Julian Jarrold is the director who brought us last year’s bland and uninspired Becoming Jane. Now hes back with another British period piece, although instead of bringing us another biopic, he is tackling the beloved novel Brideshead Revisited written by Evelyn Waugh in 1945.
Brideshead is the story of Charles Ryder (Matthew Goode), a young man growing up in 1920s Britain who comes from a poor family. He lives with his widowed father and aspires to be a painter. While attending Oxford he meets Sebastian Flyte (Ben Whishaw) and they instantly become best friends and perhaps a little more. Sebastian is from a very wealthy aristocratic family that lives in the gorgeous manor known as Brideshead.
Sebastian is reluctant to introduce Charles to his family but eventually does. Charles who is swept up and intoxicated by the beauty and lavishness of Brideshead instantly falls in love with the place, the idea of the place and does his best to be liked by everyone in the Flyte family including the strict Catholic mother, Lady Marchmain (Emma Thompson) and the indifferent sister, Julia (Hayley Atwell). However, Charles seems to relate most closely to the estranged father, Lord Marchmain (Michael Gambon) who no longer lives on the premises. Charles and the Lord bond through their Atheism, which the Lady does not approve of in the slightest.
Things get complicated when Charles turns around and falls in love with Julia, which drives Sebastian into an alcoholic downward spiral. The Lady eventually banishes Charles and it is four years before he is brought back into the lives of the Flytes. Now he must attempt to repair the damage hes done to all these relationships that he cares about and do his best to find true love. Without giving too much away, this film does not have a typical Hollywood ending and is all the better for it.
Brideshead is, like the manor itself, a lush and lavish film. The cinematography is stunning and there are many scenes that could easily be framed as photographs and hung in a museum. Sadly, this is the best aspect of the film.
The story, while intriguing, meanders a bit too much. The focus of the beginning of the film is Charles and Sebastian, but about half way through the film Sebastian drops out of the story and is rarely seen again. The focus then switches to the tenuous relationship between Charles and Julia, but that story in of itself meanders a lot. The film takes place over many years and attempts to cram too much story and to many ideas into one little film.
Covering a variety of subjects such as religion, class, and the taboo of homosexuality at the time it feels like the film is trying to say too much. It gets its points across just fine but you feel a little congested with all these ideas.
The mostly unknown cast carries the film rather well keeping the viewer engaged in all the scenes. Goode has appeared in a handful of indie films over the years including Woody Allens Match Point and will be playing Ozymandias in the upcoming Watchmen film. Whishaw is probably best known for his starring role in the disturbing Perfume: The Story of a Murderer and Atwell, amongst several TV appearances, had a role in Allens Cassandras Dream. These are all gifted young actors who will keep you engaged even when the story wont.
I had very little hopes for this film and was surprisingly entertained. The solid cast and exquisite cinematography elevated what could just have easily been another boring old period piece about British aristocracy. If youre in the mood for a good dramatic film then Brideshead Revisited is very recommendable.
The film is presented in 2.35:1 widescreen and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. This is a pretty marvelous looking films. There are scenes that would makes wonderful photographs. And the transfer is impeccable.
Commentary with director Julian Jarrold, producer Kevin Loader and writer Jeremy Brock: This is a rather bland commentary. You did get some good insights into the film, but it’s a long dull process.
Deleted Scenes: (11 min.) You get seven of these puppies. Some provide more insight or give more information but the film is already long so it makes sense why these were cut. These also have optional commentary.
The World Of Brideshead: (20 min.) A pretty traditional making-of but not in a bad way, it gives you all the behind the scenes stuff you might be interesting in hearing about. It does talk a little about why they decided to make the film after the huge success of the TV mini series.
I have a long track record of hating period pieces like this, so the fact that I didn’t hate really says a lot. It’s a well-acted film and it’s certainly worth a rental, but I don’t know how much one would want to rewatch it, so I can’t recommend this as a purchase.
………………………………………
Miramax and HanWay Films present Brideshead Revisited. Directed by Julian Jarrold. Starring Matthew Goode, Ben Whishaw, Heyley Atwell, Emma Thompson and Michael Gambon. Written by Andrew Davies And Jeremy Brock. Based on the novel by Evelyn Waugh. Running time: 133 minutes. Rated PG-13 for some sexual content. Released on DVD: January 13, 2009. Available at Amazon.com.
