Reviewed by maroon5gurl88 on Sun August 3, 2008

A TV miniseries has special issues to overcome when it’s translated to the big screen, mostly dealing with the length. A week long miniseries might have so much detail it’s hard to cut corners and turn that into a 2 hour movie. “Brideshead Revisited” is a movie translation that just doesn’t know what to cut. The first hour is a joy to watch but after awhile the film plods into a tedious second act that goes on for hours.

Charles Ryder (Matthew Goode) isn’t the richest man in the world. When he gets accepted into Oxford University as a history major he think this might make him the man he’s always wanted to be. This ideal is furthered when he meets the drunken Sebastian Flyte (Ben Whishaw) who introduced Ryder to his family, a rich class of people who live in the majestic Brideshead manor. As Charles tries to cope with Sebastian’s excessive drinking and love for him, he must also appease the matron of the house Lady Marchmain (Emma Thompson) while also harboring a love for the eldest Flyte daughter Julia (Hayley Atwell). Over the span of years Charles rises and falls trying to please the family of Brideshead into accepting him as one of their own.

I’ve seen a small bit of the original miniseries and look forward to revisiting (no pun intended) the original to see how the two compare. The movie delivers a very intricate tale of love, deception and aristocracy while infusing the idea of whether it’s better to obey your faith or your heart. The first half of the movie is amazing to watch filled with humor and a moving plot. As Charles is ingrained into the Flyte family you see him slowly change into a man that he was not before. This transition ends up driving the second half with less than stellar results but that first half is amazing to watch. I hope this movie gets nominated for some technical Academy Awards, mainly costumes, cinematography and set design because those aspects of the movie are simply breathtaking. The costumes in this are beautiful and elegant and watching the characters move in them was amazing. The camera shots and use of lighting in this movie, something I don’t normally notice, was astonishing because the mood is conveyed well than some of the dialogue in the scene. The best reason to love “Brideshead Revisited” is the breathtaking locations. The house which is used as Brideshead, Chatsworth Manor, has been used in several films but here it just jumps off the screen. There’s also a street parade in Venice that is also beautiful to watch with all the masked characters. I was stunned to see some of these locations. The movie also brings this movie to the attention of a younger audience which I enjoyed. The ensemble cast of fresh, young actors worked well and the movie doesn’t shy away from certain uncomfortable topics like homosexuality and nudity.

To start, the movie is rated PG-13 and really pushes the boundaries of the rating. Some of the audience members were uncomfortable with the male on male kissing, some even walking out but it was the excessive amounts of nudity that was a bit odd. The movie is supposedly rated PG-13 for sexual content but there is only one love scene, however there are 3 scenes of male nudity for no reason. I’m not knocking nudity in a film but it was utterly pointless in the movie, the scenes in question just seemed to be shoved in to show the nudity. The movie also suffers from being way too long. At two hours and thirteen minutes it feels it and that’s mostly because of how unevenly divided the movie is. The first half deals with Ryder trying to become the ideal Brideshead man only to switch to four years later as he attempts to forget the Flytes but save a drunken Sebastian, this then cuts to his affair with Julia and him trying to steal her from her husband, only to end with a whole section of the film devoted to Catholicism. I understand that the filmmakers were attempting to get in all the best parts of the miniseries but it just didn’t flow, you can easily tell when the movie cuts into a new section and the transition from one to the other is very abrupt. The movie also takes a very dramatic turn, not that its filled with humor but there is a very sharp turn in Catholicism that I just found boring. The movie also feels the need to give an ending only to have another hour of story, almost like the filmmakers didn’t know where the end. By the ending I was so ready to leave, I highly recommend going to the bathroom before the movie starts.

The acting in the movie ultimately makes up for the long length and the cast of young and veteran actors does superbly with their roles. I’ve been a huge fan of Matthew Goode and am so happy he’s finally receiving leading roles. The role of Charles Ryder, originally portrayed by Jeremy Irons, is a very complex, almost anti-hero role that can easily be overacted. Goode brings a level of charm and humility to the character and as a fan of Jeremy Irons I feel Goode filled his shoes extremely well. I think this bodes well for Goode’s role in the upcoming “Watchmen.” Ben Whishaw is also amazing to watch as the doomed Sebastian Flyte. Having seen his work in “Perfume” I thoroughly enjoyed every time Whishaw was on screen and his chemistry with Goode was amazing, especially considering their relationship in the film. Emma Thompson again knocks it out of the park as the controlling Lady Marchmain. Sadly Thompson is taken out during the last third of the movie so her role is minor in comparision but overall I loved her character, both cold and calculating her final confrontation with Goode’s Charles Ryder was amazing, hopefully she’ll get a nomination come Oscar time. Rising star Hayley Atwell is compentant as the lovely Julia Flyte and a huge step up from English actresses like Keira Knightley or Sienna Miller but I never felt Atwell gripped me with her performance. She did well with the role so maybe it was the character but I never really jumped when she was on screen. Michael Gambon also does well as Lord Marchmain but he has a very small role.

I’m torn on how I feel about “Brideshead Revisited.” I expected so much and the length just ruined it. I definitely consider this a rental, a must if you’ve watched the miniseries, just stock up on snacks and visit the bathroom beforehand. I give it a 3.5/5.