Awesome British actor Ben Whishaw plays Sebastian Flyte in the latest adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited. While he gets to play some challenging scenes, it was co-star Matthew Goode who got the meatier part as Charles Ryder. I can't help but be disappointed with the movie. Not only did they changed the plot, but it seems to me that director Julian Jarrold gave us an overkill of stuffy backgrounds and minute details. One can't help but suffocate!

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In watching Jarrold's previous work- Kinky Boots and Becoming Jane-the biggest impression I got is the lack of sincerity. There is something missing in his films- it's a bit hard to describe what it is. In terms of comparison, one can't help but feel the emotional impact of Joe Wright's Atonement and Pride and Prejudice; but with Jarrold's work, I simply don't get that.

This film version tells the story of forbidden love and the loss of innocence set in the pre-WWII era. Charles Ryder (Matthew Goode) becomes entranced with the noble Marchmain family, first through the charming and provocative Sebastian Flyte (Ben Whishaw), and then his sophisticated sister, Julia (Hayley Atwell). The rise and fall of Charles' infatuations reflect the decline of a decadent era in England between the wars.

Ben Whishaw plays the gay Sebastian Flyte: Lord Sebastian invites Charles Ryder to stay at Brideshead Castle, and in turn initiates the various courses of action that contributes to the forbidden love between Ryder and Sebastian's sister, Julia (played by Hayley Atwell). Sebastian was supposed to be unattracted to Charles, but a passionate kiss changed everything.

Purists and other readers of the novel have argued that:

The precise nature of Charles and Sebastian's relationship remains a topic of considerable debate; are they simply close friends, or does Waugh mean to imply a physical relationship between the characters? Given that much of the first half of the novel circles around the initial encounter, friendship, and falling-away of these central characters, this issue continues to pique the curiosity of readers.

A frequent interpretation is that Charles and Sebastian had a passionate yet platonic relationship, an immature albeit strongly felt attachment that prefigures future heterosexual relationships.

Says Andy McSmith from The Independent:

Hollywood scriptwriters have risked the fury of the British reading public by tampering with the plot of one of the 20th century's best-loved British novels.

The film version of Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited will hit the big screen in America in July, and in Britain in October, but already critics are circling. With stars such as Emma Thompson and Michael Gambon, excellent acting can be expected. And the settings are apparently breathtaking. The script too, according to early reports is taut. But what have they done to the story? Something that will drive Waugh aficionados wild with rage.

For in comes a scene set in Venice, where Charles Ryder begins a love affair with the aristocratic Julia Flyte, under the nose of her brother, Sebastian, whose descent into alcoholism starts here. The film implies that this is a love triangle – a homoerotic friendship between young men that is displaced when one of them begins a heterosexual love affair, bringing emotional destruction to the other.

See trailer of the movie, courtesy of youtube:

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The novel uses religion as a centerpiece. This adaptation lacked in this regard as well.

Anyway, after watching Whishaw in Perfume, I was expecting to see more of him on the big screen. His take on Sebastian Flyte was also quite impressive. Matthew Goode really did great as Charles Ryder, but I wanted more of Whishaw!

[ tMF Film Focus on Brideshead Revisited ] [ Official Movie Site ] [ Ben Whishaw tMF profile ]

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Comments (2)

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I would like to see this for Emma Thompson.
Have you seen the PBS mini series? It's 14 hours long, but it was a helluva good ride.

Mo , August 03, 2008 | url

Read the book only...

Hi Mo! Other reviewers loved the movie because of Emma Thompson, coz she's wicked and awesome here. I have not watched the PBS mini series but struggled with the novel when I read it for the first time

Jed , August 03, 2008

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