Customer Reviews

The Europeans: The Merchant Ivory Collection

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This beautiful adaptation of the Henry James novel of the same name is an early Ivory/Merchant film. It is beautifully shot with shimmering pastoral scenes that bring to mind some wonderful impressionist paintings. The story is likewise somewhat impressionistic and centered around two brother and sister expatriates, Eugenia and Felix Young, who come from Europe to visit their wealthy American half cousins, the Wentworths, in the very bucolic, very Yankee, suburban environs of Boston in the late nineteenth century.

The Wentworths are a rather strait-laced, prim and proper, wealthy family, whose head is the dour and mistrustful old Mr. Wentworth (Wesley Addy). The family welcomes their European cousins with some trepidation and reservation, as they seem positively bohemian to them. The one exception is Gertrude Wentworth (Lisa Eichhorn) who gravitates towards her newly found, sophisticated relatives. As a flower turns to the sun, Gertrude turns to her cousins to brighten her otherwise dull and narrow world. She is not disappointed.

Eugenia (Lee Remick) proclaims to be the Baroness Munster, an unhappily married woman on the brink of divorce. Her charming brother, Felix (Tim Woodward), is a rather artistic fellow with no foreseeable prospects. Together they take the Wentworths by storm and turn their previously well ordered, somewhat provincial world, upside down. This is a slow moving film that allows the story to unfold at its own, unhurried pace.

As Eugenia and Felix leisurely weave themselves into the fabric of the Wentworths' lives, changes ensue. During their stay, a romance develops between Felix and Gertrude. Her rebuffed suitor, Mr. Brand (Norman Snow), ends up finding solace in the arms of Charlotte, Gertrude's more eminently suited sister. Eugenia, however, who has set about to snare the Wentworths' attractive and wealthy neighbor, Robert Acton (Robin Ellis), is in for a very rude awakening.

Lee Remick, a vastly underrated actress, is delightful as the beautiful and predatory Eugenia. Tim Woodward is boyishly charming as Felix, the cousin who sweeps Gertrude off her feet. Robin Ellis is excellent as the thoughtful Robert Acton, the man who stands on the brink of a major life changing decision. Wesley Addy is very good as the suspicious Wentworth patriarch. Lisa Eichhorn's portrayal of Gertrude, however, is flat, as if she were performing in the throes of a zen-like trance. Yet, it does not detract unduly from the overall quality of the film. This is a film that those who love period pieces ahould enjoy.

I saw this movie in a theatre 25 years ago, shortly after having read Henry James' novel, and I remember how impressed I was not only by the movie's accuracy, delicacy, splendour and faithfulness to the novel, but also by the fact that it manages to "repair" some shortcomings of Henry James' early novel.

I have been longing to watch it again ever since, so I eventually bought the DVD. Redescovering it, I was surprised by its incredible freshness and newness, after so many years. It is, indeed, a superb adaptation of James' novel, and one of the most interesting Ivory/Merchant film.

The October New England landscapes are breathtaking, costumes have authenticity, dialogues are spontaneous, and the script features without effort or ostentation the differences between the European and the American mentalities and behaviours; the atmosphere is as genuine as it can be rendered in a movie.

Acting is exceptional; the gradual symptoms of love in the main characters (the two young Americans and their European cousins) are incredibly well expressed: we witness their delight, astonishment, fever, torments, doubts, pain. But far from being graphically shown, the feelings are mostly suggested, so we guess, beyond the self-imposed discretion and reserve, the strong dilemmas and the inner fights. The real drama and utter changes in the characters' lives are like whirlpools under the perfectly calm surface of a lake. This contributes to the (false) impression of slowness or stagnation of the movie--and this, in spite of the multitude of events that occur so naturally, "comme si de rien n'était".

The characters' strong individuality is well depicted, the Wentworths naivety and simplicity is touching, Eugenia's (Lee Remick--amazing!) sophistication is truthful. The ending (one marriage and one painful separation, the latter because of the beautiful European woman's "decadence") also represents a great achievement in the movie: managing to avoid any moralizing preach (or inference), the filmmakers offer an elusive, smooth, easily-flowing, almost smiling ending.

I strongly recommend this movie to anyone who searches aesthetic pleasure, subtle acting and also loves Henry James.

This review was written by my wife, Melanie.

The best about this film is the glorious setting in a New England autumn when the colors of the trees are their most vivid. Interestingly, as revealed in an interview with Merchant/Ivory included on the DVD, the fall setting was not planned, but fortunately occurred because of production delays. The second best about the film is Lee Remick, who turns in a first-rate performance as the Countess Eugenia.

The script has problems, the main criticism being that some of the characters are not believable, such as the puritanical patriarch of the Wentworth family. He is the typical filmmaker's depiction of religious persons, especially devout Christians--stuffy, intolerant, anti-intellectual and foolish. This kind of silly sterotype detracts from the film's merits. Mr. Wentworth is reduced to cardboard caricature, when he could have so easily been a real, flesh-and-blood individual. This character treatment insults viewer intelligence, and is a weakness with some of the period Ivory/Merchant productions. While they are richly creative as far as the visual goes (magnificent locations, sumptuous costumes and great photography), they don't always give the audience the same quality when it comes to screenwriting and fleshing out the characters.

One of my Amazon friends recently completed his reading of all things Henry James. (He owns the complete, multi-volumed set of Library of America.) Thus, as I was flipping through channels last night, looking for a movie to watch, I came upon "The Europeans" with Lee Remick. A 1979 film based on James's novel by the same name, this version by Ivory/Merchant is a period film (meaning not an action flick!). After the first two minutes, I knew this would be a film not for the action junkie.

Instead, there it is--a film of exceptional beauty, depicting the breathtaking leaves of fall in New England. The opening scene shows a woman, hair tightly screwed up into a fanciful arrangement, walking across a carpeted lawn of golden and bronze leaves to enter a gazebo and there read a romantic novel. You see, this woman, Gertrude, is not of her family in beliefs or attitudes. After she meets her cousin from Europe and learns that people can be free, she tells her sister she wants to scream. Then she goes to her room, muffles her face on the bed and does, indeed, scream. In fact, what she ultimately want is to be "outed" as a free thinker. Ah, so Henry James--quiet, delicate, yet deliberate.

A year before this novel "The Europeans" was published, James published the reverse version, "The Americans," a story of "raw, uncultured" Americans who visit Europe and show that Americans, ummmm, do not know the niceties of discrete behavior of improper acts. When available, rich Robert Acton invites Eugenie to travel to Niagra Falls with him, she is shocked, not at his invitation, but at her disappointment that he has nothing more in mind to unite them. After all, coming to America to find a rich husband was her goal.

After two majorly disappointing films of stories by Nicholas Sparks and their devastatingly sad endings, I fully expected that nothing would go right here either. I don't know my James apparently. Not one, but three successful couplings take place. But, oh, that puritanical Robert Acton cannot let go of his proper beliefs. Even the truly and purely puritanical pastor shifts his love to another when it best suits, not only his interests, but others as well.

"The Europeans" is a quietly enjoyable film with things ending well that should end well. Good ol' James!

"The Europeans" (1979) was the first Merchant-Ivory adaptation of a Henry James novel and was later followed by "The Bostonians" (1984) and "The Golden Bowl" (2000). The story concerns a puritan American family, The Wentworths, who live outside Boston in the mid-1800s. They lead a quiet life filled with temperance and religion, but that all changes when their two European cousins show up for a visit unexpectedly. Artistic Felix Young (Tim Woodward) arrives first and immediately charms one of the Wentworth daughters, the homely Gertrude (Lisa Eichorn). When Felix fetches his sister, Eugenia (Lee Remick), who also is the Baroness Eugena-Camilla-Dolores Munster, she makes quite a splash with the simple Americans. Mr. Wentworth (Wesley Addy) is wary of Felix and Eugenia, but at the urging of Gertrude, he agrees to let them stay at a small house on the family's sprawling estate. We soon discover the reason for their visit - Eugenia, who plans on divorcing her Prince husband, is seeking a wealthy American to marry, which sets into motion the main plotlines.

In many ways, "The Europeans" succeeds and is rather enjoyable. The film has many outdoor scenes shot in various Massachusetts and New Hampshire locations, and the fall scenery is absolutely stunning. It's worth watching the movie for that alone. Merchant and Ivory always show an eye for detail, and the decorations, sets, and costumes are gorgeous - the film's only Oscar nomination was for Judy Moorcroft's costume design. They also got the tone of this comedy of manners nearly right; some of the scenes are genuinely funny and highlight the differences between the Americans and the Europeans. I haven't read the James novella, but the plot description of the book suggests that the movie is fairly faithful.

Unfortunately, the film overall often feels stilted, almost as if it were a play. The major debit is that the actors affect such different styles that they often feel as though they're acting in different movies. Some of this might be purposeful, to highlight the differences between the rough-hewn but disciplined Wentworths and the almost Bohemian Europeans; however, it also just seems poorly aced. Lisa Eichorn is particularly wooden and non-emotive. I actually enjoyed Tim Choate's performance as the immature uncultured Wentworth brother, but his acting doesn't meld with the other more uptight performances around him. In addition, the sets, while beautiful, feel stuffy and museum-like. The movie ends up feeling like second-rate "Masterpiece Theater" instead of first-rate Merchant Ivory. I'd rank "The Europeans" ahead of "The Bostonians," but far behind their masterpieces "Howards End," "A Room with a View," and "The Remains of the Day."

Lee Remick was superb in this movie. The photography was also spectacular indicating change of season and
inside characterizations. The old world and the New World with customs and manners was well represented.
It was fun to see this movie.

Excellent descrition of the life in high class,very conservative and religious America late in the 19th century. As most of Ivory pictures it has beatiful settings and great views of nature and lifestyle of the upper very conservative class in North east coast America,however still naive to the european royalty or impostors.

I found this movie a waste of time. It really was a long 90 minutes. I suppose if I had liked or even known the actors I might have found some enjoyment in it, but I only knew the one and she is not one of my favorites. The music was very nice, with old hymns used in the score and played on period instruments. This movie really put me to sleep. I found the script dull and lifeless. I do love period pieces, but this one was sorely lacking compared to the BBC productions. I would recommend that you borrow this from your library before buying it (try an inter-library loan if your library doesn't have it). I would hate to see someone spend over $20 on this and find that it was a waste of time to watch it.