Review of Brideshead Revisited (2008) by Stewart F — 07 Oct 2009

I loved the book and the TV series. Unfortunately this film falls short in so many ways. Obviously, things have to be cut to fit the 2 hour framework of a movie, but they also significantly butchered events and motivations to the extent that the whole thrust of the book (and TV series) was lost. According to the film, Sebastian and Charles fall out because the latter falls in love with Julia - this only happened after the two became estranged in the book, and was not a contributing factor in any way. Also, they imply that Charles always had explicit designs on worming his way into the family - again, not so - yes, he was fascinated by the family, but he was not out to "make a buck" from it. These weaken what is truly the core of the original story, which is the stultifying power of the Catholic Church and its ethos of guilt.

The story exists because Charles falls in awe of the sparkling personality of Sebastian, who is a real charmer. Without this, nothing makes sense. In the film, Sebastian is just a whiny, spoilt, drunk rich kid that couldn't charm anyone.

The book, to be honest, is not really suitable material for a movie because of all the nuances and undertones that need time to develop. For this, the 1981 British TV series was perfect. Sometimes it feels like watching paint dry, but it conveys beautifully the spirit of the book. Also, the acting in virtually every role was superior in the TV series. Jeremy Irons as Charles was perfect to convey the complexity of the character, especially the diffidence.