2008, UK
Drama, Romance
Trimmed down from the 11-part 1981 television series, the latest adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's 1945 novel, Brideshead Revisited, feels to be missing some pages. As the story flashes back through the years, periods are swiftly summarized and feelings expressed through the gleam of an eye. But what a pretty eye it is.
A young man of simple means whose only family is a dry-witted and detached father, Charles Ryder (Matthew Goode of Match Point) finds a refreshing new world in the eyes of Sebastian Flyte (Ben Whishaw of I'm Not There). Mouth agape in childish awe, Charles becomes instantly enamored by Sebastian's bohemian, if not well-funded, lifestyle and the beauty that surrounds him, whether it be his home or his attractive sister.
Unfortunately, brick and bone are saddled with the weight of a higher power, and Charles stubbornly dismisses that influence due to his own beliefs. The atheist in Charles abhors the Flyte family's love-hate relationship with the Catholic faith, but the artist in him is attracted to the architecture that binds them all -- Brideshead.
Castle Howard is utilized for the absurdly magnificent Brideshead estate (the same North Yorkshire setting used in the TV series). The manor is populated with stone figures and the hallways are inhabited by ghosts. Though secular sculptures pay tribute to great men past, the grandest paintings reflect a sacred theme and guide residents to a sanctuary more domineering than comforting.
The film begins with Charles admitting that in reflection of his experiences with the family he may be mimicking all emotions except for guilt, and yet it is guilt that runs deepest in the clan. Though the convenience of penance allows an absolution of inconvenient sins and escaping the grounds allows the forgetfulness of holy duties, the characters continually find themselves returning to the estate -- revisiting it, as it were.
Though warned by his cousin to stay clear of the group of "sodomites" of whom Sebastian belongs, Charles is immediately charmed by his presence, played with tempered sweetness by Whishaw. Their growing affection is sincere and believable, though one may pass as a schoolboy fondness while the other is far more entangled. Bitterly honest as a result of the confidence of being raised in the best rooms in the house, each family member is bold in their assessments and presumptions. Michael Gambon as father Flyte steals every small scene he is in with his quick humor -- a welcome break from a frequently dowdy atmosphere. Emma Thompson adds to the tone with her controlling matriarch, which unfortunately if not purposely blends into the stones of the towering Brideshead.
Sister Julia (Hayley Atwell, another Woody Allen alum with Cassandra's Dream) becomes a distraction for Charles, but the magnetism is dubious. Whether this is a fault with the film or meant to question Charles' loyalty to love versus his obsession with the estate, it feels like the former, causing the effects of internal struggles to crumble. The focus returns to religion -- an intriguing alternative to the merely mad and wealthy -- but this seems like an afterthought tied up too neatly in the end with rosary beads. Though Waugh may have intended to criticize the unfaithful, the film conveys a devotion built on desperation and fear.