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Michael Gambon as Lord Marchmain, Hayley Atwell as Julia Flyte

The diversity of these characters' attitudes toward Catholicism is striking for its range, from the well-motivated but grim Lady Marchmain, who embraces truth and duty without any accompanying grace and love, to Lord Marchmain, who rejects religion during his lifetime but is not beyond God's grace. Bridey is practical and traditional; Cordelia is cheerfully devoted; and Julia and Sebastian both recognize their sinful ways, but remain convinced of the truth of the church's teachings on sin.

Portraying these types of complex characters always presents a challenge, but with this cast, one could hardly go wrong. Thompson is regal, imbuing the potentially one-dimensional Lady Marchmain with just the right mixture of emotion and frigidity; Gambon makes a perfect lovable rogue of Lord Marchmain. Goode and Atwell share excellent chemistry.

But it is Whishaw whose performance lights up the screen. Last seen as a narrative Bob Dylan in I'm Not There and a deeply disturbing murderer in Perfume, he disappears completely into Sebastian in all his playfulness, confusion, depression, and final peace. Whishaw is still a relatively new onscreen face, but a role like this augurs well for his staying power as a complex, accomplished actor.

Charles and Julia hit the dance floor

Considering the widespread appeal of last year's acclaimed Atonement, it's surprising that Miramax hasn't chosen to push Brideshead Revisited toward a wider audience. The two films merit comparison. Both are epics that begin in post-World War I England, both are visually sumptuous and emotionally affecting, and both deal with themes of guilt, grace, and redemption.

But Brideshead is arguably the better movie. Whereas Atonement subtly tweaked the novel's ending to alter its eponymous meaning, the liberties that Brideshead takes with its source material work as enhancements to what's in the text. The nature of Charles and Sebastian's relationship, apparent only when reading between the novel's lines, is made more explicit for the film (though not played for sensational effect). Julia and Charles' relationship—a storyline that does not surface until later in the book—is amplified to become a central plot point in this film. To fit the complex story into a feature-length movie, experienced screenwriters Andrew Davies (Bridget Jones' Diary, Bleak House) and Jeremy Brock (The Last King of Scotland) play with the story to craft a compelling narrative and preserve the story's main themes: sin, guilt, redemption, and grace.

A film like Brideshead polarizes its viewers, whose reaction to the characters' choices, views, and the accompanying consequences depend on their own religious experiences. But Evelyn Waugh, the Catholic novelist who wrote the story on which the film is based, said the story "deals with what is theologically termed 'the operation of Grace,' that is to say, the unmerited and unilateral act of love by which God continually calls souls to Himself." In one edition, he titled the third section of the novel "A Twitch Upon the Thread," a term borrowed from G. K. Chesterton to describe God's grace in bringing wayward sinners to repentance.

Though it's generally considered to be a story of the disappearing tradition of aristocracy in the waning British Empire between the wars, Brideshead Revisited is, at its core, a tale of the outworking of God's grace in people's lives. Thankfully, this adaptation—with its sumptuous look, tightly crafted script, and exceptional cast—does justice to the story.

Talk About It

1. Evelyn Waugh, the author of Brideshead Revisited, echoed G. K. Chesterton when he wrote of the "twitch upon the thread" that God performs to call a sinner toward repentance and grace. When do each of the main characters in Brideshead Revisited experience this "twitch"? Can you remember a time in your life when you felt God's grace calling you toward repentance?

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