This week I finally got to see the 2008 movie version of Brideshead Revisited. It is a worthy adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's famous British novel, although of necessity a very compact and much abridged screenplay, certainly compared to its original adaptation in the 1981 multi-episode television series. That series made stars of Jeremy Irons (as Charles Ryder) and Anthony Andrews (as Lord Sebastian Flyte) and they both left big shoes to fill by any successive actors. But I think that both Matthew Goode (as Charles Ryder) and Ben Whishaw (as Lord Sebastian Flyte) made those roles their own.
I think whoever plays Charles Ryder has the harder of the two roles. Ryder is naive, trusting, easily impressed by wealth and privilege, and not really sure who he is or what he wants. His personality seems rather dull, buttoned-down and pedestrian contrasted to the larger-than-life flamboyance and dramatic flair of Sebastian. Yet, alone of all the characters, Charles is in every scene because the movie is from his point of view. He must carry the film.
As it happens, this week I also binge-watched Matthew Goode play his most recent role as a very different character than the emotionally repressed Charles Ryder. He stars as Detective Chief Inspector Carl Morck in the Scottish crime thriller series Dept. Q, now streaming on Netflix. DCI Morck is a foul-mouthed, emotionally scarred, volatile, miserable sonovabitch who is almost impossible to work with.
Dept. Q. has been deservedly getting rave reviews and I highly recommend it too. It's gritty, with a big dose of violence, complex characters, good acting and an extremely well-written script and plot.
10 comments:
I desperately wanted to like "Dept. Q"; love Matthew Goode (thanks to Downton Abby), but... just could not get into it. I tried... I tried... I tried.
...when it comes to films, I'm illiterate.
Both of these look really good -- time to check out the cost of Netflix!
I love department Q. A gripping and thrilling series
I like both Goode and Whishaw so I need to find Brideshead.
And Dept. Q.
I think I need to see this. The mother is so much better than Claire bloom, who does the same character in every role. Charles Ryder is played by that actor from A Murder is Announced! He's good. He too is from wealth and privilege though, but I think it's the the flamboyance of sebastian and his friends that amazes him, his own family being very repressed. Anyway thank you, I must look for this.
Oh, I love Ben Whishlaw!
And you read my mind! I just put Dept Q. in my Netflix queue!!!
XOXO
We loved Dept. Q! Haven’t seen the remake of Brideshead Revisited.
Saw the TV series, never the film. It's tough to condense such detailed novels into a single movie...so I will usually take a pass. Maybe I should give it a go.
Thanks for the Dept. Q recommendation. I'll be looking for that one.
I agree with whkattk, it is so difficult to translate some novels to the screen. Still, big shoes to fill for sure. The first movie really set a tone and made a big impression.
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