Review of Brideshead Revisited (2008) by Daniel P — 04 Jun 2011

Akin to a "Cliff Notes" version of the rightly loved TV series adapted from a treasured novel, Julian Jarrold's Brideshead Revisited is not a patch on either sources, removing the complexities of the relationships between Charles, Sebastian and Julia and thus the emotional core.

The three leads, Matthew Goode especially, are excellent and try their best to bring charisma and texture to rather thinly sketched characters, and the solid cinematography and impressive music score are plusses, but it was crazy to try cramming everything into a 130 minute movie and in the end the screenplay's failure is to the ultimate detriment of the film.