Merchant Ivory (2024)

‘Merchant Ivory’ documentary is one-sided affair

The most shocking takeaway from “Merchant Ivory,” Stephen Soucy’s exaltation of filmmakers James Ivory and Ismail Merchant, is how few of the 43 movies the couple collaborated on are legit classics. Going in, I naturally assumed the roster included more than just “A Room with a View,” “Howards End” and “The Remains of the Day.” But aside from the addition of “Mr. and Mrs. Bridge,” a personal favorite, the resume is woefully lacking.

Soucy’s film would lead you to believe otherwise. But he simply can’t back it up. I’m sure mediocre flicks such as “The Bostonians,” “Maurice” and “The Europeans” have their share of fans. But I’m willing to bet the same doesn’t hold true for certified turkeys like “Surviving Picasso,” “Jefferson in Paris,” “The Golden Bowl,” “Quartet” and “Slaves of New York.”

Accordingly, the term “overrated” kept popping into my head as Soucy chronologically spotlights each movie – good, bad, or indifferent. You also ask yourself, “Why does “The City of Your Final Destination” merit almost as much screen time as “Howards End”? But with James Ivory as executive producer, you’re apt to bend over backward to please the boss. And that’s exactly what Soucy dutifully does, albeit with diminishing returns.

Instead of a retrospective, you crave a deeper exploration of the two men who for 40 years were partners on and off the set. Other than a glancing mention or two of Merchant’s romantic betrayals, the information gleaned is blah at best and boring at worst. Plus, it’s all one-sided as we’re asked to freely accept Ivory’s recollections of their volatile love affair. Naturally, Merchant projects as the villain in the relationship, forever entering into dalliances with numerous men.

The reason that Ivory’s word is gospel is because Merchant and the other two members of the duo’s Core Four – scenarist Ruth Prawer Jhabvala and music supervisor Richard Robbins – have passed on, thus denying them any opportunity for rebuttal. How convenient. To hear him tell it, Ivory was resigned to Merchant screwing around behind his back, most notably with Robbins. I’d rather hear more about why Merchant and Ivory chose not to go public with their domestic partnership during an age when society was more open to same-sex couples. As Ivory explains, “It was understood but never talked about.”

Still, there’s no denying Soucy’s film has star power, with Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Vanessa Redgrave and Helena Bonham Carter sitting down to tell tales out of school. Most of what they say leans toward the positive, even in light of Merchant and Ivory’s practice of not paying them upfront. Rather, they’d be asked to wait until after the film opened because the filmmakers were frequently too deep in hock. Some, like Anthony Hopkins, who starred in four of the pair’s productions, weren’t so patient, with Hannibal Lecter’s alter ego resorting to suing Merchant Ivory Productions for back wages.

Hopkins’ litigious nature and the duo’s habit of referring to Bonham Carter as “little girl” while working with her on “A Room with a View,” are undoubtedly dishy. And it’s touching to hear that Bonham Carter, along with Thompson and Grant, remain firm believers in both Merchant and Ivory’s artistic vision and the care and respect afforded to them and their peers.

But too much of “Merchant Ivory” feels perfunctory and shallow. It’s fun and nostalgic to revisit clips culled from their inconsistent oeuvre, but I was expecting something more substantive. Casual fans will no doubt be pleased but die-hards – like me – are likely to rue there’s no room for a more expansive view.

Movie review

Merchant Ivory

Rated: Not rated

Featuring: James Ivory, Emma Thompson, Helena Bonham Carter, Vanessa Redgrave and Hugh Grant

Director: Stephen Soucy

Writers: Stephen Soucy and Jon Hart

Runtime: 111 minutes

Where: In theaters Aug. 30 (limited)

Grade: C