Maggie Smith's perfectly-rated British period drama A Room With a View has landed a free streaming home in the UK.
Directed by James Ivory and based on the novel by EM Forster, the Merchant/Ivory romance stars Helena Bonham Carter as Lucy Honeychurch, a young Englishwoman who is touring Italy with her older cousin (Smith).
While in Florence, Lucy meets a free-spirited man named George Emerson (Julian Sands). Back in England, she must decide between George and her wealthy suitor Cecil Vyse (Daniel Day-Lewis).
The synopsis reads: "Lucy Honeychurch shares a brief romance with George Emerson in Florence. Yet as she tries to move on with her life and look for marriage elsewhere, can she truly forget the events of that summer?"
Released in 1985, the period film is now available to stream on Channel 4's streaming service, meaning fans in the UK can catch it for free with ads.
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A Room With a View boasts a perfect score of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes from 37 reviews, with critics calling the lead performances "superbly wrought".
"The performances – particularly by Maggie Smith, Helena Bonham Carter and Denholm Elliot – are superbly wrought in this tale of conflicting cultures, embattled sexes and changing values," wrote The Boston Globe.
The Spokesman-Review said: "The beauty of the Italian and English countrysides, the acting of Maggie Smith and Denholm Elliott and the immediacy of a particularly brutal killing all combine to make this one of the most visually affecting films you'll see all year."
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"Adapted by Merchant Ivory from EM Forster’s novel, this is a lush wallow in nostalgic romanticism," penned The Times.
Variety had this to say: "A thoroughly entertaining screen adaptation of novelist E.M. Forster's comedy of manners about the Edwardian English upper class at home and abroad, distinguished by superb ensemble acting, intelligent writing and stunning design."
"It is an intellectual film, but intellectual about emotions: It encourages us to think about how we feel, instead of simply acting on our feelings," RogerEbert.com said in their four star review.
A Room With a View is streaming now on Channel 4.
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Harriet is a freelance news writer specialising in TV and movies at Digital Spy.
A horror enthusiast, she joined Digital Spy after working on her own horror website, reviewing films and focusing largely on feminism in the genre.
In her spare time, Harriet paints and produces mixed-media art. She graduated from the University of Kingston with a BA in fine art, where she specialised in painting. She also has an MA in journalism from Birkbeck University.
