Went to see this a couple of weeks back and haven't actually quite around to writing about it... until now.
Much anticipated by moi owing to the presence of a certain Mr Whishaw and a general liking for the book on which is it based.
The film came out in July in the US and as I hate seeing reviews before watching I'd been desperately trying to avoid reading anything about it. Unfortunately with the internet and all that, it's a little bit tricky especially when there are several months of waiting for the UK opening and I heard that it had received mixed reviews.
But lets go back to the beginning. The novel by Evelyn Waugh tells the story of Charles Ryder who goes to Oxford University where he meets Lord Sebastian Flyte and his friends. Falling in with the aristocratic crowd Ryder is seduced by Flyte’s lifestyle and family and falls for Sebastian’s devoutly Catholic sister Julia.
The book was made into a much-loved TV series back in the 80’s, which was notable for very closely following the book. Personally I thought it was a bit long a bit indulgent and that sort of detail is better left on the page.
Naturally for the film chunks of the story are jettisoned with the focus on the relationship between Sebastian, Charles and Julia the part Catholicism plays in shaping and ultimately destroying it.
The film has caused controversy for turning Sebastian’s friendship with Charles into a homosexual love for him. When I read the book for the first time last year, I admit that that was my interpretation of Sebastian’s feelings, but put it down to my reading it with 21st century eyes. I didn’t find it shocking, nor did it detract from the story. Indeed it mades a lot of sense.
I thought the first three quarters of the film were spot on but after that it lost its way a little with some strange choices of plot change. For example, Charles later marries and has children but isn’t committed to his family or the relationship. In the film his children are written out of the plot entirely which is a shame because his treatment of them and the angst they inevitably cause Julia who can’t have children are quite important in shaping their characters and the ultimate breakdown in their affair.
It also glossed over Sebastian’s death abroad. You see him ill and weakened with alcohol abuse and then his character seems to be abandoned.
That aside, there are some great performances in it. Michael Gambon plays old, posh and eccentric in only the way he can as Sebastian’s father Lord Marchmain and Emma Thompson manages to pass off playing a much older woman (Lady Marchmain). And Ben Whishaw puts in a sterling performance as the emotionally vulnerable and purposeless Sebastian.
The settings and costumes are sumptuous and like the book almost an homage to a period and lifestyle that is no more. I’ll definitely be watching it again when it comes on the telly.