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'Where Angels Fear to Tread' is an adaptation of another of EM Forster's novels, although I haven't read it. And am not inspired to do so having watched the film. It's set in the early part of the 19th century, initially in the UK, and the majority in Italy.
I found it difficult to get into as the sound quality of our DVD isn't that great. It was hard to catch some of the conversation, but I got the gist of it. The recently widowed and strong-willed Lilia (Helen Mirren) is going on holiday in Italy with a rather serious companion, her friend Caroline (Helena Bonham Carter). Lilia's daughter Irma is to stay behind with her somewhat snooty in-laws.
Letters start to arrive, culminating in one announcing that Lilia has fallen in love and is getting married. Her hapless brother-in-law Philip (nicely played by Julian Graves) is sent out to stop this shocking event, only to find that he's too late. And then Lilia, past the first passionate stages of married life, discovers that life as an Italian wife is even more restrictive than it was in the UK.
So far so good. There are some mildly amusing moments and plenty of attractive scenery, as well as some nice Italian (and British) stereotypes of the era. The cast are believable (albeit difficult to hear) and my only real annoyance in the first part of the film is that despite several conversations in Italian, there are no available subtitles on the DVD. I did frequently find myself confusing Caroline with Helena Bonham Carter's character Lucy in 'Room with a View' even though they have rather different personalities. But despite Caroline supposedly being rather dowdy, they looked very similar.
Unfortunately, the second part of the film features increasing tragedy, peppered with violence and sadness. Again I'm sure I missed quite a few of the subtleties with the poor soundtrack (Helena Bonham Carter, quietly spoken anyway, is particularly difficult to hear). But the overall storyline was clear - and depressing. Even the ending was somewhat without hope. Perhaps it reflects real life, but I prefer films that provide positive escapism.
I was surprised to find that in both the UK and US, the rating is PG. Quite apart from the subject-matter being unsuitable for children, there was more violence than I was comfortable watching, and one decidedly intimate scene which admittedly did not show anything directly, but implied a great deal. I would rate this at least 12/PG-13.
Not a film I expect to watch again. But that's just my personal taste - others rate it highly, and it certainly has a high quality cast.
Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews
Letters start to arrive, culminating in one announcing that Lilia has fallen in love and is getting married. Her hapless brother-in-law Philip (nicely played by Julian Graves) is sent out to stop this shocking event, only to find that he's too late. And then Lilia, past the first passionate stages of married life, discovers that life as an Italian wife is even more restrictive than it was in the UK.
So far so good. There are some mildly amusing moments and plenty of attractive scenery, as well as some nice Italian (and British) stereotypes of the era. The cast are believable (albeit difficult to hear) and my only real annoyance in the first part of the film is that despite several conversations in Italian, there are no available subtitles on the DVD. I did frequently find myself confusing Caroline with Helena Bonham Carter's character Lucy in 'Room with a View' even though they have rather different personalities. But despite Caroline supposedly being rather dowdy, they looked very similar.
Unfortunately, the second part of the film features increasing tragedy, peppered with violence and sadness. Again I'm sure I missed quite a few of the subtleties with the poor soundtrack (Helena Bonham Carter, quietly spoken anyway, is particularly difficult to hear). But the overall storyline was clear - and depressing. Even the ending was somewhat without hope. Perhaps it reflects real life, but I prefer films that provide positive escapism.
I was surprised to find that in both the UK and US, the rating is PG. Quite apart from the subject-matter being unsuitable for children, there was more violence than I was comfortable watching, and one decidedly intimate scene which admittedly did not show anything directly, but implied a great deal. I would rate this at least 12/PG-13.
Not a film I expect to watch again. But that's just my personal taste - others rate it highly, and it certainly has a high quality cast.
Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews
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