Oh, puh-leeze

[gwyn]

I just watched the trailer for the remake of Brideshead Revisited (yeah, I know, whatever, I'm way behind on everything). I am just... I... WHAT. They seem to have not only remade the miniseries in many respects (Charles in this film is dressed almost exactly as Charles was dressed in the series, the set dressing and blocking is almost dead on in some clips to the series', Charles's actor seems to be aping Jeremy Irons's delivery and facial expressions, and so on), but the thing I cannot get over is... they seem to have turned it into a heterosexual love story where Sebastian gets angry with Charles for wanting to be with his sister and using him as some sort of stepping stone.

Oh, yeah, there's an obligatory throwaway mention of Cara's comment about the Sebastian and Charles "friendship," but for all intents and purposes, the focus is strongly on Charles and Julia to the point where I have a hard time believing that the trailer doesn't represent the tone of the movie overall. They don't show much of Lord Marchmain, but the clip they do, Michael Gambon seems to be playing him almost like his character in the Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover: He seems almost lewd, if not downright threatening. But I won't be watching this to see -- for me, the original adaptation is pretty much as close to filmed perfection of a book as is humanly possible. It has the nuance, pathos, sophistication, all the things I loved about the book (and I highly disagree with people that it's a bad book). It's pitch perfect in every way, from Nickolas Grace's Antony Blanche to Simon Jones's clueless Bridey (whom, I was amused to note, IMDB lists in the new movie as "Bridley"). And of course, the main characters, especially Irons and Anthony Andrews, not to mention icy Claire Bloom, were peerless.

I understand the tempation to take this on with modern day sensibilities in film production and values. But they should have left it if they couldn't do justice to the story. It doesn't need updating. Certainly not with a faint homophobic whiff that would draw audiences who are afraid of too gay of a story. I made the mistake of watching the execrable remake of Pride & Prejudice (the ampersand should have told me right there that I wouldn't want to see it, but I love Matthew McFadyen and so... I was stupid) and I wanted to spork my freaking eyes out. I will not make the mistake of seeing this atrocity. I don't care how glorious this looks. If the story's wrong, it's wrong.

Comments

[cy-girl.livejournal.com]

I hated the Keria Knightley P&P, too. It sucked all of the wit out of Austen and turned it into some sort of Bronte vehicle instead.

[klia.livejournal.com]

I liked the latest P&P, but then I actually like Keira, unlike most fans. And, I know, blasphemy, but I liked McFadyen's Darcy more than Firth's; he gave Darcy a shyness and vulnerability that I found much more appealing. And Brenda Blethyn's Mrs. Bennet was actually sympathetic, where the one in the mini-series was so horrible, it made me wonder why someone hadn't bludgeoned her to death.

Actually, I find it really hard to compare the two versions. It's next to impossible for a 2-hour film to be anywhere near as representative of the novel as a 5-hour mini-series, so I'm much more forgiving of the film.

Btw, if you didn't catch Cranford on PBS, you might consider Netflixing it. Philip Glenister is terrific, and Martin Shaw has a small role, which was a wonderful surprise.

[hafital.livejournal.com]

Like Klia, I loved the remake of P&P for the same reasons, I also loved the A&E version more, so in my eyes it's all good since I get to love them both.

But, regarding the trailer for the remake of Brideshead RevisitedI had a similar reaction to yours -- appalled that it seemed to be all about the relationship between Charles and Julia, and Sebastian seemed to be relegated to the means to an end. I have since heard that the trailer is not accurate in depicting the actual film and that the homosexual relationship is there and given weight in the film (I heard this, I'm not sure it's true, though, since I haven't actually heard it from some one who's seen the film), but I'm very likely not going to see it, as much as I love Emma Thompson. The mini series with Jeremy Irons was so perfect, I just don't need to see it, and unlike P&P, it's not a story that I need to live in like any of Austen's novels.

I'll probably end up watching this version of BR on cable one day.

[keiko-kirin.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen the BR trailer, but I'd already heard that in this version, Julia goes to Italy with Sebastian and Charles, and that... told me all I needed to know. The miniseries was perfect. There did not need to be anything more.