Howards End embraces the complexity of its characters, and of Atwell's Margaret Schlegel in particular.

Howards End is also an empathetic story about negotiating differences of class, politics, and even general disposition that seem insurmountable on their face. Mistakes are made; relationships are strained to their breaking point.

Solid adaptation of classic British book about class, love.

It's an easy story to enjoy and admire, and a very difficult story to love wholeheartedly.

Kenneth Lonergan's Starz adaptation is a gorgeously crafted, beautifully nuanced, and surprisingly relevant inspection of a rapidly changing culture.

There's something almost comforting in the familiarity of the characters at play-their intellectual sparring matches and their philosophical objections to one another...a masterly adaptation of E.M. Forster's novel that affirms its relevance.

One of Atwell's strengths is that understated comic sense -- she does share some characteristics with Emma Thompson - and Margaret's knowing exasperation with some of her circumstances does a lot to build confidence in her as a character.

And, if the Starz series succeeds in nothing else, Howards End gives us the delightful, neurotic, meddlesome wonder that is Alex Lawther's Tibby. For that, I am thankful.

This version of Howards End gains power from its understanding of how hard it is to be good, how easy it is to fail and the power of forgiveness.

But the adaptation is faithful where it ought to be and flexible when it needs to be. It isn't the original, but it isn't some paltry imitation, either.

In four episodes of sterling drama, Howards End has been brought fully to life on the television screen. That is no small achievement.

A literate and visually sumptuous feast, it will tantalize the Downton Abbey devotee with a sprawling tale of class division, family intrigue and romance in the early years of the last century.

[Hayley] Atwell might be best known to some for her forays into the Marvel universe, but she's an extremely talented actress who deftly captures Margaret's combination of intelligence and pragmatism, in contrast to her sister's idealism.

Emma Thompson set the bar high, winning an Oscar for her Margaret, but [Hayley] Atwell's a good fit for the part, and [Julia] Ormond makes an endearingly eccentric Ruth.

Lonergan's script deftly illustrates the opportunities Meg and Helen could have had if not for the time they lived in.