Brideshead Revisited

If you asked me now who I am,

the only answer I could give

with any certainty

would be my name, Charles Ryder.

For the rest, my loves, my hates,

down even to my deepest desires,

I can no longer say whether

these emotions are my own

or stolen from those

I once so desperately wished to be.

On second thoughts,

one emotion remains my own,

alone among the borrowed

and the second-hand,

as pure as that faith

from which I am still in flight.

Guilt.

Been away, sir? Anywhere interesting?

-JungIe.

-JungIe.

ExpIorer, are we?

-Painter.

-Painter?

So, bye-bye beardy, heIIo smooth.

Famous for his impressive

architecturaI portraits,

British artist CharIes Ryder

has taken New York by storm

with a series of gripping jungIe studies.

To own a Ryder is currentIy the dream

of every seIf-respecting

East Coast miIIionaire.

(CHUCKLES )

You must be so proud of him.

-Was he away Iong?

-Two years,

-and it doesn't feeI Iike a day.

-You must feeI positiveIy bridaI.

to save my Iife.

Thank you.

I can't even hoId a buggering brush!

But I know what I Iike. Lots of coIor.

Nice and bright.

I see the jungIe in your work

as a metaphor.

Not Ieast, the metaphysicaI sembIance

of the chaos at the heart of civiIization.

CELIA:
Make an effort, CharIes.

You're not in South America now.

You're amongst civiIized peopIe.

(SIGHS )

-Mr. Ryder, I wonder if I couId...

-I'm so sorry. Excuse me.

-Excuse me. Thank you very much.

-...just have a conversation...

(DOOR OPENING )

(SINGING UPBEAT SONG )

HeIIo, CharIes.

-You're wearing a coat!

-Yes, Father, I am.

Why?

-I'm going up to Oxford.

-Ah. Yes.

-Remind me. What are you taking?

-History.

-And what aIIowance have I given you?

-A hundred pounds.

How very induIgent of me.

Mind you, it aII comes out of capitaI.

Oh, I suppose this is the time

I shouId give you advice.

Your mother was aIways

so good at that.

Who's meeting you?

Cousin Jasper offered

to show me around.

Cousin Jasper!

(CHUCKLES )

Most entertaining.

STUDENT:
Out of the way,

you siIIy fooI.

JASPER:
There you are, CharIes.

This way, pIease.

Come aIong. As an onIy chiId,

you wiII, of course, have much to Iearn.

Though I am onIy your cousin, CharIes,

you must Iook upon me as a brother.

OIder, wiser,

but a brother nevertheIess.

Now, it is no secret that our famiIies

are not rich in materiaI weaIth.

Keep off the grass.

But I Iike to think that we Ryders are,

aII of us, rich in the striving of minds.

Now, then... Not that way.

CIothes. Dress as you do

in a country house.

Never wear a tweed coat

and a fIanneI trousers, aIways a suit.

And go to a London taiIor.

You'II get a better cut.

ProtocoI. First and foremost,

behaving with restraint...

Nine aduIteries, 1 2 Iiaisons,

and something approaching a rape

rest nightIy upon the souI

of our deIicate friend FIoriaIis,

and yet the man is so

quiet and reserved in demeanor

that he passes

for both bIoodIess and sexIess.

(ALL EX CLAIM)

Sodomites, aII of them. Steer weII cIear.

JASPER:
Treat aII dons

as you wouId the IocaI vicar.

With indifference.

Oh, dear, oh, dear. This won't do at aII.

You must change your rooms.

I've seen many a man ruined

through having ground fIoor rooms

in the front quad.

PeopIe start dropping in.

They Ieave their gowns here

and come and coIIect them before haII.

You start giving them sherry

and before you know it they're...

(SHOUTING )

BLANCHE:
Sebastian, come aIong.

Look at the state of him.

Come on, you're nearIy cIean.

(JASPER MUMBLING )

Oh, no, no, no, sir, stop.

You don't cIear up after yourseIf.

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