Wednesday, July 27, 2005

“Cecil, I blame you! I blame you very much indeed.”

The Movie: A Room with a View, 1985 (Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, screenwriter, from the novel by E.M. Forster; James Ivory, dir.)
Who says it: Helena Bonham-Carter as Lucy Honeychurch
The context: Lucy berates her fiancé, Cecil (Daniel Day-Lewis) for his role in renting a nearby cottage to George Emerson (Julian Sands) and his father, who are not welcome neighbors.
How to use it: When something goes wrong, and you wish you had nothing to do with it.

Thanks to Anna Bragdon for reminding me of how much our friend Sue Schulz loves this line -- and thanks to Sue for confirming the exact phrasing and context. What does it say about me that I'd pick Daniel Day-Lewis over Julian Sands in this movie? (Though I'd rather have Daniel Day-Lewis in Last of the Mohicans, if you're really asking.)

I was sorry this morning that I don't have a digital camera, because the riot of wildflowers behind the old paper factory is spectacular. Queen Anne's lace dominates among black-eyed susans, tiny daisies, and many flowers whose names I don't know -- purple, yellow, white. I'll take a regular camera down there this evening; I'll need the reminders of all this color in about six months.

The heat makes effort of any kind difficult. I plan to spend most of the day working at the library, just to be in air conditioning.

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