In college my roommates and I watched the 1985 film version of E.M. Forster's A Room with a View over and over again. The appeal was not the personality, but the passion and boldness of George Emerson (played by Julian Sands). He contrasted sharply with Cecil Vyse (Daniel Day-Lewis) and we all had to wait for Lucy Honeychurch (Helena Bonham Carter) to realize what we had known all along--always choose passion over propriety. (If you love Daniel Day-Lewis in movies like Last of the Mohicans, you will barely recognize him here, but you'll admire his talent.) The movie cast also includes Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, and other recognizable faces.
Though I had watched the movie countless times (and the kissing scenes even more times) with my roommates, I had never read the book. Well, I have now read the book and my summation is that is pretty much just like the movie--or the movie is like the book. There is very little variation. The only thing you'll gain from reading the book as well is a better sense of the author's purpose in writing it and the narrator's opinion on different characters.
Sorry E.M. Forster, but for me, a movie does the same job that your book does. So if you've seen the movie, there's no real need to read the book (unless you love the movie, in which case there's no harm in it). And if you've read the book, you know what happens in the movie, but it's still entertaining. If you haven't read or seen it, the movie is obviously the shorter, more entertaining version. Unless you want to avoid having to see grown men run around a pond naked, then you might want to try the book instead.
One of my absolute favorite books of all time. I've never actually seen the film, so I'll have to pick it up!
ReplyDeleteEms: You must not have lived with us during the movie obsession. I remember watching it with Erin and Kristi all the time, so I think it was before Lesley came and brought us together.
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