Brideshead Revisited (2008)

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:

A poignant story of forbidden love and the loss of innocence set in England prior to the Second World War.

Plot Keywords:

England | Catholic | WWII | Military Officer | Alcoholism

Awards:

10 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

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	...	Mr Ryder
Richard Teverson	...	Cousin Jasper
Joseph Beattie	...	Anthony Blanche
Ben Whishaw	...	Sebastian Flyte
Roger Walker	...	Lunt
Mark Field	...	Boy Mulcaster
Mark Edel-Hunt	...	Oxford Student

Also Known As:

Ritorno a Brideshead (Italy)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some sexual content.

Runtime:

USA:133 min

Country:

UK | Italy | Morocco

Language:

English | Italian | Arabic | Latin | French

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:

Ecosse Films

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:

Factual errors: In Lord Marchmain's deathbed scene, Fr. Mackay imparts absolution while Charles Ryder and members of the family are in attendance. Absolution is never imparted in public in this way. The others would have been asked to step out. Moreover, the Latin form of the absolution given, although it is the correct traditional one, is badly mispronounced and contains several errors in the details of the Latin text.

Quotes:

[First Lines]
Charles Ryder: [Internal monologue while walking out of Brideshead Castle] If you'd 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 others we desperately wish to be. On second thought; one emotion remains my own. Alone among the borrowed and the second-hand. As pure as that faith of which I'm still in flight:... Guild.

Movie Connections:

Version of "Brideshead Revisited" (1981)

Soundtrack:

With the Rumba Playing

Once More, Into Brideshead

It's attributed to just about everybody - from Ginger Rogers to Milan Kundera - and it sounds so right: "There are no small parts, only small actors."

If you want proof and a real understanding of the adage, revisit "Brideshead Revisited," and behold the miracle of Emma Thompson's Lady Marchmain, sucking the life out of anything and anybody she touches, and Michael Gambon's delightfully dissolute Lord Marchmain. She has about 10 minutes on the screen, he perhaps four, and yet their characters will follow you out of the theater, and stay with you at length.

Thompson's work is especially dazzling because the mean, sanctimonious character is so clearly alien to the actress (in fact, I suspected miscasting when I first heard of her assignment) and also as the character is so exaggerated, almost a caricature. And yet, Thompson gives the challenge her all, and walks away with it; the performance has Best Supporting Actress written all over it.

It's difficult to believe that the man you see as Marchmain is the same actor who was the "Singing Detective" (of the superb BBC series, not the Robert Downey Jr. mishap). Gambon has a range as wide as all outdoors, and you never ever see effort in the performance. His amiable Marchmain - subtly hinting at a complex character under the surface - has a physical similarity to Gambon's Uncle Vanya on the London stage, but otherwise, it's a unique creation.

What else is there to this new "edition" of "Brideshead"? A great deal, but only if you're among those who missed both Evelyn Waugh's novel and the wonderful Granada TV realization 27 long years ago - Irons! Gielgud! Olivier! - how can you compete with that? So, if it's a first-time visit, see the movie by all means; if you can recite lines from the book or the TV series, you can survive without the new version.

In 135 minutes, the film is handling well what the TV series did so completely in - yes - 13 HOURS. Obviously, except for the basic story line (script by Jeremy Brock, of "The Last King of Scotland"), this is a different kind of animal, still "leisurely" enough, but unable to luxuriate in the smallest details as the series did. The director is Julian Jarrold, and he is doing far better than in his recent "Becoming Jane," keeps the story moving in a smooth fashion.

As to the leading roles in the film, they are all well acted, but without great impact. Matthew Goode is Charles Ryder, the focal character; Ben Whishaw is the slightly over-flamboyant Sebastian Flyte (who needs understating more than exaggerating - Anthony Andrews' performance in the TV series was exactly right); Hayley Atwell is Sebastian's sister (and rival for Charles' affection).

One amazing thing about "Brideshead" is how this story from a different time, about characters from a different world, remains interesting and meaningful. It's almost as if Waugh's work was bulletproof - not that these filmmakers were less than respectful to the author. A better test would be a Eurotrash opera version, heaven forfend.