Brideshead Revisited (2008) mini review

To my mind the 1980’s TV series of the Evelyn Waugh book is unsurpassable, and indeed I found it impossible not to compare this film adaptation (I watched the director’s cut) with the superior 11 hour miniseries.

The TV series, adapted by Jon Mortimer was probably the easiest adaptation ever made, as the words from the book were quite literally transferred directly to the small screen. What I saw with the TV series were the words and ideas of Waugh translated to images and the actors’ mouths.

The film however made all sorts of changes - some due to compression, exposition of the narrative had to be stated explicitly in many cases, whereas the TV series would take maybe half an hour to develop a plot point. Of course when you are compressing a book into a 2+ hour movie, these things need to be done. But some of the words from the mouths of the characters were just not Waugh - and to me they jarred.

More and more I find that a movie is not a good vehicle for a complex and idea-intense novel like Brideshead Revisited. I mourn the age of the serious TV serial where ideas and feelings and atmospheres can be developed over hours - or weeks, given the way the TV format was used in the early 80s - no VCRs or DVRs... For this reason I am anxious about watching this year’s adaptation of John le Carré’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - the late 70s BBC adaptation was magisterial - how can a 2 hour film be magisterial?

What really shocked me about this film adaptation is that, for me, it totally missed the point of the book. By that I mean the fundamental story was not resolved or really hinted at. This seems to me a terrible omission.

For me the book and the TV series is about one man’s conversion to the catholic faith.

This was totally ignored in the film! At the death of Lord Marchmain, the scales did not fall from Charles Ryder’s eyes, and the final scene in the chapel was not his conversion but a kind of sentimental gesture, of not snuffing out the candle in the Brideshead chapel. I cannot understand how what for me is the fundamental story of the book can be ignored. Evelyn Waugh was himself a convert to the Roman Church. The film therefore becomes a bisexual love story, or at most a three way between Sebastian, Julia and the catholic faith.

My last complaint is to do with the colour palette used in the movie - this fashionable and rather odious Teal and Orange which I find very distracting and unnatural. I of course prefer the duller but more natural shades from the TV series.

On the positive side, there was a good showing of English thespian talent - Sir Michael Gambon and Emma Thompson were their usual fine selves. I was shocked at the final credits to learn that Greta Scacchi had played the middle aged and rather frumpy Cara. At least her Italian accent was relatively genuine. It made me smile to see Niall Buggy as the priest who gives the last rites to Lord Marchmain. The younger cast members were good but not in the same league.

Finally, I wonder why this film needed to be made when the 80s TV series was so definitive - perhaps in this age we cannot expect people to follow 11 hours of slow story telling any more. TV series these days means Desperate Housewives, True Blood and Six Feet Under - none of which are to my taste...