"Brideshead Revisited" ** 1\2 (out of ****)Although it may not sound manly I am willing to admit, I looked forward to seeing Julian Jarrold's "Brideshead Revisited". It may be considered by some as something of a "chick flick" since it is a British costume drama but the trailer for the film seemed to suggest a decadence, a look at a family of very loose morals when it comes to sexuality. I like films like this if they are done tastefully.
"Brideshead Revisited" is based on a 1946 novel written by Evelyn Waugh starring Matthew Goode, whom some may remember from Woody Allen's "Match Point" as our young hero(?) an atheist artist Charles Ryder. A young man who goes off to Oxford to study history where he meets a bizarre group of people as he forms a friendship with an openly gay man Sebastian Flyte (Ben Whishaw, who was in "Perfume"). The two men come from different social and religious standings. Sebastian is of the wealthy. His family is strongly religious and devoted to the Catholic faith. Charles comes from more modest means and has no religious convictions to speak of.
As the film goes on we learn Sebastian wants to keep Charles away from his family, knowing how his mother, Lady Marchmain (Emma Thompson) will react to Charles' religious views. But Charles is spellbound by the Brideshead estate. He considers it the most beautiful place he has ever seen and if that is not enough Charles becomes intrigued by Sebastian's sister, Julia (Hayley Atwell, who made a very strong impression on me in yet another Woody Allen film "Cassandra's Dream") Charles ends up being caught in a love triangle between the two siblings.
The best thing which can be said for this film is the wonderful use of visuals. The films takes us from London to Venice, showing us beautiful landscapes in shots which would make perfect postcards. But the major problem with "Brideshead Revisited" is a lack of passion.
This adaptation was written by Jeremy Brock, who does not have a long list of writing credits. One of his more notable efforts was 2006's "The Last King of Scotland" a film which I also thought had problems with its screenplay. The other writer was Andrew Davies, who has a long resume. He wrote "The Tailor of Panama", a good thriller made a few years back with Pierce Brosnan.
The problem with British cinema in general is its smugness. The British are a cold people. I'm sure they can be affectionate people, they like to keep their emotions hidden though. It is very important to always present dignity and refinement. To show public displays of emotion is vulgar. It is part of that stiff upper lip mentality. "Brideshead Revisited" suffers because of this. The characters are so emotionally closed. The film makes fun of this image through Charles' father (Patrick Malahide) who doesn't even realize his son is going off to college or that he has even returned. He is detached completely from society. How there could be a love story between these people is amazing. When did they find the time to talk about love. What is suppose to be a passionate love affair between Charles and Julia amount to nothing more than a kiss. And not even a passionate one at that because it is interrupted by Sebastian.
"Brideshead Revisited" is ultimately a boring dull picture. Nearly all of the performances are bland. The only exceptions are Lord and Lady Marchmain (Michael Gambon and Thompson) with Thompson giving the movie's best performance. She is really the only character who seems to convincingly express any emotion which the audience can relate to. Atwell, is good in her role but it didn't seem to deliver on the promise her performance in '"Cassandra's Dream" seemed to suggest. Neither film I felt fully takes advantage of her beauty and the seductive qualities which I feel she can display.
The film has been getting compared to the PBS 1980s miniseries "Brideshead Revisited" which starred Jeremy Irons as Charles. It was 11 hours long and according to several critics was a more faithful adaptation. Many feel this film cramps too much into its 2 hour running time not allowing characters to be fully drawn out. And there is a hint of that especially at the end concerning Charles and a sort of awaking he goes through concerning his deeper intentions with the Marchmain family. The funny thing is many people, if they had to chose, between seeing an 11 hour miniseries and a 2 film would probably chose the 2 hour film, but, "Brideshead Revisited" felt like 12 hours! I may one day seek out the miniseries, just to compare the two, but after watching this film I'm in no hurry to revisit Brideshead anytime soon.
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