Delayed Reaction: Howards End

The Pitch: Bourgeoisie problems in the early 20th century are so fascinating.

In the early 90s, these costume dramas with - let's just call them - relaxed plots were all the rage. As I've discovered from the likes of Sense & Sensibility, Legends of the Fall, and A River Runs Through It, these are not my preferred genre. In a more modern example that I prefer - Love & Friendship - what I like has more to do with Whit Stillman's writing than the setting. I didn't dislike Howards End. I just wasn't engaged by it, which is a little surprising. I love Emma Thompson and this is the movie that she won her Lead Actress Oscar for. I have no complaints with her work, but it wasn't enough to pull me into the rest of it.

I enjoy some of the machinations and intersections of these people's lives. The central irony of Margaret ending up with Howards End anyway was nice (perhaps, not worthy of the two hours of setup for the punchline). I enjoy the cast all around. I couldn't shake the feeling that I missed something in the story that was driving it more than I noticed. I went back and read through a summary of the story. Nope, I caught all the beats. I just didn't find them interesting. Oh well. This is one of the final Club 50 movies I had left older than 5 years, so that's nice*.

*Correction: It is the last Club 50 movie that I had left before 2015. Yay, me!

Verdict (?): Weakly Don't Recommend