Brideshead

BRIDESHEAD REVISITED arrived in my mailbox the other day, a la Netflix. I got around to watching it last night and was surprised; I guess I'd not read the description that well as I had no idea this movie was about religion. Sure, it's set in Britain (post World War I) and has sumptuous sets and deals, once again, with those annoying aristocratic types, but this movie tackles a huge topic: God's grace. (I have not read the book, by Evelyn Waugh, but I may have to as I seem to be on the verge of going through the major Catholic novelists, as Dr. M suggests....)

If you read a summary of the movie it will undoubtedly sound like this: "A middle-class university student befriends an aristocrat and is soon propelled into a world of money, leisure, and frivolous travel." But that only scratches the surface.

Charles Ryder makes the acquaintance of Sebastian Flyte but, just as their friendship blooms, Sebastian's family makes an appearance, bringing an awkwardness into the relationship. His mother is a devout Catholic (Ryder, the outsider, is an atheist) and has apparently used her faith to stifle her children with guilt - at least two of the children, Sebastian and Julia. Catholic guilt, sometimes viewed as preposterous by outsiders and rarely understood by Protestants, is on display time and again in this movie. Sebastian and Julia are constantly weighed down by guilt that they've been instructed to have since birth. They are exhausted and uneasy with their faith. But it is God's grace that will eventually take center stage.

Despite the ridiculous British aristocracy, I found myself oddly moved at the end when upon his deathbed, a lapsed Catholic accepts his last rites, coming back into the Church and proving, very movingly, that no one is beyond God's grace.

A good movie, but one I shall not likely watch again. Let's just say that this doesn't leave you with a warm feeling inside. And, I'm Catholic, and do not need a movie to witness Catholic guilt. BRIDESHEAD does, however, have a soundtrack that, though a bit inconsistent, is interesting.