Brideshead Revisited (2008)
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63% of critics liked it
(128 reviews) -
52% of users liked it
(21,503 ratings)
Evelyn Waugh's classic novel of love and the British class system has been given a polished screen adaptation in this film version from director Julian Jarrold. The tale opens during WWII, when Charles Ryder (Matthew Goode), an English military officer, is stationed at a country estate that has… More Evelyn Waugh's classic novel of love and the British class system has been given a polished screen adaptation in this film version from director Julian Jarrold. The tale opens during WWII, when Charles Ryder (Matthew Goode), an English military officer, is stationed at a country estate that has been converted into a military base. Jarrold uses this time-frame and setting as a framing device, and then flashes back in time to Charles' days as a scholar in the 1920s. It becomes clear that he was raised in a middle-class household; though he was fortunate enough to have been accepted into Oxford, he doesn't belong to the British upper crust. At Oxford, Charles strikes up a friendship with twentysomething Lord Sebastian (Ben Whishaw). Charles is captivated by the splendor of Sebastian's life at his family's Brideshead Castle, and he finds himself drawn into a web of decadent comfort. For Sebastian, though, the familial estate represents a prison from which he longs to escape, and in desperation, he hits the bottle. Charles develops an infatuation with Sebastian's sister, Julia (Hayley Atwell), but also senses that his bond with Sebastian may be something far deeper than simple friendship. Also present at Brideshead is Sebastian and Julia's mother, Lady Marchmain (Emma Thompson), an ice water-veined woman still reeling from her abandonment some time prior at the hands of her husband. Though bitter, the matriarch perceives Charles as an emotional anchor for the increasingly unstable Sebastian, and therefore suggests that Charles join Sebastian and Julia on a trip to see their father (Michael Gambon) and his mistress (Greta Scacchi) in Venice. Unfortunately, the romantic bond between Charles and Julia deepens, which threatens to destroy Sebastian. This feature constitutes the second major version of Brideshead Revisited to reach viewers; an earlier, 11-hour miniseries adaptation ran on television in 1981. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- Julian Jarrold
- Written By
- Jeremy Brock, Andrew Davies
- Genres
- Drama
- In Theaters
- Jul 25, 2008 Wide
- On DVD
- Jan 13, 2009
- Studio
- Miramax Films
Critic Reviews
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, Time Out
Performances are good - Thompson and Gambon impress - but the insipid music is dreadful.
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Connie Ogle, Miami Herald
Thompson, though, is marvelous; with understated precision and grace, she makes every word count. Also excellent is Michael Gambon.
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Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle
What's missing from Goode's performance and from the film as whole is the layer upon layer of accumulated motive -- the gradual evolution of a man's complex desires and even-more-complicated fears.
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Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic
If you're in the market for a veddy British drama and miss seeing Emma Thompson in her natural environment, Brideshead Revisited is a worthwhile two-hour meditation on faith (and the lack thereof).
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Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
Yes, it's a compressed version, but I found it very enjoyable.
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Cast
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Hayley Atwell
as Julia Flyte
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Ben Whishaw
as Sebastian Flyte
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Matthew Goode
as Charles Ryder
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Emma Thompson
as Lady Marchmain
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Michael Gambon
as Lord Marchmain
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Greta Scacchi
as Carla
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Jonathan Cake
as Rex Mottram
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Patrick Malahide
as Mr. Edward Ryder
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Thomas Morrison
as Hooper
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David Barrass
as ship's barber
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Anna Madeley
as Celia Ryder
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Sarah Crowden
as Lady guest
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Stephen Carlile
as English lord
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Peter Barnes
as American professor
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Richard Teverson
as Cousin Jasper


