Condensed from Evelyn Waugh's classic book, this feature film version of the story presents a conflict of faith. How difficult is it to love a person that doesn't believe in heavenly things as you do? How difficult is it to be considered a lost soul by someone you love? How difficult is it to be a person looking, frustrated, into an oppressive world that you want to change, and be a part of, at the same time?
These are the questions that are hinted at, and often outright discussed, in the story of Charles Ryder, played by Matthew Goode (THE LOOKOUT). Charles is a boy of modest means heading off to Oxford, leaving an odd father (Patrick Malahide, THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH), whom barely knows the difference when his son is at home or away. At school, he is introduced to Sebastian Flyte (Ben Whishaw, PERFUME) when the young man pops through his window and throws up. Sebastian is a gay man, who loves to drink in the pleasures of life. He knows Charles is straight, but it doesn't stop him from taking the fledgling painter under his wing. He takes Charles to his family estate, Brideshead, where Charles is transfixed by its grandeur. But Charles also becomes transfixed with Julia (Hayley Atwell, THE DUCHESS), Sebastian's sister. Sebastian doesn't want Charles to meet his mother Lady Marchmain (Emma Thompson, SENSE & SENSIBILITY), who will play Charles like a chess piece as she does with everyone in her life.
Previously, the novel was adapted into a much-lauded miniseries, starring Jeremy Irons. After seeing Julian Jarrold's feature version, it makes sense why a miniseries was the first choice. Subtlety had to be sacrificed for time. Andrew Davies and Jeremy Brock's screenplay captures the themes of the story well, but, in condensing them, makes them come off melodramatic or obvious at times. Overheard conversations and on-the-nose dialogue are used to cut the running time, draining some of the emotion impact. That being said, the core ideas captivate, and the performances make us care.
Goode plays Charles as a shy, naïve young man who looks at college as a freeing experience. His friendship with Sebastian helps loosen the shackles from his old life quicker. While he may be attracted to Charles' good looks, Sebastian is more attracted to the simmering passion for art and love that lies under Charles' reserved veneer. Played wonderfully by Whishaw, Sebastian suffers from extreme Catholic guilt. His mother, in a wickedly icy performance from Thompson, hovers in his mind with that disapproving, superiority look. She's the kind of person who accepts everyone no matter who they are, while secretly judging them and planning their conversion to her ways in her mind. When she sees Charles getting closer to Julia, it's not his upbringing that causes pause, but his atheism. Lady Marchmain is considered a living saint, and she will force her beliefs on her children whether it's good for them or not.
The push and pull between Charles's view of faith's repression and the freeing nature of atheism drives the film. It creates tension between the characters and in our minds, challenging us to think about our own beliefs. Jarrold and the screenwriters do an excellent job with the ending, keeping the judgment of who is right and who is wrong up to the audience. Lord Marchmain (Michael Gambon, HARRY POTTER) shows up at two critical moments in the story, revealing interesting peeks into the personalities of his children. It reveals Julia's confliction between Charles and the smarmy Rex Mottram (Jonathan Cake, FIRST KNIGHT). It reveals why Sebastian won't return to Brideshead. It reveals things to Charles that he probably did not want revealed.
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Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
