"THE BOOK IS BETTER"

MATTHEW GOODE RISKS FANS' IRE WITH TWO LITERARY FILM ADAPTATIONS

By accepting the starring role in the new adaptation of Brideshead Revisited and his upcoming part in next year’s eagerly anticipated comic book movie Watchmen, Matthew Goode understands that he was in danger of pissing some people off. 

Both projects are based upon beloved books, come with a built-in fan base and high expectations. And, in Brideshead, Goode plays the impressionable, idealistic Charles Ryder– the same role that made Jeremy Irons famous when he appeared alongside Sir Laurence Olivier in the award-winning 1981 miniseries.

“Obviously, while doing Brideshead, we were all very aware that the television series is so beloved, and we were a little worried about upsetting people,” Goode said in a phone interview. “But we took it as a challenge to boldly go somewhere else with the material, and we’ve really uncovered some different stuff while keeping all of the essences of the story intact.”

“As we were making the movie, there was always the fear that we were going to screw it up,” he said. “But while I was working with Emma Thompson, I realized that, if we’re going to go down on this project, at least I’m in the best company ever. Her attitude on the set was always that we should have a lot of fun taking such a work very seriously.”

Though he’s worked before in films like The Lookout, Casanova with Heath Ledger and Match Point with director Woody Allen, Brideshead Revisited features his biggest, most challenging part to date. “The novel has this epic quality to it – one that was plays out over a large amount of time on television – but we were able to cover all the key parts of the story,” he says. “In the novel, Charles was very vocal with the narration, but, in the script, all of that was taken away, but I was still able to play his emotions.”

During the course of the film, his character, Charles, ages 20 years, finds that his two great loves are a brother and sister and struggles with his belief in God, all while trying to stake his claim on the lavish mansion in the title. Though he sees himself as a passionate artist attracted to both Sebastian and Julia Flyte, part of the aristocratic family that lives at Brideshead, some characters in Brideshead Revisited call Charles a petty social climber. Goode sees aspects of both in the character.

“I saw him as much more of a romantic than an opportunist,” he says. “Even though there are aspects of the book and the film where he seems like he’s cold and just social climbing, he’s actually quite taken by this house, these people and the life that they’ve lived.”

Goode found the key to the character by mapping out a background that was only hinted at in the source material. “My interest in Charles lay in the formative years that you don’t see onscreen, the ones mentioned where his mother has died and he’s raised alone with an inattentive father,” Goode says. “By the time he comes to school, Charles is the loneliest person in the world. But, suddenly he’s the focus of attention of Sebastian, who had a very similar, loveless childhood, and Charles becomes a sponge ready for love. Charles is introduced to this life, this beautiful place, and he becomes enraptured by it.”

But to Goode, the key relationship between Charles and Sebastian (played by Ben Whishaw) is not just a gay love story. “There’s a question of just how autobiographical that Evelyn Waugh intended the book to be,” he says. “There’s ambiguity in how the relationship is portrayed. It’s an exploration of the idea of male love. Charles loves Sebastian, and the love he has for all of Brideshead gets mixed in with it. Some characters suggest that Charles and Sebastian’s relationship is just a phase. For me playing Charles, Brideshead represents to him all that love is.”

The main female character, Julia Flyte (played by Hayley Atwell) is introduced far earlier in the movie than she is in the book, and Goode says her inclusion brings a new level of tension to the story. “We introduce Julia far earlier in the story, “ Goode explains. “Charles sees a lot of himself in Sebastian. But then he sees Julia and finds himself attracted to her, so the platonic love he has for Sebastian translates into the more physical love he feels for Julia. Of course, Sebastian’s love for Charles is deeper than that, and the addition of Julia complicates that.”

Goode says it was great working with Atwell and Whishaw. “It’s always such a pleasure to work with other young actors,” he says. “They’re both incredibly gifted people, and Ben always disappears into his parts. It was great standing opposite him, even when I wasn’t on camera, just so that I could watch him work.”

As for Emma Thompson, Goode says that working with her exceeded his expectations. “Oh my God, she came with a lot of baggage for me, considering her amazing body of work, but she’s a real person,” he says. “She’s so kind-hearted and giving. At one point during filming, we were trying really hard to get a key scene right, but there were people talking around us. So, at a break, she explained to them very nicely that we were trying to work and then asked if they would be OK with quieting down. After that, you could’ve heard a pin drop on that set. It was amazing to me. She gave more off-camera than she did on it.”

Goode says he feels very lucky to be in the film, which was in various stages of development for years. “Um, I was surprised as anyone to get it because everyone was kind of gunning for the role,” Goode says. “For a while, there was discussion of a version with Jude Law and Paul Bettany, but that kind of silently fell through. I never thought I would get it, but, next thing I know, I’m in a callback with Ben Whishaw, and then I had the part … Maybe the fact that I’m perfectly in between the ages that Charles is in the book got me the part.”

Goode says that he had only two days’ break between finishing work on Brideshead and beginning his role as the genius superhero Ozymandias in Watchmen, which is based upon the graphic novel by Alan Moore and directed by Zack Snyder (300). “Going into Watchmen, I was completely unaware of all the twists the story and my character take,” he says. “While reading the book, my first reaction to Ozymandias was, ‘Oh God, what have I gotten myself into? I’m playing a complete dick.’ But then, as I kept reading it, I got so excited because there’s so much to play. My character has a personal agenda and both a public and private persona. That moral ambiguity fascinates me.”

Goode says he had a terrific time “saving the world” alongside other superheroes in the movie, which is due in March. “At first it seems like the character’s all about his brand name and his image, but then you realize that he’s come up with this plan for saving the world and doesn’t actually want to take any credit for it. And he’s a total sociopath with little regard for who he hurts in the process,” he says. “It’s super fun.”

Goode says the Watchmen trailer, which ran in theaters before The Dark Knight, excited him as much as it excited comic book fans. “I just saw it, and I’m so excited,” he says. “It looks fucking great!”