The “strange, wonderful enigma” who helped launch Helena Bonham Carter’s career
There is nothing more captivating than watching two people fall in love, a plight that has seen decades of cinema goers flock to the big screen in the hopes of seeing a romance that will top the others and finally make us believe that we too can be swept off our feet.
Whether it be Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Carol or La La Land, there are many films that focus on the many ups and downs that come with romantic love, charting the messy breakups, interfering careers and restrictive social constructs that prevent characters from finding true happiness.
However, while many films follow relationships after they have been formed, there is one genre that tends to follow characters who resist love and yield to it right at the last second. Period romances have sparked a unique cult obsession as a result of the slow-burning nature that only leads the couple to confess their love at the very end.
Many actors have found fame through this genre, with the likes of Matthew Macfadyen and Keira Knightley becoming global superstars after portraying the beloved characters in Pride and Prejudice, with the hot and cold infatuation between them being defined as one of the ultimate romances. The simple sight of Mr Darcy’s hand flex or slow walk over the misty marsh is enough to make any cynic believe in love.
However, Helena Bonham Carter was another actor to reach star status through her work with the king of period romance, James Ivory, starring in his 1985 film A Room with a View. The director was known for his lush and exquisite shooting style, as each story takes place in naturally beautiful exterior settings and extravagantly decorated interiors, with the characters often feeling trapped and stifled by the norms of their world.
While the characters in modern love stories typically face few barriers in consummating their love, this is not the same for period romances, with many taboos that prevent people from voicing how they actually feel, leading to tense scenes as the characters try to repress their true desires.
This certainly applies to A Room with a View, with Bonham Carter becoming most well-known for one scene in which her character, Lucy Honeychurch, breaks all the conventions of high society life by kissing a man she is not betrothed to. Julian Sands plays her secret lover, with the illicit kiss between them being revered as one of the most romantic moments from Ivory’s entire body of work, as the pair suddenly lose control of themselves in a deserted Italian field, surrounded by wild flowers and billowing trees.
Bonham Carter described this moment as one of the most pivotal in her entire career, with her scene with Sands inadvertently launching her towards fame. After his tragic passing, she described him as a “strange, wonderful enigma”, acknowledging that it was this moment alone that changed the trajectory of her entire life, and one that wouldn’t have been possible with Sands and the electric chemistry they shared.
