly intriguing Merchant Ivory production about the paranoia of the wealthy. Mostly though it's over 2 hours of proof as to why I don't and have no desire to watch Downton Abbey. Posh people have quietly regal discussions, a sudden outburst of drama temporarily disrupts the nobility, repeat.

Helen Bonham Carter and Emma Thompson alone… what more can I say? Victorian-ish drama at it's best. There's outstanding dialog and Emma Thompson is at her prime: innocent and naively charming. I have some serious issues with the plot, but that's just because it's done so well that I've accumulated so much hate for certain characters. We are met with two families the Wilcox and the Schlegels. First of all the Wilcoxes in this film are complete assholes, except the mother who dies early on in the movie (don't worry I didn't ruin anything, everyone sees it coming).I didn't care for some of the turns that this film took, but this movie just pulls you in with all of their relationship with one another as well as the atmosphere of the film. Overall, this film has a great cast and an entertaining story interwoven with drama. A great watch.

The story opens in Edwardian England, where we meet Margaret and Helen Schlegel (Emma Thompson, Helena Bodham Carter), genteel sisters who are concerned with the lot of the poor. When they meet a lowly clerk who is struggling to get by, they try to mentor him but their advice only makes his situation worse. Meanwhile, Margaret develops a friendship with the Wilcoxes (Anthony Hopkins, Vanessa Redgrave), a wealthy family whose country home, Howards End, will become an important part of all their lives.Based on E. M. Forster's 1911 novel, this film is an insightful study of the social classes, their interaction (and lack thereof), and the highly structured and restrained manners that ruled society. Thompson won the Best Actress Oscar for her role, but it really is an ensemble piece and the entire cast is outstanding. The period is carefully recreated using wonderful costumes, sets, and cars and the photography is beautiful. The script (also Oscar-nominated) weaves together many seemingly unrelated characters and subplots, all building to an emotional conclusion at Howards End, which is the source of much desire, jealousy, and sorrow.This is a thought-provoking and moving drama/tragedy. Highly recommended.

So subtle, yet so very clever. There are some films you watch again and again just because you like them, or something about them. Even if you don't think them among the best ever - they're one of your favorites. This is not that. There are others you really have to watch several times just to penetrate the layers of things hidden - multiple meaning and real subtext. Modern film goers aren't used to this. Many find even the idea of intelligent films that require your intelligence to watch them, a foreign concept. This is one of those.Now mind you I'm not saying this is a hard film to watch, it is not. It's extremely easy to watch, and very enjoyable - if you like people (or at least the idea of liking people). If you don't like people, you probably won't like this or any period piece. This movie actually has something to say, which is easy to miss. Meaning if you stay on the surface of it, it's very easy to take for granted - looking at the lovely and missing the principles and truths on display. Attention is something you have to Pay, and some are simply not willing to do that. They feel the price of the ticket should have covered it.If you love excellence then you'll love this film, because it it is filled with excellence. It's not fast paced like a thriller, but not a single moment of the film is wasted. All the transitions from scene to scene are seamless, and every scene is full. The language here is the language of relationships. With one of the stronger underlying themes being that of the Biblical law of reaping what you sow, and accountability for one's actions.Pay special attention to where the film begins and the offense (morally) that occurs there, where the film ends - and who is given what would have been theirs (at least in part) had the right thing been done instead of the offense, and the way that it all comes about. Which is part of what causes you to not notice it. Believe me, it is so subtle pretty nearly everyone misses it. In an almost altruistic sense the story comes full circle by ending exactly where it began. Watch how the inanimate objects of an umbrella, a sword, and a house participate in the flow of events, and thereby the direction of lives. This is probably the most nuanced film you'll ever see, and it is a masterpiece . . . fullgrownministry.com