Emma Thompson steals the new film version of “Brideshead Revisited.” As Lady Marchmain, the genteel but fierce matriarch of Eveyln Waugh’s story, she projects so much intelligence, resolve and even a touch of malevolence that she towers over the pretty young things with whom she shares the screen.
She’s so good that when her character vanishes halfway through, the movie never recovers.
Old-timers may recall the 10-hour PBS version of “Brideshead” that aired in the early ’80s. Of necessity this new edition — written and directed by Julian Jarrold (“Kinky Boots,” “Becoming Jane”) and penned by Jeremy Brock and Andrew Davies — compresses the book’s 20-year narrative and eliminates numerous tangential characters.
It’s a workmanlike job but not a terribly inspired one. And it may well puzzle viewers who’ve always heard that Waugh was a supreme satirist. This “Brideshead” seems awfully dour.
Charles Ryder (Matthew Goode) is a lower-middle-class Brit who in the 1920s goes to university and despite a warning to steer clear of “sodomites” finds himself adopted by a band of, ahem, colorful students led by Sebastian Flyte (Ben Whishaw).
Sebastian is fey, catty, alcoholic and rather sad. Charles, though, is deeply impressed with his new friend. Sebastian is filthy rich and a lord — exotic credentials to a young man from a class of shopkeepers.
And when Sebastian lets Charles tag along on a visit to Brideshead, his family’s sprawling country estate, the newcomer is bowled over.
Sebastian may sneer at the gallery filled with oils of his noble ancestors, but to Charles it’s a dream come true, a vision of what British life is supposed to be.
The film is basically about Charles’ lifelong quest to become a member of this family.
Charles is invited to spend a summer at Brideshead, spending his days skinny-dipping and lolling about with Sebastian and raiding the family wine cellar. He finds himself drawn to Sebastian’s sister Julia (Hayley Atwell), an attraction that will create problems when the emotionally needy Sebastian feels rejected.
Charles’ real challenge is Sebastian and Julia’s mother, Lady Marchmain. With white hair, a stiff demeanor and a deadly sarcasm masked by polite civility, this grand dame is simultaneously attractive and intimidating. She’s also a hard-core Catholic who tolerates Charles’ atheism as a fad that will be outgrown — at least until she sees his intentions toward Julia. Then the iron fist comes down.
“Brideshead” gets lost in its second half, when the adult Charles, now an established painter, attempts to reconnect with Julia, who is trapped in a loveless marriage arranged by her late mother. Without Thompson’s weighty presence and with the flamboyant Sebastian tucked away in the ’30s version of rehab, the enterprise rests on the shoulders of Goode and Atwell. They’re attractive enough but a bit underwhelming.
In fact, there’s almost no heat in their relationship. Those looking for a good dose of romance will be disappointed — especially when in the last reel “Brideshead” turns into an examination of religious faith and Catholic fidelity.
Happily there’s some juicy supporting work on display: Jonathan Cake as Julia’s husband, a cad who will happily “sell” her to Charles; Michael Gambon as Julia and Sebastian’s father, who long ago fled his religious wife for a new life with his mistress in Venice; Ed Stoppard as the oldest Flyte child — devout, prim, proper and ponderously unimaginative . . . no doubt his mother’s favorite. And look for Patrick Malahide as Charles’ preoccupied, fuddy- duddy father, who seems to be living on his own little planet.
“Brideshead Revisted”
PG-13 for some sexual content. 2 hours, 13 minutes. Directed by Julian Jarrold; written by Andrew Davies and Jeremy Brock; based on Evelyn Waugh’s novel; photography by Jess Hall; starring Matthew Goode, Emma Thompson, Ben Whishaw, Hayley Atwell, Michael Gambon, Greta Scacchi, Ed Stoppard Opens today at the Esquire theater.
