5. Brideshead Revisited (Miramax, July 25)
Trailer:
Directed by Julian Jarrold (Becoming Jane), Brideshead Revisited is a story of one man's dream and the woman destined to stop it from coming true. The main character, Charles Ryder (Matthew Goode), is stationed at the lavish estate of Brideshead during World War II. He remembers the time he spent there earlier in his life, when his friend Sebastian Flyte (Ben Whishaw) resided here with his affluent family. The main portion of the story is told in flashback, describing what occurred when he first visited Brideshead with Sebastian.
Almost immediately after arriving, Brideshead surprises and fascinates Charles. He meets the rest of Sebastian's family, and soon, he becomes romantically attracted to Sebastian's sister, Julia (Hayley Atwell).
Meanwhile, Lady Marchmain (the uber-cool Emma Thompson, one of my favorite actresses!), the powerful matriarch of the family, keeps a close eye on everything occurring and strict control of anything at Brideshead. At first, she is very inviting and eagerly welcomes Charles. But eventually, she realizes he spends much of his time at their estate with her children. She feels this is rather odd and unacceptable, so she plots a plan to get rid of him. According to the novel synopsis, she dislikes Charles because he is not religious. (The Flytes are strict, traditional Catholics.) She quickly becomes aware of Charles' close relationships with both of her children: a solid friendship with Sebastian, and an intimate romance with Julia. Gradually, Lady Marchmain's plot to foil Charles' ambitions(not too sure what they are) unravels with explosive consequences. (I think...not positive about what happens afterwards. Guess we'll have to see it in the film!)
I must say the trailer is very convincing. It really draws the viewer in and tells a sufficient synopsis to excite and make us eager to find out what happens next, as a trailer should do. However, I disagree with its choice of music; it doesn't really fit the film, specifically since it is a period drama. The plot seems very interesting and the characters very distinct. Emma seems kinda sorta badass, in an Emma way. =D
Brideshead Revisited is the first of this year's many literary adaptations. The original novel, written by British author Evelyn Waugh, was published in 1945. It was adapted into a BBC miniseries in 1981, but this is the first silver screen version. In conclusion, this seems like an exciting film, with some newcomers and the uber-cool, uber-classy Emma Thompson. I'm hoping this is Emma's minor comeback; perhaps she might receive an Oscar nod for Supporting Actress, considering the fact that many people think she was snubbed for Love Actually and Stranger than Fiction, both of which were great performances. Anyway, we will have to see come awards season. For now, I leave you with the lovely poster.
1 comments:
Interesting plot...
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