Brideshead Revisited, adapted from Evelyn Waugh's novel, was a popular British miniseries 27 years ago. Set in pre-World War II England, the story centers on the decay of an aristocratic family as witnessed by an outsider brought into the fold through one troubled family member. Although I haven’t seen the miniseries or read the book, the new feature film version came across as quite entertaining to me. However, a friend -- who’s a big fan of the miniseries -- attended the screening with me and found the movie enjoyable yet not as engaging as the television presentation co-starring Jeremy Irons and Anthony Andrews.   

Charles Ryder (Matthew Goode), a middle-class college student whose mother passed away, has a father (Patrick Malahide) with the personality of a dish rag. On the day Charles leaves for Oxford, his father is fixated on his desk in his silent and hauntingly lonely house. Charles stands before him as timid as a child who’s stolen candy. His father mutters a few comments but never looks at his son or wishes him luck. Charles leaves without even the warmth of a hug.

Once at school, Charles falls in with a group of brash, upper-class students, several of them obviously homosexual. One young man, Sebastian Flyte (Ben Whishaw), gushes about some of Charles’s paintings, but it’s really Charles he has his eye on. Although Charles shows no signs of being homosexual, he’s drawn to Sebastian, a thin, squirrelly guy who abuses anything destructive. Perhaps it’s Sebastian’s upbeat gaiety which Charles finds so attractive, for that particular quality has been missing in Charles’s life.

As much as Charles finds Sebastian intriguing, his fascination with Brideshead surpasses his feelings for his friend after he goes home with him. Although warned about Sebastian’s mother, Lady Marchmain (Emma Thompson), Charles doesn’t know how to respond to her when she puts him on the spot about her son and religion. A tried-and-true Catholic who rules her home as if the Pope lived there, Lady Marchmain does not take kindly to the news that Charles is an atheist.

The story moves through different time frames via flashbacks. Although Charles and Sebastian spend years together, much to Sebastian’s horror, Charles eventually marries his sister, Julia (Hayley Atwell). The marriage has problems that even a trip to Venice to meet Sebastian and Julia’s father (Michael Gambon) and his Italian mistress (Greta Scacchi) can’t help.

Diverse themes run through Brideshead Revisited like ribbons in an old hat. The war sets a backdrop for clashes involving religious fundamentalism, guilt by a son who cannot measure up to a mother’s expectations as well as of a man who betrays his friend because he covets a thing more, and a girl’s struggling infidelity to religious ideas inculcated by her mother. There are winners and losers in this story, but all pay a heavy price for every decision.

Had this movie not been set in such a lush era with exceptional locations and wonderful costumes, I might not have enjoyed Brideshead Revisited as much as I did. Those elements -- along with great acting by Thompson, Whishaw and Goode -- plus a story with more twists than a pretzel kept me intrigued from beginning to end. 

(Released by Miramax Films and rated "PG-13" for some sexual content.)

Review also posted at www.reviewexpress.com .