“Brideshead Revisited” Recast in a Lovely, Condensed Version
August 1, 2008
“Brideshead Revisited” made a star of Jeremy Irons when it was shown as an 11-part series by Grenada Television in 1981.
Irons played Charles Ryder, an Oxford University student and budding artist seduced by the aristocratic Marchmain family.
Charles Ryder is played by Matthew Goode, 30, in this new version. Goode is tall (6’ 2”) and thin, with rather delicate features.
Even more delicate is Lord Sebastian Flyte, a flighty, flaming homosexual happily going to Hell in a handbasket.
Thin, wispy Ben Whishaw plays Flyte in an unapologetically effete, sardonic manner. Flyte vomits in Charles Ryder’s dorm room by way of introduction, then sends flowers, a note of apology, and an invitation to lunch the next day.
Charles Ryder’s family is of modest means. Charles’ father (Patrick Malahide) is so distant and disinterested Charles might as well be living alone.
Flyte, on the other hand, is immediately smitten with Charles, who is so impressed an upper-class gent has taken a fancy to him that he is not averse to leading him on.
Charles is even more impressed when he sees Flyte’s family estate, Brideshead, a magnificent British castle that in reality is Castle Howard, the same estate where the mini-series was filmed.
Brideshead is ruled by steely matriarch Lady Marchmain (wonderful Emma Thompson), a pious Catholic so fervent she puts religion ahead of her family’s feelings.
Lord Marchmain (Michael Gambon) long ago fled both the church and his overbearing wife to the sunnier clime of Venice, where he boldly lives in sin with his mistress.
Lady Marchmain is loathe to admit her son is homosexual, but the circumstantial evidence is overwhelming, and Sebastian’s sense of guilt is driving him deeper into alcoholism and despair.
Sebastian’s depression deepens when he realizes Charles is falling for his strong, beautiful sister Julia (Hayley Atwell), who is as attracted to Charles as her brother is.
“Brideshead” is ultimately not about sex or romance but religious faith and fate, and how they can affect individuals for good or ill. Evelyn Waugh was an adult convert to Catholicism, but “Brideshead” is hardly an endorsement of that religion. Rather, it is a fascinating study of the human condition, created by the same director who brought Jane Austen into the 21st century in “Becoming Jane.”
Three and a half stars
Those darn mummies!
Just when you think they are down for good, up they pop again, ready to wreak havoc on the living.
It is hard to take “Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” seriously, but really we are not supposed to.
Brendan Fraser brings his self-effacing 1930s mummy-hunter out of retirement with his archeologist wife Evelyn (Maria Bello) for yet another adventure, this one set in ancient China.
Rick O’Connell (Fraser) gains a sidekick in his son Alex (Luke Ford), a chip off the old mummy-fighting block.
Asian superstar Jet Li plays the 2,000-year-old Emperor, doomed to dormancy by the angry sorceress Zi Yuan (Michelle Yeoh).
Ah, but curses aren’t forever. You can bet there is a magical talisman that will bring the Emperor roaring back to life to conquer the world once again.
“Tomb” has a sumptuous look to it and plenty of eye-popping special effects, but it is all balderdash and poppycock, out to wow bored people with short attention spans.
Two stars
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