MERCHANT IVORY

(Check out Chris Reed’s Merchant Ivory movie review, in theaters in NY and L.A. August 23. Seen it? Join the conversation with HtN on our Letterboxd Page.)

As we learn in Stephen Soucy’s documentary-feature debut, Merchant Ivory, the titular duo founded the company that bore their names in 1961, shortly after they met in New York City at a screening of director James Ivory’s short documentary The Sword and the Flute. Though the one was an American Christian and the other—Ismail Merchant, the producer—an Indian Muslim, they took to each other pretty quickly, and by the time their professional association began they had also become lovers. The two men would remain life and creative partners until Merchant’s death in 2005. Ivory, an Executive Producer on this film, is very much still alive.

Together, working with the German Jewish writer Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (the third member of their vibrant collective), they made an impressive array of films—almost all of them literary adaptations—that became synonymous with visual and dramatic sophistication, among them the 1984 The Bostonians, the 1986 A Room with a View, the 1990 Mr. & Mrs. Bridge, the 1992 Howard’s End, the 1993 The Remains of the Day (my personal favorite), the 2005 The White Countess, and a great deal more. Their work lasts to this day, its impact felt in similar period pieces and other lush cinematic tapestries. It’s amazing what they could do on the tight budgets—carefully managed by Merchant—under which they operated.

The documentary is divided into 6 chapters, taking us from the beginnings in the 1950s to the present, with Ivory the sole survivor (Prawer Jhabvala died in 2013), still occasionally active in the film world (he wrote the Oscar-winning adapted screenplay for the 2017 Call Me By Your Name). We follow the ups and downs of the company’s fortunes, as well as the highs and lows of Ivory and Merchant’s romantic and sexual relationship. It’s an intimate portrait, though Ivory’s presence as both subject and producer does give a little bit of pause as to whether this is absolutely a complete picture.

That doubt aside, there are plenty of other interviewees on screen to walk us through the history, including actors Helena Bonham-Carter, Simon Callow (who also directed a film that the company produced), Hugh Grant, Rupert Graves, Vanessa Redgrave, Gretta Scacchi, Emma Thompson, Sam Waterston, and others, all of whom appeared in Merchant Ivory projects. Together, they bring their unique and overlapping perspectives to the narrative, helping us relive well-remembered—and sometimes forgotten—greatest hits of a superlative filmmaking team. The net result is fun and informative in the best possible way.

– Christopher Llewellyn Reed (@ChrisReedFilm)

Sony Pictures Classics;

– Christopher Llewellyn Reed (@ChrisReedFilm)

Cohen Media Group; Merchant Ivory; Stephen Soucy

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