In Merchant Ivory’s adaptation of “A Room With A View”, the first establishing shot that we see is the name of the hotel in which Lucy and Charlotte Bartlett are staying- Pensione Bertolini, in Florence, Italy. At first it may not seem like it, but this anticipates Merchant Ivory’s use of intertitle, which continues throughout the film. Intertitle was first used when films became a form of entertainment- as silent movies. When films first came into being, as we know they were silent. They used to proceed by a compromise by what was revealed by image and what was revealed by word onscreen. Sometimes the word would tally with the chapter title. Merchant Ivory used this technique in “A Room With A View”, in the whole film. They usually feature Forster’s preference for unusually long chapter titles.
The second establishing shot is when Charlotte begins to complain about the room, as she and Lucy specifically asked for a room with a view. However, they received a room without a view. The shot begins when Lucy’s throws open the shutters, and is quite disappointed with what she sees, as her and Charlotte both expected a view of the River Arno. As Lucy opens the shutters, she looks much more disappointed with the view than Charlotte. This establishing shot also gives us an idea of what the characters are like. The clothes which are being worn by Lucy and Charlotte describe the characters to us. Lucy appears to be wearing a young modern dress, whereas Charlotte is wearing a Victorian-style dress.
Between the second and third establishing shot, there is a tracking shot, which shows Lucy and Charlotte walking down the stairs on the way to the dining room. Merchant Ivory chose to do this, so the audience would become familiar with the hotel in which Lucy and Charlotte are staying. On the way to the dining room, there is a slight obstacle. This may signify the obstacles Lucy and Charlotte may come across, further on in the film.
The third establishing shot takes place in the dining room. Lucy and Charlotte take their seats at their table and then a voice is heard. Dame Judi Dench, who plays Miss Eleanor McLavish, is identified by her voice. There is a panning out shot, which gives an impression of all the residents staying at the Pensione Bertolini. There is a momentary focus on Miss McLavish, who is identified by voice. Eye contact is then made between Lucy and George Emerson, which may be the start of a new romance. George makes a question mark on his plate from his leftovers, which he then shows Lucy. George Emerson is often associated with the question mark. This may show that he is the questioning type. After Charlotte and Lucy swap rooms with the Emersons, Charlotte spots a question mark, which has been drawn on the back of a picture hanging on the wall. George then walks in, turns the picture the right way round, and then leaves. The question mark which was made from the leftover food is an example of visual shorthand. It may signify him asking Lucy “what are we doing here with all these old people?”.
Andrew Davies adapted the same scene as Merchant Ivory, as to where the kiss between George and Lucy took place. The slopes of Fiesole are hills, located just outside of Florence. The scenes leading up to the kiss, start off when there is embracing between the cab driver and his “sister”. This scene acts as leitmotif, which anticipates the kiss between George and Lucy. When they arrive, the women are separated from the men. Lucy, Charlotte and Miss McLavish find a spot to sit down. Miss McLavish and Charlotte engage in deep conversation, which is the work of the producer. Lucy goes off to find Mr Beebe. As she does so, the romantic music by Puccini starts up again. Lucy goes back to the cab driver and asks him to take her to Mr Beebe. However, Lucy is not very good at speaking Italian, therefore when speaking to the cab driver, she accidentally asked for “the good men”. The cab driver and Lucy then walk onwards. Because of the slopes, Lucy uses her rolled-up umbrella to help her walk on the hills. Merchant Ivory deliberately focus on the rolled-up umbrella, which functions as a phallic symbol-male potency. Lucy then realises that the cab driver has accidentally taken her to George. She walks over to George to ask him of Mr Beebe’s whereabouts, but he grabs her and kisses her.
Andrew Davies always adapts for small screen, especially costume dramas or classical dramas. He converts a classical novel into a small screen production, and he always finds a sexual interest in things. When he is approached by a TV channel, the first thing he does is listens to the novel. Davies knows what the popular audiences are looking for. In Davies’ adaptation of “A Room With A View”, it’s being done in retrospect. He uses a frame where the storyline is contained. Davis completely brings the dates forward in this adaptation. Two time slots are being established. This is because Lucy finds herself in Florence, 1922, as a young war widow. As such, she is reliving (in her mind) her romance of 10 years previously (1912), when she first meets up with George Emerson. When Lucy is in Florence (1922), she visits the slopes of Fiesole, where she first met her deceased husband. The cab driver who drives her up the slopes is, coincidentally, the same cab driver who took her up the slopes 10 years previously, when she was accompanied with Charlotte, George, Mr Emerson, Mr Beebe, Mr Eager and Miss McLavish. Lucy and the cab driver get talking, which gives the viewer an idea that this is possibly the start of a new romance.
The first establishing shot shows the bottom of Lucy’s skirt. Her skirt is much shorter, giving the impression that the date is somewhere in the 1920s. In Merchant Ivory’s adaptation, the first establishing shot is accompanied with Puccini’s music. In Davies’ adaptation, the music seems more sombre, as Lucy has just become a widow.
The second establishing shot is in the Pensione Bertolini. The man, who is booking Lucy in, asked her if she has come alone. Lucy then immediately thinks back 10 years, to when Charlotte is complaining about the view. As Lucy and the man make their way upstairs, Lucy enters the room and has another flashback to when Lucy looks at the view. As it is a flashback, the lighting is much brighter, and as the characters speak, there is a small echo. Then, back in 1922, just as the hotel manager is about to throw open the shutters, Lucy stops him. This may be because she wanted to open the shutters herself, and remember what happened back in 1912. The dining room looks quite different in this adaptation, compared to the dining room in Merchant Ivory’s adaptation. Here, there is only one table, whereas Merchant Ivory used several round tables. In Merchant Ivory’s adaptation, it was quite easy for George and Lucy to make eye contact, as they were sitting directly opposite each other. However, Andrew Davies has made the seating position in his adaptation, so as Lucy and George cannot make eye contact without glimpsing over the top of other people’s heads. Charlotte begins complaining about the room without a view and Mr Emerson then offers to swap rooms. Charlotte refuses, which then leads Mr Emerson to get George to persuade her. This is when Lucy and George first make eye contact, and they continue to do so, throughout the meal. Whilst sitting at the dining table, Mr Beebe enters the film much earlier than in the Merchant Ivory production and in the book. This guarantees a “bums on seats” effect, which makes sure that the audience will not lose interest in the film. This “bums on seats” effect also happens in Merchant Ivory’s version, except with the famous Judi Dench, who plays Miss Eleanor McLavish, author.
The third establishing shot takes place after the meal in a room with several other hotel guests. Lucy makes a comment about most of the people being English. Charlotte replies by saying that they are there to look at Italy, not the Italians. This shows that Charlotte is quite insecure and she does not like moving forward; she is more a backward-looking character. George and Lucy also make eye contact several times again.
In the Andrew Davies version, Charlotte tells Lucy to go and find Mr Beebe. Lucy makes her way over to find the cab driver, and yet again, she struggles with her Italian. She makes a hand gesture, which is in the shape of the cross. The second cab driver translates it as “the good man”, just as in the Merchant Ivory version. Lucy follows the cab driver, but she feels a bit insecure and asks him if he’s going the right way. She continues to follow him, but then as he moves away the tree branch, she sees George standing there. Lucy begins to tell the cab driver that he misunderstood her, but he pushes her down the slope and she runs into George’s arms, and they kiss. The lighting effect is much brighter and the whole kiss is done in slow motion. Charlotte then appears, as she has been worried of Lucy’s whereabouts. She sees the two kissing, but she does not shout out Lucy’s name, like in the Merchant Ivory version.
Both adaptations are different in the way certain scenes have been portrayed, but both show some sort of similarity to the original novel. Both Merchant Ivory and Andrew Davies portray certain things in different ways, but the main storyline has been kept the same.
