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Brideshead Revisited starring Matthew Goode, Hayley Atwell, Ben Whishaw and Emma Thompson

Posted on November 12, 2010 Written by ripitup

Brideshead Revisited starring Emma Thompson, Matthew Goode, Ben Whishaw and Haley AtwellBrideshead Revisited starring Emma Thompson, Matthew Goode, Ben Whishaw and Haley Atwell — Brideshead Revisited starring Emma Thompson, Matthew Goode, Ben Whishaw and Haley Atwell

It was before World War II broke out…

Charles Ryder (Matthew Goode) is by no means poor, but he is definitely not rich and he is not coming from a significant family. He has a rather cold and restrained relationship with his father.

His uneventful life however changes forever when he starts his first year at Oxford University and meets the colorful Sebastian (Ben Whishaw). Sebastian is a lot more intriguing than Charles’s own cousin, who calls Sebastian and his gang sodomites. And he is not technically wrong as Sebastian is openly gay and feminine. Charles enjoys his company and falls in love with Sebastian’s extraordinary family mansion and living quarters called Brideshead.

Charles spends a wonderful time with Sebastian although he is not exactly sure why Sebastian wants to keep Charles away from his mother and sister. It has a lot to do with his mother (Emma Thompson) being a strict Catholic who loves to control her children and make them feel guilty. Sebastian likes his sister Julia (Haley Atwell)though. She also seems to be rebellious like him. Things get increasingly complicated when Charles finds himself intensely drawn to the sister and Sebastian notices this. Charles’ growing feelings for her will endanger his relationship with the entire family, especially the mother. She was OK with him hanging around when he seemed like the grounded friend who would keep her son from trouble. Unfortunately, being an atheist artist with no resources, he is not someone she’d ever allow her daughter to be with.

Can Charles salvage his friendship with Sebastian, manage to be with … despite the mother? Or does Charles even know for sure what he is and what he wants? The same can be asked about Julia as well…

Brideshead Revisited is a period drama adapted from the novel of the same name. It starts as beautiful and engaging period drama but as the movie goes on, the story loses a lot of momentum. Ben Whishaw’s Sebstian has just too many clichés, none of the characters seem to know who they are apart from Emma Thompson’s character and unfortunately her character is the most boring and depressing at all. I love the first couple of scenes of the film and how things start but the movie starts to drag, especially after the scenes in Venice. By the time Charles gets to be with Julia, it was already more than 1,5 hours into the money and apart from their “big reunion”, their relationship is just plain boring.

I am not a Catholic, and I am not an atheist. Maybe I have the tendency to be an agnostic and so I rarely ever cared about the guilt trips of the siblings, and their bleak existence. Matthew Goode’s character was alright up to the point, but there is so much you can care about a lead who centers his life around 2 people, who let their lives run by their mom.

Nonetheless, it is an opportunity for Matthew Goode and Ben Whishaw fans as the movie last longer than 2 hours.

The story, though, is just not as magnificent as its cast or the Brideshead house. It is not romantic enough, sexy enough or interesting enough- and this is coming from a girl who likes period dramas and Matthew Goode.

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Bright Star starring Abbie Cornish, Ben Whishaw and Paul Schneider

Posted on June 29, 2010 Written by ripitup

Bright Star starring Abbie Cornish, Ben Whishaw and Paul Schneider. Written and directed by Jane Campion. Image from http://theoscarboy.files.wordpress.com

So I kept hearing so much about The Piano all these years. You probably have heard of it, even if you haven’t seen it. Critically acclaimed, Oscar-winner and all that. And I thought it was time I should watch this popular Jane Campion film. Since I was going to watch it, I took the chance to watch Bright Star before. It was directed by Campion as well, rated at 7.2 on IMDB, a period drama starring Ben Whishaw and Abby Cornish. How could they go wrong? Beautiful leads, romantic setting and me- someone belonging exactly to the targeted audience: romantic female with a weakness for period films. My favorite movies include Pride and Prejudice and I have written articles about the period movies to watch (Period Movies: The Costumes, The Settings and The Romance).

But watching to movie, I failed to be intrigued by any character or line. In fact, I hated Mr. Brown and Paul Schnedier’s interpretation of him. The scenes are mostly too long, boring and/or mundane. This is not how an engaging drama should work. The movie did not have one fun moment in its body. And what on earth did they get the talented Thomas Sangster for? His character barely spoke and added nothing to the story. That boy is talented and he is often seen in fun roles- that have lines and action. Remember the kid in Love Actually? And Ceasar in The Last Legion?

You can bet I am a little concerned about watching The Piano now. While I love Harvey Keitel, and the premise sounds very interesting, I am not sure if it will be a worthwhile experience. But of course I will watch it anyway.

The plot? Oh that:

England, 19^th century. Young and beautiful Fanny Brawne (Abby Cornish) is fascinated by fashion and clothing and designs and makes all her clothes.

Young poet John Keates is striving to make money with his work and is often working with Mr. Brown. As much as Mr. Brown and Fanny hate each other, a romance eventually blossoms between Fanny and Keats. The fact that he can’t support himself , that he is mostly dependent on Brown as a writing mate and more, complicate things. Love would probably conquer all but then Keats falls terminally ill…

Yes, Keats is a real poet that lived in that period. And his real life couldn’t have been this boring, could it? Yes, there are many who enjoyed this film, hence the 7.2 rating but I am just not one of them. 4-5/10.

When adultery is okay,part 2: The English Patient

Posted on July 5, 2009 Written by ripitup

The English Patient (1996)

Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Kristin Scott Thomas, Juliette Binoche, Naveen Andrews, William Dafoe, Colin Firth

The English Patient starring Ralph Fiennes, Kristin Scott Thomas and Juliette Binoche

BEWARE OF SPOILERS!!

Do not condemn me morally corrupt before reading all of the post. I am a hopeless romantic in general and value loyalty above all in relationships. But yet there are movies depicting a story so well, and so impressively that you find yourself rooting for characters that you could normally despise. Or, sometimes the person who is being cheated on is such a bastard-pardon the language- and the potential lover so dreamy, you actually can not wait for your lead to start an affair. The latter is the case in Revenge and in The Scarlet Letter. However The English Patient, you can’t help but like the husband from the beginning. It belongs to the first category…So let’s get to the story,shall we?

WWII. Julitte Binoche plays a nurse who is taking care of a badly burnt patient (Ralph Fiennes). He is in tremendous pain. We get to see what happened to him through flashbacks: a story about love,passion and obsession beyond anything and everything else that engrosses us. Did it sound too much like a tagline? Sorry, how his tale made me feel…

Ralph Fiennes, The English Patient. The desert.

The patient is Count Laszlo de Almasy, a Hungarian map maker. Along with other explorers he is working at the Sahara Desert.Among the people he met are a British couple Katharine and Geoffrey-played by Scott-Thomas and Colin Firth. Almasy is instantly taken by Katharine and he actually treats her badly as he becomes more attracted. He is also as opposite to her husband as one can get. Count is distant,quite,mysterious and ranges from overly polite to excessively rude. Her husband is polite,friendly,nice,loving and modern.So much that when he needs to leave for a mission for a couple of days, he is trusting enough to leave his wife among a bunch of men on a desert.Despite Almasy’s suggestions that he shouldn’t.Witnessing this,Katharine is sure that this weird man despises her. But during the time her husband is away, she sees through Almasy. Discovering the inside of caves together and being stranded on the desert during a sandstorm change things. Also, Katharine gets to read his journal where he has put his fascination with her into words.

The connection and attraction are undeniable. When they get back, they have sex. Although it seems more about obsession and lust, the intimacy afterwards is sincere and affectionate.

The second time also doesn’t seem romantic at all. It is quick,impatient and rough. But then there are these moments where they look like high school kids in love.

And then she finishes off. She is feeling guilty already. He doesn’t take it well. He gets into a jealous fit. She also doesn’t know but her husband actually did see them together. The way Ralph Fiennes can turn Almasy’s charm on and off is very impressive. He gives you many reasons to not to sympathize with his character. He has an affair with a married woman, and seems to have a clear conscience about it.But then it all changes,at least in my eyes…

Ralph Fiennes and Kristin Scott Thomas in The English Patient

The husband tried to crash his plane into Almasy.Almasy dodges the attack,

but Geoffrey is already dead. And what’s worse is that Katharine was also on the plane and she is severely injured. As Almsay carries her towards the cave, we see his painful expression. When Katharine says that she has always loved him, he is in tears. And well so is most of the audience. This is the second and only other film I got teary. You feel his pain. You feel his love. The questions you might have had about the nature of their relationship and their feelings are gone. The husband you felt so sorry for, has now become the guy who (almost) kill his wife. And the guy who seemed more obsessed than in love, takes care of her in the cave on the desert. He decided to do impossible. He walks through the desert for three days, so that he might get to take her out of there and help her survive. But he faces all sorts of misfortune, does everything he can and gets back. Bu when he arrives, she is gone. This time he carries her out of the cave,tears of desperation flowing. The expression on his face is so painful and so powerful that it has stayed with me.And I saw the movie when it first came out…

Of course it is wrong to cheat on your husband. Of course it is dispeakable to cheat on the guy you willingly married and have been friends with and who has treated you just right. But then it is worse to try to kill your wife, yourself and try to kill her lover in the process as well. You wish that Almasy could have gotten a happy ending. His love for Katharine is so strong that you just feel that kind of love is above any rule or principle.And I would probably prefer to love and be loved like , over living a long,yet passionless life.

Of course there is more to the movie than the adultery.

The scenery is amazing. Written and directed by Anthony Minghella has done an amazing job. The movie has won 9 Oscars and I disagree with none. I think Ralph should have gotten best actor. His performance is amazing both as the healthy and horribly burnt Almasy. This is the first time I saw Naveen Andrews-his pre-Lost era- who plays the love interest of Hanna-the nurse Binoche is playing. Dafoe’s conflicted and interesting character adds mystery. This is the movie that made me a compulsive Ralph fan. Colin Firth plays the plain yet loving husband wonderfully- so wonderfully that I had no idea I would later consider him as a hearthrob, starting with his role in Bridget Jones. Is this a movie to be enjoyed by everyone? No. It might seem too long or like a sentimental piece of crap. It might seem just OK or like a master piece. You just have to check it out if you haven’t seen it already and decide for yourselves.

Buy The English Patient

Naveen Andrews as Kip,pre-Sayid/Lost era

William Dafoe in The English Patient — William Dafoe