Review: Brideshead Revisited

Review: Brideshead Revisited

Rating: **

Nonna's Rating: $$

Rotten Tomatoes: 64%

If you've never read Evelyn Waugh's novel of the same name or, especially, if you've never seen the BBC's 1981 11-part, 11-hour version starring Jeremy Irons and Anthony Andrews, and if you enjoy period pieces, then this version of Brideshead Revisited is likely to please you. Now, I'm not one to demand that movies follow the books they are based on religiously. The genres are as different as reality and imagination; each has its strengths and weaknesses. However, Brideshead begs for an 11 hour treatment. The novel, a tale of class and religion, is lush and sensual, steeped in a simultaneously ascetic and erotic Catholicism that demands attention to detail. If I attempt to be as fair as possible to the 2008 release, I find myself agreeing that it's beautifully photographed and well-acted in the way we expect English actors to act. However, Matthew Goode as Charles Ryder and Hayley Atwell as Lady Julia Flyte just don't convey the passion and guilt of their relationship in the way Jeremy Irons and Diana Quick do. So, you might rent the 2008 film for a rainy afternoon and enjoy it, but I suggest you consider renting the 11-part series and invest the time to appreciate why it almost always makes critics' lists of the 10 best series on television.

Nonna's Ratings:
$$$$ = Worth paying the Friday evening price
$$$= Worth paying the Matinee price
$$= Worth a rental
$ = Wait for cable
# = Skip it