I saw “Brideshead Revisited” last night with my friend David, and came away mildly disappointed. For some reason, it seems a bit flat, a little too streamlined. The story is so rich and so complex, and I was riveted by the book and by the miniseries when I watched it on video several years ago, but something is lost when it’s condensed into a two-hour movie. On the plus side, it is visually lush, and you do come away with the sense that we’ve lost something in the coarseness of modern life.
(And why is modern life so coarse, anyway? What’s happened to our manners?)
(Photo: W. 26th Street, July 2008)
I think the term and subject of "manners" has become anti-PC...it's just totally amazing the level of rudeness I run into daily. Very sad.
ReplyDeleteoh this is disappointing to hear...f and I were just talking about wanting to see it....but your point about condensing the story into a 2-hr movie is quite right....but will most likely go despite the warning after all it's always nice to be drawn into a visual masterpiece - and I can't ever get enough emma!
ReplyDeleteoh my the word verification is gohunk!!
Dennis thinks modern people are rushed and get over stimulated. More Naps!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the heads up that this has come out - I'm very anxious to see it but might wait for video. (Really, how can you top Jeremy Irons?!)
ReplyDeleteDemise of manners...because passing gas in public is fun, maybe? I know I always get a giggle when I chug a 2 liter of Mountain Dew and belch the alphabet backwards. Manners are overrated.
ReplyDeleteManners have become optional these days. Most people are concerned only for themselves. Have you noticed how obnoxious people are in public places, like restaurants, never thinking to lower their voices so as not to disturb everyone around them?
ReplyDeleteWhat can we pin this on? Money? Too much fast food? Global warming? It must have its roots in the disappearance of the stay-at-home mother. :)
I remember reading Brideshead but can't for the life of me remember what it was about. Same with A Passage to India. Why is that?
ReplyDeleteI went to see "Tell No One" over the weekend...a French suspense murder mystery. Very intense- but awesome!
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear Brideshead wasn't that good- it's next on my list.
A: Well, it wasn't bad. I don't want to overstate my case. It just wasn't as good as the book or the miniseries.
ReplyDeleteThe level of public indifference to common courtesy is appalling.
ReplyDeletebring back the victorian era i say!
ReplyDeletei've been wondering how they could do it any kind of justice in only a couple of hours. The TV series would be hard to beat.
ReplyDeleteyou have very nice manners mr. reed