Whishaw’s overtly gay portrayal of Sebastian will doubtless have some people saying it was over the top and perhaps too feminine at times, and while some moments had me scratching my head a bit thinking he had gone too far, I think overall he nailed the character and brought a true understanding of the isolation he felt being gay in that time to the audience.

Not to be overlooked is our up-and-coming lead Matthew Goode who does a wonderfully job of creating a character without defined limits and boundaries. It would have been very easy to play him with set motives and goals and establish all the things he was willing and not willing to do to achieve them; but Goode wisely goes the more ambiguous route leaving much up to the audience.

Acting giants Emma Thompson and Michael Gambon are perfect as the two opposite ends of the spectrum parents of this family. She, a devote Catholic who allows religion to rule her life and he, a non-practicing Catholic who after years of listening to her rhetoric leaves and escapes to Italy where he lives a life of carnal indulgence.

The entire piece comes together very well and will leave you with a lot to think about and many things to interpret on your own. So if you like that, mixed in with a gorgeous cast and strikingly beautiful locations set in a time when everyone is dressed prim and proper all the time (except when skinny dipping of course) then you should definitely go check this one out!

Movie Grade: B+

Synopsis:

The memoirs of Captain Charles Ryder (Matthew Goode) who is stationed at Brideshead Castle during WWII and remembers his involvement with the owners of the Brideshead estate: the aristocratic yet Catholic Flyte family and in particular brother and sister Sebastian (Ben Whishaw) and Julia (Hayley Atwell).