Brideshead Mediocre

When Sebastian Flyte first appeared as very effeminate I knew we were in for a painful interpretation of Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited. Waugh said that the theme of Brideshead was the operation of the Grace of God in the lives of these characters, but this movie could be easily seen, from beginning to end, as an affirmation of atheism. The only scene that gave a slightly overt nod to Christianity was the last scene in the little chapel at Brideshead, and this was cut to a very light symbolism. Since no great civilization has ever risen or lasted without being based in religion, the question of how to revive religion in a decadent world remains unanswered, both by Waugh and by this movie. Bottom line, the movie and its theme were not up to the challenge. The book wasn't either.