Review of Brideshead Revisited (2008) by Bruce W — 10 Jan 2009

This is quite a good piece of work and beautifully filmed. The real problem is that it doesn't bear comparison to the 1982 BBC TV series - squeezed into movie length it becomes all plot and something of a melodrama.

Someone seeing this movie would never guess, for example, that Evelyn Waugh, author of the novel, was a Catholic convert rather than someone who had been brought up within the church but had thrown it over.

Any ambiguity around the sexuality of Sebastian Flyte has disappeared and Ben Whishaw's portrayal of the character as an "out-there" gay pretty much misses the reason why Sebastian is a tortured alcoholic.

Having said that it's enjoyable enough, but read the book or see the series if you want to understand what the fuss is all about.