Ivory is faithful to Forster’s picnic at Fiesole, where a group of English tourists gathers to enjoy the view from Fiesole. * This prospect offers a glorious of Florence, but neither Ivory nor Forster describes it. 
As so many picnics do, the day begins well but ends tumultuously after George Emerson impulsively kisses Lucy Honeychurch. Forster calls the kiss and its consequence a “social contretemps” presided over by the little god Pan, who oversees unsuccessful picnics at which neither love nor food is not essential. Lucy is nonplussed. She feels different but doesn’t know what love is.
When Lucy wanders off from Miss Lavish and Charlotte Bartlett looking for Mr. Emerson and Reverend Bebe, who are picnicking separately, she asks their carriage driver, “Dove buoni uomini?” [Where are the good men?”]. But instead of leading her to the men, he guides her to a grassy field, where she is alone with George. Whether or not the driver is playing Cupid is ambiguous.
What George sees seems like a goddess dressed in white. He calls, “Lucy, Lucy!” moves to her, and impulsively kisses her on the cheek. He is in love: She is flummoxed. Though neither Lucy nor George can understand what has happened, it’s surely the unseen presence of the mischievous Pan, the god of love, who presides over unsuccessful picnics. Pan, in the guise of their carriage driver, has arranged the lovers’ meeting.
With a threat of rain, Lucy is (thankfully) called to rejoin the other picnickers. The picnic ends but elated and inspired by Lucy’s beauty, George decides to walk back to the hotel in the rain.
The next day, Lucy departs Florence without saying goodbye to George.
The cast: Helena Bonham Carter as Lucy Honeychurch; Julian Sands as George Emerson; Maggie Smith as Charlotte Bartlett; Judi Dench as Miss Lavish, Denham Elliott as Mr. Emerson; Simon Callow as Rev. Bebe
See James Ivory’s A Room with a View (1985). Screenplay by Ruth Prawar Jhabvala based on Forster’s novel. E.M. Forster. A Room with a View. London: Edward Arnold, 1908). * Laura Mackie’s A Room with a View (2007) is a very loose adaptation.