Brideshead Revisited (Matthew Goode, Emma Thompson, Ben Whishaw, Hayley Atwell, Michael Gambon) — It’s very British, very beautiful, very long, and very angst-ridden. This period piece is set between the two World Wars and follows the life of a modest and middle-class young man, Charles Ryder (Matthew Goode of Match Point) headed to a very proper English college. Raised by a father incapable of showing emotion of any kind, he is befriended by an elder classman, Sebastian (Whishaw), who is rich, troubled, perpetually drunk, cultured, gay and anti-establishment in virtually every way. Immediately attracted to his young protege, he invites him to visit Brideshead, his family’s residence — a castle of unbelievable size and full of priceless art. While Sebastian wants to avoid the family except his beloved grandmother, the boys inevitably visit just when his sister, older brother, and formidable mother (played by the incomparable Emma Thompson) arrive. Mom is strictly Catholic and has raised her children to be as God-fearing and religious as possible. Sebastian is haunted by the guilt she has imposed upon him for so many things, most notably his sexual preference.
Charles, enchanted by Brideshead and amazed by the fact that he has been brought into this social stratum, responds solidly but a bit tepidly to Sebastian’s advances. But he becomes totally entranced by the sister, Julia. The two siblings and Charles head to Vienna to visit the sibling’s absent father (Michael Gambon), who is living with a woman-friend, played by Greta Scacchi (Presumed Innocent). After Charles is invited to many family events, he becomes trusted by the wicked mother (who tries to enlist him to watch over Sebastian). When he and Julia kiss, Sebastian witnesses it, feels betrayed and lapses into a degree of drunkenness and misbehavior that he become seriously ill. Sebastian breaks ties with Charles and heads to Morocco while his sister is forbidden to pursue a relationship with Charles because he is not only not Catholic, he is an atheist.
The rest of the movie is a beautifully photographed post card of England, Vienna and Morocco albeit with a somewhat overwrought storyline. Julia marries an ambitious American who agrees to convert to Catholicism. Charles becomes a successful painter and marries, too. After time passes, the characters’ paths cross again. Mother gets ill, wants to find and reconcile with Sebastian, and realizes she is hated by virtually everyone. Charles and Julia have an inevitable reunion. And the movie devolves into a morality tale about the permanent effect religion can have on everyone.
This is a very self-important film but it also well worth the more than two hours just to see the performances on Thompson, Gambon and Whishaw. I almost renamed the film Brideshead Revisited and Revisited. This movie is not for everyone. But if you like Emma Thompson movies and British period pieces, you should enjoy this one.