DVD Review: New Version of ‘Brideshead Revisited’ Worth a Look

BrianTT — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 15:17:06 -0700

CHICAGO – The BBC mini-series adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s “Brideshead Revisited” is so beloved that the new version with Matthew Goode, Hayley Atwell, Ben Whishaw, Emma Thompson, and Michael Gambon was doomed from the beginning. Miramax has done the filmmakers a disservice by releasing their work only on standard DVD, but fans of period pieces or classic literature should give Julian Jarrold’s film a chance.

The most successful thing about “Brideshead Revisited,” besides excellent supporting performances by Thompson and Gambon, is the design. For a budget reportedly under $20 million, there are some significant accomplishments in the film worth seeing and, while it looks good on DVD, Julian Jarrold’s film is the kind that’s made for the HD of Blu-Ray. It’s shameful that it won’t be seen on that format, at least not initially.

Brideshead Revisited is released by Miramax/Walt Disney on January 13th, 2009.
Photo credit: Miramax

As for the film itself, “Brideshead Revisited” is not as perfect as the mini-series but it does enough right with such a daunting task and low budget that it becomes easy to overlook its flaws.

Matthew Goode (“The Lookout”) is perfectly cast in the daunting role of Charles Ryder, a sometimes cold, hard-to-read character from the Evelyn Waugh classic. Charles is a straight man in a story of over-the-top characters, a fellow caught in a triangle of love and class issues.

Brideshead Revisited is released by Miramax/Walt Disney on January 13th, 2009.
Photo credit: Walt Disney Pictures Home Video

Ryder becomes entrances with the Marchmain family, first becoming close friends with the very tormented Sebastian (Ben Whishaw) and then meeting his beautiful sister Julia. Charles purportedly falls for Julia but Sebastian falls for Charles. The man in the middle faces even more problems with the matriarch of the family brings class and religious issues to the forefront. “Brideshead Revisited” is a story of a country going through massive changes between the World Wars.

Screenwriters Andrew Davies and Jeremy Brock were tasked with compressing the classic novel into just over two hours and the results clearly aggravated purists around the world. If you believe classic literature is sacred and should not be altered, avoid the new “Brideshead Revisited,” but this could have just been a Cliffs Notes version of the book and it’s more than that.

Thompson and Gambon take turn stealing scenes and the film is worth seeing just for their work. As for the three leads, the polite thing to say might be that these challenging roles were a bit outside of their reach. Goode fares the best, but neither Atwell nor Whishaw feel like they really connect with their characters.

Despite that, there’s so much greatness in Waugh’s novel that what remains in this new version of “Brideshead Revisited” is worth seeing even if just for the strength of its source. If only we could see it in Blu-Ray, as all movies, especially ones with period design this detailed, should be available.

“Brideshead Revisited” on DVD is presented in the film’s original 2.40:1 aspect ratio and with a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound track. Special features include deleted scenes, filmmakers’ audio commentary, and “The World of Brideshead” featurette. It’s not an exhaustive collection of extras but does provide all the information that fans of the film would probably need. No one’s looking for a “Brideshead” gag reel.

‘Brideshead Revisited’ is released by Walt Disney Pictures Home Video and stars Matthew Goode, Ben Whishaw, Hayley Atwell, Emma Thompson, and Michael Gambon. It was written by Andrew Davies and Jeremy Brock and directed by Julian Jarrold. It will be released on January 13th, 2009.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Interview: Matthew Goode Focuses on Inner Challenges in New Film ‘Brideshead Revisited’

HollywoodChicago.com — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 01:02:37 -0600

CHICAGO – The celebrated Evelyn Waugh novel and 1981 BBC miniseries “Brideshead Revisited” have put the unusually titled story into cultural consciousness. Beloved by readers for years, the adapted miniseries brought the popular characters to life and further cemented the epic and literary journey of class awareness, star-crossed love and fine estates.

The latest adaptation is a truncated film version that stars Matthew Goode as main protagonist Charles Ryder. HollywoodChicago.com recently interviewed Goode on the task of fulfilling the expectations of the much-loved work.

Actor Matthew Goode for “Brideshead Revisited” in Chicago on July 10, 2008.
Photo credit: Patrick McDonald, HollywoodChicago.com

Emma Thompson as Lady Marchmain in “Brideshead Revisited”.
Photo credit: Nicola Dove/Miramax Films

“Charles has definitely been my biggest acting challenge so far,” Goode said. “I was very scared because the elephant in the room is the miniseries adaptation and Jeremy Irons’ performance in it. That is a bit of a burden. But because of the script and the people involved, it actually became an easy decision to take the part.”

Charles Ryder is an introverted, middle-class artist who gets the opportunity to attend a prestigious men’s college in England.

While there, he gets swept up into an outsider group of individuals led by a precocious fop named Sebastian (Ben Whishaw). The estate that Sebastian’s family owns is called Brideshead and it’s anchored by a stunning mansion of magnificent size and beauty.

Charles is taken in by both the estate and the family along with the free-spirited daughter Julia (Hayley Atwell).

Goode explained the difficulties of playing the internal Charles without the device of hearing what he was thinking as in the miniseries: “I didn’t have the benefit of a voice-over in this adaptation to explain my thoughts. In the initial reading of the script, I thought the character of Charles came across quite cold.”

“But in essence, he’s not that way,” Goode continued. “Once you look at the psychology of the character – who grows up without a mother in a post-Victorian society and without love essentially through being raised by his father – he’s an incredibly lonely guy. [This is especially true] in the sense where most of his companionship is male.”

Matthew Goode as Charles Ryder, Hayley Atwell as Julia Flyte and Ben Whishaw as Sebastian Flyte in “Brideshead Revisited”.
Photo credit: Nicola Dove/Miramax Films

Rating: 3.5/5.0

Sebastian has outward affection for Charles. In this film version, it’s acted out physically. This is noticed by the overseer and matriarch of the family, Lady Marchmain (Emma Thompson), and she cautions Charles about his attachment to the strict Catholic clan.

“The religious theme is a very important issue,” Goode related. “The audience might think: ‘Oh, Christ!’ The use of organized religion and how it can be not a good thing is there, but the film comments more on parenting and how parents can screw up a person.”

When Charles’ attraction for Julia deepens, Sebastian’s jealousy threatens to topple everything. This is where Lady Marchmain steps in. She alters the circumstances to prevent her children from making – in her view – fatal mistakes.

Matthew Goode as Charles Ryder, Hayley Atwell as Julia Flyte and Ben Whishaw as Sebastian Flyte in “Brideshead Revisited”.
Photo credit: Nicola Dove/Miramax Films

“Emma’s character says to Charles: ‘All I ever really wanted was for my children to love me,’” Goode said. “In Emma’s performance, you have incredible sympathy for her. Though people who read the novel know Lady Marchmain’s backstory, Emma still gets it across for people who haven’t read it. There is too much humanity there for her to be seen as a villain.”

RELATED IMAGE GALLERY
View our full, high-resolution “Brideshead Revisited” image gallery.

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More film reviews from critic Patrick McDonald.

Charles is forced away from Brideshead and the family. Still, a couple meetings through the years again involve him with Sebastian and reunite him with Julia. This “revisited” part of his life could determine the fate of everyone.

“It’s notable that Sebastian treated Charles like crap and was a petulant child and a drunk,” Goode explained about the characters. “But Charles actually does as much as he can and he loved him in friendship. He gets screwed over in so many ways but never tries to enforce his integrity on anyone.”

Goode concluded with an observation about Charles: “There were particular ambiguities that we wanted to remain ambiguities. While it’s explained beautifully through prose in the book, Charles doesn’t show much of himself in the film. That was the challenge. I had to get all of that [across] and not make him morose.”

“Brideshead Revisited” features Emma Thompson, Matthew Goode, Michael Gambon, Ben Whishaw, Hayley Atwell and Greta Scacchi. The film opened on July 25, 2008 in Chicago at AMC River East 21, Landmark’s Century Centre Cinema and CineArts 6 in Evanston, Ill. “Brideshead Revisited” will then expand to additional theaters on Aug. 1, 2008.

By PATRICK McDONALD
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com