Brideshead Revisited (2008)

Director:

Julian Jarrold

Writers:

Andrew Davies (written by) and
Jeremy Brock (written by) and
Evelyn Waugh (novel)

Release Date:

25 July 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Love is not ours to control

Plot:

A poignant story of forbidden love and the loss of innocence set in England prior to the Second World War.

Plot Keywords:

Catholic | WWII | England | Bathing | Beautiful Woman

Awards:

10 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Matthew Goode	...	Charles Ryder
Thomas Morrison	...	Hooper
David Barrass	...	Ship's Barber
Anna Madeley	...	Celia Ryder
Sarah Crowden	...	Lady Guest
Stephen Carlile	...	English Lord
Peter Barnes	...	American Professor
Hayley Atwell	...	Julia Flyte
Patrick Malahide	...	Mr Ryder
Richard Teverson	...	Cousin Jasper
Joseph Beattie	...	Anthony Blanche
Ben Whishaw	...	Sebastian Flyte
Roger Walker	...	Lunt
Mark Field	...	Boy Mulcaster
Mark Edel-Hunt	...	Oxford Student

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some sexual content.

Runtime:

Argentina:133 min | USA:133 min

Country:

UK | Italy | Morocco

Language:

English | Italian | Arabic | Latin | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | UK:12A | Ireland:12A | Australia:PG | Netherlands:12 | Singapore:M18 | Denmark:A | New Zealand:M | Portugal:M/12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Finland:K-11 | Sweden:7 | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Art Deco Palm Court, Park Lane Hotel, Piccadilly, London, England, UK

Company:

Ecosse Films

Trivia:

Filmed in summer 2007, one of the rainiest summers on record in England. The crew suffered rainfall at nearly every location, and even had to contend with rain while on location in Venice.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In Lord Marchmain's deathbed scene, Fr. Mackay imparts absolution while Charles Ryder and members of the family are in attendance. Absolution is never imparted in public in this way. The others would have been asked to step out. Moreover, the Latin form of the absolution given, although it is the correct traditional one, is badly mispronounced and contains several errors in the details of the Latin text.

Quotes:

[First Lines]
Charles Ryder:[Internal monologue while walking out of Brideshead Castle] If you asked me now who I am, the only answer I could give with any certainty would be my name: Charles Ryder. For the rest: my loves, my hates, down even to my deepest desires, I can no longer say whether these emotions are my own, or stolen from those I once so desperately wished to be. On second thought, one emotion remains my own. Alone among the borrowed and the second-hand, as pure as that faith from which I am still in flight: Guilt.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Siskel & Ebert: Episode dated 26 July 2008" (2008)

Soundtrack:

With the Rumba Playing

Don't Visit This Brideshead

I have not yet read the book nor watched the previous adaptations and thus, I cannot comment on how truthful this film is to its predecessors. However, as a stand alone film this one fails miserably. Moving at a lethargic pace, high on melodrama with not much happening, this was a terribly boring film. The relationship between Julia and Charles looked very soap-opera like. Also the portrayal of the dysfunctional bond between Lady Marchmain and her children is poorly depicted and one never gets to the bottom of why these kids really hate her so much. Most of the performances are lacklustre except that of Emma Thompson, Michael Gambon and Ben Whishaw. I wonder why an actress of Thompson's calibre agreed to play such a role at this stage of her career. She had very little screen time and the role itself was clichéd. Gambon too suffers the same fate. Whishaw pretty much owns the first half of the film. Another thing, perhaps the only thing, to look forward to is the pleasant English countryside which is stunningly captured. But for that kind of thing, one can always watch travel documentaries. 'Brideshead Revisited' lacks soul. It's as simple as that.