Brideshead Revisited

Though director Julian Jarrold's adaptation of the Evelyn Waugh novel Brideshead Revisited spans decades and continents, it's a taut film that never drags and can excite contemporary audiences. Matthew Goode stars as lower-class Londoner Charles Ryder, an aspiring artist who is beginning his studies in history at Oxford in the 1920s. A chance encounter with dandyish aristocrat Sebastian Flyte (Ben Whishaw) changes the course of his life. The two embark on a close, intense friendship that is further complicated by the introduction of Sebastian's beautiful sister Julia (Hayley Atwell) and his overbearing, extremely religious mother, Lady Marchmain (Emma Thompson). Brideshead Revisited follows Charles from the carefree 20s through the beginning of World War II, focusing on his complicated relationship with the upper-class family and their estate, Brideshead.