Brideshead Revisited

To appreciate this latest adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's 'Brideshead Revisited' you have to let go of any memories you have of the novel.  In fact discard them completely because what we get here really isn't it.  Though die-hard fans may be dismayed over what's been left out and what's been changed, they may be surprised to find that the film actually works.  That's due in no small part to some fine work by leads Matthew Goode, Ben Whishaw and Hayley Atwell (recently in 'Cassandra's Dream').  Then there is the fine performance by Emma Thompson as the legendary Lady Marchmain, a woman whose obsession with Catholicism has destroyed and alienated her children.  Thompson doesn't portray the character with a holier-than-thou attitude, but a woman who doesn't realize the destructive power of her desperation until its too late.

Screenwriters Andrew Davies and Jeremy Brock have altered numerous plot points of Waugh’s classic novel beginning with making aspiring artist  Charles Ryder (Goode) much more heterosexual.  That doesn't mean that his relationship with fellow Oxford student, alcoholic gay-Catholic Sebastian Flyte (Whishaw) is glossed over, it's just that Charles's infatuation with Sebastian's sister Julia (Atwell) takes place much sooner than in the novel.  As a middle-class English atheist, Charles becomes mesmerized by the Flytes and their world, specifically, their family home of Brideshead.  It is there that he meets their overbearing mother Lady Marchmain, the enforcer of the family's Catholic beliefs and source of the guilt that Sebastian tries to drown with alcohol.  Lady Marchmain does not approve of her son's sexuality, but she takes a liking to Charles and convinces him to accompany Sebastian and Julia on a trip to Venice to visit their father.  Charles has just unknowingly become her spy.

Charles's affair with Julia begins quite earlier than in the novel as well, during the trip to Venice to visit their estranged father Lord Marchmain (Michael Gambon).  Now ensconced in a relationship with Italian woman Cara (Greta Scacchi), he enjoys sharing his son's disdain for his wife's religious beliefs and for a time Sebastian is quite happy to be with his father.  That is until his witnesses and unexpected kiss between Charles and his sister.

Charles Ryder's great flaw is that as an atheist he doesn't understand how Julia's upbringing as a Catholic has molded her.  He manages to lose her at her 21st birthday party where it's revealed she is already engaged to a wealthy Canadian businessman.  Later in the story as he is literally trying to buy her back from her husband, the man reveals to Charles that it was within his power to keep Julia if he just converted to Catholicism like he did.

Unlike the novel, the time frame of the film is fractured for greater dramatic impact as we witness Charles's obsession to rise in social status.  He eventually leaves Sebastian and Julia behind (after Lady Marchmain becomes cross with him for breaking her son's heart), marries another girl, spends two years in the jungle and makes a fortune on his artwork.  He has achieved his goals and has the perfect life, until he encounters Julia again.

With such a limited running time, director Julian Jarold knows he can't touch upon all of the details of the novel like the 80's twelve hour mini-series featuring Jeremy Irons and doesn't even try.  Instead he focuses on key elements, chief amongst them faith, adultery, homosexuality, love and finally salvation.  All four leads (including Gambon who gives a powerful death scene of regret and salvation), give inspiring performances that convey the story's message about the power and effects of guilt.