Merchant Ivory Classic: The Bostonians (1984) | 4K Restoration | Feminist Movement

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

The Bostonians is a 1984 historic romantic drama film based on Henry James’ novel of the same name. The film revolves around a young feminist woman who managed to instigate the interest of an affluent feminist spinster and a young chauvinist man in 19th century Boston.

PLOT

A conservative lawyer named Basil Ransome (Christopher Reeve, Superman) living in New York reluctantly accepts the invitation of his cousin Olive Chancellor (Vanessa Redgrave, Howard’s End) to attend a gathering related to the women’s suffrage movement in Boston. Olive is the leader of the movement and from the beginning it becomes obvious these two have nothing in common, since Basil is against the equality of sexes. Verena Tarrant (Madeleine Potter, Slaves of New York), a young feminist and an inspirational public speaker, delivers a

speech about the urgent need for a change in a society considering sex inequality. Olive is lured by Verena, seeing her as the embodiment of the suffrage movement. Basil disagrees with what she says, still he is captivated. Olive soon adopts the young woman as her protégé and they form an intimate bond. Basil visits Boston occasionally for work, and tries to get in touch with Verena, behind Olive’s back, with Verena actually enjoying his company.

The Bostonians gives us insight on the theme of feminism versus love and personal freedom. Verena is at an impressionable age, and she is not aware of what she wants. She is upset about women being ineligible to vote, still she falls for a chauvinist man. Olive feels the need to help Verena, but she constantly alienates her from her family and later from the man she loves. Both Basil and Olive are in love and want to possess her. Verena, though, is too young to know what the best for her is. The women’s suffrage movement is supposed to fight for the right of women to vote, nonetheless Olive deprives Verena of her right to feel love and get married like any woman would crave. Concurrently, Basil, who is the love of her life, is the very person who expects from her to give up on her work as a public speaker, which will restrict her to a mundane life of inequality…

The film is heartbreaking and realistic, in a sense that every woman has faced a similar dilemma or situation regardless of the century she was born. At start we like Basil in the hope of a romance that could “convert” him. While he is gradually gaining ground in Verena’s heart, we lose our enthusiasm for this romance and sympathize with Olive. Someone cannot choose who they fall in love with, still it is futile when values do not align.

 CHARACTERS

• Olive Chancellor is the leader of the women’s suffrage movement in Boston and a spinster. She belongs to the upper class and from the first time she sees Verena becomes enamored of her. Olives takes her as a protégé and they fight together for women’s right to vote. She acts in a selfish way trying to ensure Verena is on the right path, acting accordingly. Still, it is evident that there is romantic jealousy. Olive experiences a wide range of emotions when she is with Verena, and tends to suffocate her.

• Basil Ransome is a young lawyer and a conservative. He believes women should not be equal with men publicly and generally he is of the opinion that women belong to their husbands. Basil is enchanted by Verena, although he takes a dim view of her beliefs. He makes an effort to court her without Olive’s knowledge, since she despises him for being a chauvinist.

• Verena Tarrant is a young feminist and inspirational speaker. She is passionate and aspires for a different type of society where women and men share the same privileges in politics and education. Verena is very close to Olive, whom she sees as a mentor and companion. At the same time she enjoys the allure she has to men through her public speeches. Unfortunately Verena lacks direction. At start she was an extension of her father, Dr. Tarrant. Then she becomes Olive’s close associate. Her intense feelings for Basil baffle her, taking into account that a potential marriage to him entails abandoning all she was fighting for.

• Miss Birdseye is an abolitionist and one of the eldest members of the suffrage movement. She is a benevolent and cordial woman, who helps Basil court Verena. Miss Birdseye loves her and thinks that she could change the young lawyer to the better.

• Adeline is Olive’s sister. She likes Basil because she thinks he would be an ideal father figure for her son and is envious of Verena’s charm.

• Henry Burrage is a Harvard University student. He wishes to court Verena and her mother approves of him since he is a benign and affluent man.

There are other characters like Dr. Tarrant and Mrs. Tarrant (Verena’s parents), Mrs. Burrage (Henry’s mother), Doctor Prance and Mr. Pardon but they are underdelevoped, or they just do not contribute much to the plot. Unfortunately apart from the three leads, we get a vague idea of the rest characters’ personality.

ACTING

Vanessa Redgrave was mesmerizing as Olive. She really deserved her Academy Award nomination as the Best Actress in a leading role. Redgrave delivers a heartfelt performance which makes you empathize with Olive’s emotions and is the most memorable aspect of the film. Christopher Reeve did an amazing job playing Basil, but I was not impressed by Madelaine Potter’s acting as Verena. I did not feel like she was charming enough to play that role. Still, I appreciated their chemistry.

DIRECTION/CINEMATOGRAPHY

If we take into consideration how hard it is to adapt a Henry James novel to a movie, director James Ivory indeed created an engaging film. Cinematography is luxuriant with the magnificent landscape by the beach, the costumes, and the interior of the mansions.

THE END

The end felt rushed and melodramatic, but leaves a glimmer of hope, and this is what matters the most.

Quad Cinema in New York City will be hosting a retrospective of iconic filmmaking duo Ismail Merchant and James Ivory, leading up to the theatrical release of Stephen Soucy’s definitive documentary of the pair Merchant Ivory on August 30. The series (starting Friday, August 23, 2024) features gorgeous 4K restorations from the Cohen Film Collection of Merchant Ivory classics Howards End, The Bostonians, Maurice, Quartet, and Heat and Dust, plus brand-new restorations of lesser-known titles Roseland and In Custody.

• Rating Certificate: Not Rated
• Studios & Distributors: Merchant Ivory Productions | WGBH | Rediffusion | Almi Entertainment Finance Corporation | Cohen Media Group
• Country: UK | US
• Language: English
• Run Time: 122 Mins.
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Director: Jamese Ivory
• Written By: Henry James | Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
• Original Release Date: 5 October 1984 (UK)