But this movie was different.
HELENA BONHAM CARTER:Oh, thats wonderful.
I wish Id been there.
Credit: Sony Pictures Classics/Everett
James [Ivory] left me a lovely message.
But Im very critical.
But what are your memories from when you watched it almost 25 years ago?
I loved the film.
Luckily I wasnt in every scene of it.
Its difficult to judge a film youve been in, butHowards Endis my favorite Forster novel.
The BBC is reportedly working on a miniseries version.
And still, its a very hard novel to describe in 25 words or less.
Oh, its so hard, isnt it?
I wish Id reread it just now.
Why didnt I do my homework for this?
Well, I think its about legacy and inheritance, in all forms.
Its such a deeply soul-satisfying narrative.
Its about pain and loss but its very soothing.
And then Forster is so weirdly dramatic, as well.
Like Leonard Bast [Samuel West] dying from underneath a collapsed bookcase [laughs].
I must say thats a bit random.
Ive heard the story of how you got the part.
And he said, I was wondering, Little Thing, what you would look like pregnant?
Thats an interesting observation.
What was the Little Thing all about?
That came fromA Room With A View.
My character Lucy Honeychurch is called that at one point.
But thats how I found out that he had me in mind for this part.
But yourHowards Endrole is much more of a character actress part.
Thats why I loved it.
Shes not the ingenue role.
Do you think that changed your career course a little bit?
I always felt like she was more of a match for me.
I always felt more comfortable in her skin than the previous romantic parts that had come my way.
I remember feeling quite liberated and quite funny, because shes a fanatic.
Also I loved her sense of motion.
In the novel, Forster uses verbs like she flung herself into the room.
Everything was so vivid.
She went with her heart before her head.
Has the role stuck with you in some meaningful ways?
Well, its funny.
She would have been the same age as my character inHowards Endat the same time.
She was very political and very liberal, but passionately so, and very forthright and outspoken.
And she was a friend of E.M. Forster and she readHowards End.
And we brought it back into the family.
Wow, youre almost giving away the ending ofHowards End.
It was sort of meant to be.
I remember my dad always going on about some house.
This is exactly what Forster was writing about.
Right, transcending generations.
Its bizarre, but I can tell you its very true a book can be absorbed into ones life.
And it has its own themes that have come into my life for real.
