Review of "Brideshead Revisited"

Unless otherwise noted, all photos credit: Nicola Dove/Miramax Films

The very title of Evelyn Waugh's sprawling 1945 novel Brideshead Revisited evokes all sorts of emotional — even impassioned — reactions. For some, memories of the beloved 1981 British miniseries (starring a young Jeremy Irons) bubble to the surface, all wistful remembrance and stolen glances and the looming presence of historic Castle Howard (not to mention the looming running time, which clocked in at 11 hours).

For others the associations are much simpler, though no less poignant: the silhouettes of two men in a field, a natty summer suit, or even the bittersweet image of a teddy bear tucked into the crook of a man's arm. And still others know the title as nothing more than a punchline to endless jokes about stuffy English period romances in the Merchant/Ivory tradition.

I'll admit I'm one of the latter. 

Jeremy Irons (left) and Anthony Andrews starred in 1981 mini-series
Photo credit: Ray Good/Granada Television

So when I learned that the classic tale of ambition, class, and guilt had been compressed for the Ritalin age into a brisk two-hour juggernaut of tweeds and afternoon cocktails, I was more curious and less skeptical than many viewers who dreaded what the compression of the tale might do to its integrity.

While I can't speak to that point, I can say one thing: this Brideshead is undoubtedly thoroughly modern. And its critical eye and contemporary vantage point are likely responsible for the evolution of the troubled but beloved character Sebastian Flyte, a young gay man of privilege whose sexuality in the novel and original telefilm was repressed much as it was in his own life at Brideshead.

Here, Sebastian is unquestionably and explicitly gay, a point made clear both to the audience and to the characters that share the screen with him.

For those not familiar with the story, here's the basic premise: Charles Ryder (Matthew Goode), a young man of common birth, meets flamboyant and self-destructive aristocrat Sebastian Flyte (Ben Whishaw) while at Oxford, and the two become fast friends. Sebastian is clearly gay and the whole school knows it. In fact, when we first meet him (drunk and lounging in a gondola while another showboating dandy, Anthony Blanche, spouts poetry at him), Charles's cousin remarks, "Sodomites, the lot of them," and advises him to steer well clear.

That of course doesn't happen. Charles is fascinated by Sebastian's free spirit (moments after meeting him, Sebastian vomits into Charles's dorm window) and his air of affluence (Sebastian apologizes by sending Charles about 300 flowers and an invitation to lunch on a piece of stationery the size of an atlas) and the two quickly become good friends.

Emma Thompson as Lady Marchmain

After a day spent lounging at a lake eating strawberries and drinking expensive wine (in college? What happened to Mad Dog and 7-11 nachos?), Sebastian takes Charles to his family's home — the gargantuan Brideshead — and Charles eventually meets Lady Marchmain (Emma Thompson) and Sebastian's beautiful-yet-aloof sister, Julia (Hayley Atwell). It is later revealed that Lady Marchmain is a staunch Catholic, and thinks that the souls of her children are both in perpetual peril.

In Sebastian's case, it's clearly because he's gay.