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Review of "Brideshead Revisited"
After Sebastian exits the picture and the focus becomes Charles and Julia, the pace unfortunately sags a bit, as their relationship is not nearly as satisfying as that between Charles and Sebastian. (One wonders if Charles and Julia even enjoy one another's company at all, which doesn't exactly make for the most exciting romance.) In our recent interview with actor Matthew Goode, he noted, "Obviously, Charles’ friendship with Sebastian was the main love affair of his life, and I think that’s one of the reasons he has such guilt at the end. Nothing’s black and white in this, really ... I think the main love of his life was Sebastian, but in that way that they were linked."
Charles looking for Sebastian in Morocco We do get to see what has become of Sebastian in the end, and again the filmmakers address his sexuality directly, revealing that while Sebastian is recovering from the toll of years of alcoholism in Morocco, he is involved in a love affair with an injured German soldier. The lord is a shadow of his former self, but having escaped the domineering presence of his damning mother, he has finally found a place where he is needed and loved, and we are left with the belief that he will finally be happy. It's interesting to note that the same cannot be said for the other central characters. In the end, Sebastian is the only one to find peace, and the last image of him — lost in thought and face turned up to the sunlight in a monastery garden — is one of the film's most resonant. As far as the production goes, the filmmaking is at turns measured and wonderfully lush. Charles's first peeks at Brideshead through the trees are like glimpses of twinkling crystal, the sunsets on the lawn are achingly lovely, and the canals of Venice are impossibly pristine. It's not hard to see why Charles would fall so deeply in love with this opulent world and its inhabitants.
As Sebastian, Whishaw is a revelation. Turning from blithe to stung on a dime, his take on the character is mercurial and fascinating. He makes the young lord a bleeding, open wound, but not at the expense of the character's integrity, and a foundation of resigned self-awareness grounds the flighty Flyte beautifully. As Ryder, Goode is almost infuriatingly affable and pleasant. It's hard to tell what his motives are, and as his dealings with the family become more complicated it becomes clear that his manners are a mask for the fact that he has no idea what it is that he really wants. His tenderness with Sebastian is wonderfully genuine and his curiosity feels sincere, and it's only when the story moves to his relationship with Julia that false notes begin appearing. On the whole it's difficult not to see how Sebastian would fall for Charles's gentle charm. Atwell does well with what is fundamentally an incredibly difficult role (she's both a femme fatale and a staunch Catholic ... try to pull that one off!) that's almost impossible to make likable, or even believable. Thompson is like a brick of granite dropped onto a tea party (and I mean that in a good way) and Michael Gambon's turn as the children's wayward father is wonderfully sly.
From left to right: Ben Whishaw, Michael Gambon, Hayley Atwell Overall the film is a satisfying and unexpectedly troubling journey back to a time when the aristocracy was gasping to keep hold of its grandeur (embodied with monstrous grace by Thompson) and love came second to class and duty. The themes of religious oppression (it is after all Lady Marchmain's devout Catholicism that destroys both of her children's lives), particularly of gay people, are especially pointed and unfortunately still relevant enough today to sting. I joked with a friend after the screening that if you step back, Brideshead is really a haunted house film about a cursed piece of real estate that bears more resemblance to Burnt Offerings and The Amityville Horror than it does to A Room With a View. And when Brideshead is finally abandoned and its few survivors have escaped, the film gives hope that the ghosts of a less tolerant time are trapped forever within its walls. Submitted by on Wed, 2008-07-30 23:07. |
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News, Reviews & Commentary on Gay and Bisexual Men in Entertainment and the Media
Dude. i hate you...
...cuz you write so good.
You make me laugh out loud, and then you write something like this. Wonderful writing, beautiful insights.
Now i think I have to see this movie. If I like it as much as I enjoyed this review I'll be very psyched indeed.
You're so talented. iz a little depressing.
But mainly fun for us.
Read him for free while you can, people.
Agreed, Jamie
Excellent review
Hey man, great review---you've made me want to see the picture. Have you ever thought of writing for a living? Heh, heh...
I did enjoy the original miniseries, and the book as well, though it's been so long since I've seen or read either, that I don't remember many details of the plot. Well, other than there was a sort of "ick" factor for me, when Charles shifted his romantic focus from Sebastian to Sebastian's sister Julia (ugh)....
I'm like a superhero, with no powers or motivation...
thank you both!
I appreciate the kind feedback. Now watch, you'll hate the movie and I'll owe you each $11...
;)
Beautifully written review, Brian
Only after reading this wonderful review am I considering seeing this big screen treatment. I was one of those who was doubtful about the ability (of anyone) to transfer Waugh's 300+ pages to a feature length film.
It has been three decades since I read the novel and nearly as many years since I saw the mini-series. I enjoyed both tremendously. Given your thorough synopsis, it will be interesting to see what remains of the original tale. I am assuming that Charles does not marry another woman, since you mention that Julia and Sebastian are somewhat of a triangle.
You really owe it to yourself to watch the first 2-3 episodes of the mini-series now. :) The cast alone is worthy of a look - they are all magnificent. Personally I don't see Ben Wishaw's "beauty" as "arresting" (as Waugh described Sebastian) but Anthony Andrews fit the profile perfectly. Originally the casting for the mini-series had Jeremy Irons playing Sebastian and Andrews playing Charles. The actors themselves felt they were better suited for the roles they ultimately played. I can't imagine it the other way around.
I don't see many films at the theater anymore. Based on your recommendation, I will make every attempt to see this one as soon as it comes to a theater near me.
Thank you for the fine review!
PS - The Julia/Charles part of the book and the miniseries also sags to a degree.
The trailer
I actually went and
I actually went and registered to be able to post this comment, heh.. Anyway, I've not seen the movie yet, although I'm looking forward to it. I do have some reservations about it but your review made it sound better than I'd hoped really.
I've actually been worried about it being less gay than the book or the tv series. Yes I know Sebastian is explicitly gay this time around and that there's a kiss but there's been a whiff of it being done to control, tame and kill the subtext. As in they've made Sebastian explicitly gay but straightened up Charles quite a bit (NB: I've not seen the movie yet so can't judge it properly)
When I watched the series for the first time (at the grand age of 12) there was no doubt in my mind that Charles and Sebastian were in love and lovers, especially in that summer at Brideshead.
After the vomit through the window, combined with the room filled with flowers and the luncheon, and the arm in arm walk through the botanical garden Charles returns to his room and pretty much swoons against the door, looking flustered, week in the knees and very very smitten.
I didn't change my mind when they later danced together, didn't really deny they were 'fairies' when called so, sunbathed naked, together on a rooftop and didn't knock before barging in on one of them in a bath. Along with rooms that always seemed to have conjoining doors no matter where they were when they were staying together.
I.e I always read the first half of the story as Charles falling pretty hard for Sebastian, and Sebastian, gay with no doubt at all. ..but yeah, it was mostly subtext but very strong subtext, and that way of handling it fit the feel of the show really well.
Also in the series Charles doesn't go after Julia until there's no hope for him and Sebastian and to me it always felt as he was going for what to him was an acceptable substitute, which he wouldn't have chosen had Sebastian been well. So I'm not sure how I feel about a triangle set up. Anyway this comment is enough of an essay already but yeah, I'm curious about the movie now.
Wonderful review!
I agree with my fellow posters here Brian. Previously I was only marginally interested in seeing this, but now you've made it sound so interesting and entertaining, I'm going to have to see it at some point! (maybe not in the theatre, but still!) Thanks for a good read if nothing else! 8)
I love Ben Whishaw, but he
It's ALWAYS been implict rather than explict
You children must remember not only who Waugh was but the context of his times as well. He was bisexual. Gay in youth and straight afterwards. Brideshead was his way of looking back but NOT in anger -- rather in melancholy regret. Because of the Wilde scndal it was a FUCKING CRIME to be gay in the UK until 1967. Yes, my darlings, you read it right -- 1967. In this context Brideshead was Waugh's way of slippin' one past the goalie. By the time the (exceedingly bloated) miniseries rolled around a lot had changed. But social attitudes were still antiquated. Therefore all those Stately Homes and Swell Clothes were there to make those Stately Homos and The Love That Dare Not Stage-Whisper It's Name look naughtily chic. Nowadays of course all that "tastefulness" is antiquated and Charles and Sebastian can be dealt with more honestly. The trouble is they themselves are still antiquated vis-a-vis real life. In the arts, however, they come off as the Merchant-Ivory version of Luke and Noah. Matthew Goode is lovely. A great improvement on Jeremy Irons. Ben Whishaw isn't as physically robust as Anthony Andrews, but that's all to the good considering Sebastian's character. And if anyone is thinking of doing Isherwood's Down There On a Visit he'd be ideal as "Ambrose" -- Isherwood's rendition of that great international rent boy, druggie and literary inspiration Denham Fouts.
http://bp2.blogger.com/_ef2yeznPgWU/RuXns9LcCAI/AAAAAAAAABk/mbBwnv1PdCU/s1600-h/Fouts.jpg
You're right that gay sex
Six of One, Half a Dozen of the Other
Not to be a dick, but wasn't
I've got to say that having
It's not that America is the "Land of the Free" --
From the land of scones and teapots
Sorry to join the discussion so late but your comments were only recently pointed out to me by a friend on your side of the pond. And then I had to put down my champagne flute long enough to fill out one of those beastly registration pages, in order to reply.
'Swan about with champers and strawberries while musing over the finer points of Catholic theology'? Well, thanks for not stereotyping. Cos that's what we ALL do over here, innit? Swan about. When we're not draped over our chaise-longues in an affected manner, that is.
Gay lib might have taken root in the US but over here it has grown into something strong and stable - that's why gay men and lesbians can openly serve in the armed forces - and we have civil registrations [look it up, I'm not going to hand you enlightenment on a plate] the length and breadth of the country, not just in one or two States. With no sign of propostition 8. It's not perfect but it's getting there - and it wasn't achieved by swanning about. We didn't all go to Oxford and Cambridge, we weren't all born to privilege, so kindly stop judging us by the ethics of a book published in 1945.