Movie review: “Brideshead Revisited”
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman. 3 of 4 stars (plus an emergency meeting with Dario Marianelli, Oscar-winning composer of “Atonement.”)
Love triangle sets dramatic tone in ”Brideshead” film adaptation
A lonely, working-class British teen falls under the thrall of an odd, aristocratic family in “Brideshead Revisited,” the film adaptation Evelyn Waugh’s acclaimed 1946 novel, which also has been made into a respected 1981 miniseries.
Stellar performances and magnificent period details help the movie overcome some directorial miscues and a jarring score.
Set in England between World Wars I and II, it centers on impressionable Charles Ryder (Matthew Goode), who leaves his loveless childhood home for Oxford with plans to become an artist.
Through a chance encounter he befriends Sebastian (Ben Whishaw), the charmingly eccentric son of a wealthy noble family. During summer break, Sebastian summons Charles to his family’s grand ancestral home, Brideshead. Charles is taken not only with the splendor of the country palace, but with the rich, privileged life it represents.
But Charles gets caught up in a love triangle: Sebastian is attracted to him, while Charles is drawn to his friend’s sister, the lovely but troubled Julia (Hayley Atwell).
Charles, a declared atheist, also tangles with the family’s self-righteous, rigidly Roman Catholic matriarch (Emma Thompson). When he accompanies Sebastian and Julia to Venice, Charles even connects with the family’s hedonistic patriarch (Michael Gambon), who has abandoned his family and wife’s religious fervor for a kindly mistress (Greta Scacchi).
Unfolding through flashbacks, the period drama maneuvers with Charles through the sticky matters of love, religion and social class. Some of the nuances of Waugh’s book are lost, but the film still offers plenty of drama and food for thought.
The views of idyllic country meadows, Venetian canals and especially the magnificent Brideshead with its huge fountain set the proper tone.
But the overbearing score and the use of slow-motion, blurred focus shots seem more suited to a Meat Loaf video than a subtle, thoughtful period piece.
- BAM
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment