Collection of four romantic period dramas directed by James Ivory. 'Quartet' (1981), based on the novel by Jean Rhys, is set in bohemian 1920s Paris where Marya Zelli (Isabelle Adjani), a beautiful young novelist, finds herself destitute when her art dealer husband, Stephan (Anthony Higgins) is sent to prison for theft. A rich patron, H.J. Heidler (Alan Bates), and his artist wife, Lois (Maggie Smith), offer to take Marya in for the duration of Stephan's incarceration. Heidler, a shameless philanderer with a history of taking advantage of helpless young women, soon seduces Marya - while Lois painfully accepts his infidelity. In 'Howards End' (1992), set in 1910, sisters Helen (Helena Bonham Carter) and Margaret Schlegel (Emma Thompson) live in London with their brother, but the lease on their flat is about to expire.
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