Brideshead Revisited (2008)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Julian Jarrold

Writers:

Andrew Davies (written by) and
Jeremy Brock (written by) ...

Release Date:

25 July 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Love is not ours to control

Plot:

Based on Evelyn Waugh's 1945 classic British novel, Brideshead Revisited is a poignant story of forbidden love and the loss of innocence set in England prior to the Second World War.

Plot Keywords:

Catholic | England | WWII | Box Office Flop | Gay Interest

Awards:

10 nominations

Cast

Matthew Goode	...	Charles Ryder
Thomas Morrison	...	Hooper
David Barrass	...	Ship's Barber
Anna Madeley	...	Celia Ryder
Sarah Crowden	...	Lady Guest
Stephen Carlile	...	English Lord
Peter Barnes	...	American Professor
Hayley Atwell	...	Julia Flyte
Patrick Malahide	...	Edward Ryder
Richard Teverson	...	Cousin Jasper
Joseph Beattie	...	Anthony Blanche
Ben Whishaw	...	Sebastian Flyte
Roger Walker	...	Lunt
Mark Field	...	Boy Markaster
Mark Edel-Hunt	...	Oxford Student

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some sexual content.

Runtime:

USA:133 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | UK:12A | Ireland:12A | Australia:PG | Netherlands:12 | Singapore:M18 | Denmark:A | New Zealand:M | Portugal:M/12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Finland:K-11 | Sweden:7

Filming Locations:

Art Deco Palm Court, Park Lane Hotel, Piccadilly, London, England, UK

Company:

2 Entertain

Trivia:

Filmed in summer 2007, one of the rainiest summers on record in England. The crew suffered rainfall at nearly every location, and even had to contend with rain while on location in Venice.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The Venetian drummers have instruments fitted with Mylar drumheads (Remo Pinstripes) that were not manufactured before WWII. Calfskin heads or ones that resembled calfskin would have been more appropriate for the time.

Quotes:

[First Lines]
Charles Ryder: [Internal monologue while walking out of Brideshead Castle] If you asked me now who I am, the only answer I could give with any certainty would be my name: Charles Ryder. For the rest: my loves, my hates, down even to my deepest desires, I can no longer say whether these emotions are my own, or stolen from those I once so desperately wished to be. On second thoughts, one emotion remains my own. Alone among the borrowed and the second-hand, as pure as that faith from which I am still in flight: Guilt.

Movie Connections:

Version of "Brideshead Revisited" (1981)

Soundtrack:

Rumba

A sketchy remake

Is this film a worthy interpretation of "Brideshead Revisited"? Well, up to a point, Lord Copper, as another one of Evelyn Waugh's characters was wont to say.

First, scriptwriter Andrew Davies, a past master of adaptation of great and not-so great literary works, has put the focus on the Charles and Julia love story rather than the Charles and Sebastian 'romantic friendship' as Cara, Lord Marchmain's Italian mistress puts it. The religious aspect is dealt with almost incidentally.

Second, Lady Marchmain, as played by Emma Thompson, is a very grim person with total emotional control over her children and whose particular Christian beliefs means that she is indifferent to their suffering as to her this life is a mere precursor to the glorious afterlife – the same attitude as a 9/11 hi-jacker in fact. She has none of the sweetness that Claire Bloom brought to the 1981 TV series.

Third, some of the performances owe a good deal to those in the TV series, especially Matthew Goode as Charles who has an uncanny likeness to Jeremy Irons. And of course Castle Howard reprises its role as Brideshead. Some characters were reduced to ciphers; for example Bridey who played by Simon Jones stole several scenes in 1981 but the part is reduced to a non-entity here. Michael Gambon, a consummate actor, gives us a new take on Lord Marchmain to compare with Lawrence Olivier's earlier version.

Overall, though, I was left with the impression this film has not much to say which is new. Like the recent feature film version of "Pride and Prejudice", it gives a broad outline of the story but misses out much of the rich context provided by the minor characters. Oh, read the book instead.