Average Rating: 
Rating:  - AN UPSTAIRS/DOWNSTAIRS WHODUNIT...
Directed by Robert Altman, this film take place in the English country side of the 1930s at the lavish and beautiful estate known as Gosford Park. Sir William McCordle (Michael Gambon) and his wife, Sylvia (Kristin Scott Thomas) host a large, weekend hunting party for a distinguished assemblage of guests, who arrive accompanied by their downstairs entourage. It soon becomes clear that the film revolves around a hodge podge of subplots and intrigues, both upstairs and downstairs, some of which are quite interesting, others seemingly less so. They all become pertinent, however, when one of them is murdered by someone in their midst. The film plays as if it were a more upscale and lavish version of the PBS series "Mystery" or as a film based upon an Agatha Christie mystery. The cast is stellar with excellent performances by all. Maggie Smith is outstanding in the role of Constance Trentham, a snobby, self-absorbed, old biddy in need of money, so that she can continue the lifestyle to which she is accustomed. Jeremy Northam is wonderful playing matinee idol, Ivor Novello, and continues to extend his range, as this role requires him to sing, which he does quite credibly, in fact. Helen Mirren and Eileen Atkins are superlative as the housekeeper, Mrs. Wilson, and the cook, Mrs. Croft, who are, apparently, at war with each other. Richard E, Grant, Alan Bates, Derek Jacobi, Emily Watson, and Kelly MacDonald are wonderful as part of the core of downstairs folks through whose eyes the viewer see events unfold. Stephen Fry deserves mention for his brief, though memorable, turn as the laid back Inspector Thompson, whose bumbling investigative efforts seem almost sure to leave the murder unsolved. The audience, however, knows who did it by film's end, even though Inspector Thompson appears not to have a clue. The cinematography is beautiful, as it captures the sumpuousness and richness of the upstairs life in the manor home. It also captures the bleakness and confinement of downstairs life, as well, serving to further underline the great divide that exists between the two. The gulf is further delineated by one of the subplots, which sees the character played by Ryan Phillippe gamely straddle both worlds. The one small problem I found with the film is that, because there are so many characters with their own subplots and intrigues, the film is somewhat confusing at times. Moreover, some of the dialogue is occasionally unintelligible and garbled, due to overlapping dialogue, which was a bit annoying. Watching the DVD with the English subtitles feature on, however, would probably resolve this issue. The DVD offers a number of interesting features, including an enjoyable mini- ducumentary of Altman's efforts to ensure authenticity of period detail. They apparently hired a cook, a butler, and a maid who were in service during the early nineteen thirties as a sort of sounding board as to how things were done. It also features two commentaries, as well as a short on the making of Gosford Park. It is a value packed DVD and well worth the money. Viewers who like period pieces and mysteries will especially enjoy it.
Rating: - "SMOOTH LIKE FINE WINE"
I have read the many reviews, good and not-so-good, and found myself laughing at the not-so-good ones. It appears that many viewers "just didn't get it". Altman did not make a "real whodonit" mystery movie. He made a movie reflecting the everyday life of society in 1930's England--the upperclass or upstairs group, and the servant or downstairs group. The murder is just another subplot in the many subplots of the film. I found the direction seamless--the flow between showing life upstairs to that of life downstairs was invisible. The actors portrayed their character's part to perfection. Just look at Helen Mirren's performance and tell me you couldn't differentiate between the actor and the character. For my money, I would have given Mirren the Oscar. I love these types of movies that delve into character acting. I find too few of them on today's market which produce more movies about special effects and explosions and less on character study. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Jeremy Northam sing and play. I understand a couple of the songs were done "live"; that is, he did not record them first in a sound studio but rather was filmed as he sang and played. I saw the film twice at the theatre and several more times when I bought the DVD recently. I encourage readers to check out the commentary track done by the writer, Julian Fellowes. His description of the movie is very revealing and interesting. Many of the scenes were taken from 'real life' experiences, such as the opening scene. He describes how his aunt would never let her driver attach the roof over his head on the car, even if it was raining. He said she always wanted to preserve the rank of distinction. Altman's commentary is a bit dry and he does not go into too much detail in many areas. I would have given this movie 5 stars except I found the sound quality not very good on the DVD. I had to turn up the volume quite a bit on my entertainment centre to properly hear the dialogue. Other than poor sound quality, I recommend readers to review this film, especially with the commentary track by Julian Fellowes.
Rating:  - Tea at Four...Dinner at Eight...Murder at Midnight !!!
This is a Brilliant film....It's a who done it...a great murder mystery...
Taking advantage of a splendid cast, a sharply focused script and the fresh English setting, GOSFORD park emerges as one of the most satisfying of Robert Altman's numerous ensemble pictures, What makes the achievement of GOSFORD PARK all the more remarkable is that Mr. Altman is 76....The energy that crackles from the screen suggests the clear-sighted joie de vivre of an artist still deeply engaged in the world,an all-star British ensemble cast, the film recalls both THE RULES OF THE GAME and THE REMAINS OF THE DAY, with a midpoint shift to an Agatha Christie whodunit. In November 1932, a phalanx of moneyed guests arrives for a weekend shooting party at the estate of Sir William McCordle (Michael Gambon) and Lady Sylvia (Kristin Scott Thomas). Mary (Kelly Macdonald), a fresh-faced, naïve new maid accompanies the sniping Countess of Trentham (Maggie Smith), and is shown the ropes by the house's worldly head housemaid, Elsie (Emily Watson). While the masters engage in various financial and sexual intrigues upstairs, the world downstairs has its own curiosities--namely, the predatory valet to a Hollywood producer, Henry Denton (Ryan Phillippe), and the mysterious, cagey servant, Robert Parks (Clive Owen). Mary soon discovers that the image of servants living vicariously through their masters is a false one, and that the upstairs-downstairs worlds are often shockingly interwoven. With GOSFORD PARK, Altman delivers a fascinating, blackly comic look at the treacherous yet poignant gamesmanship between the classes. This is fresh and original movie...very subtle funny...with, scandal, mystery, murder this is a must see.Synopsis...from Gosford parks Offical Website:
Robert Altman, one of Americas most distinctive filmmakers, journeys to England for the first time to create a unique film mosaic with an outstanding ensemble cast.It is November, 1932. Gosford Park is the magnificent country estate to which Sir William McCordle and his wife, Lady Sylvia, gather relations and friends for a shooting party. They have invited an eclectic group including a countess, a World War I hero, the British matinee idol Ivor Novello and an American film producer who makes Charlie Chan movies. As the guests assemble in the gilded drawing rooms above, their personal maids and valets swell the ranks of the house servants in the teeming kitchens and corridors below-stairs.But all is not as it seems: neither amongst the bejewelled guests lunching and dining at their considerable leisure, nor in the attic bedrooms and stark work stations where the servants labor for the comfort of their employers. Part comedy of manners and part mystery, the film is finally a moving portrait of events that bridge generations, class, sex, tragic personal history and culminate in a murder. (Or is it two murders?)Ultimately revealing the intricate relations of the above and below-stairs worlds with great clarity, Gosford Park illuminates a society and way of life quickly coming to an end.
|
