Gosford Park
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Movie Reviews of Gosford Park
Movie Review: Buy this DVD and watch it again and again....
Summary: 5 Stars
because you miss most of the film the first time around!On the surface this appears to be a very formulistic murder mystery. It has the classic setting, 1930's period, an isolated English manor house filled with guests for a weekend shooting party, and all of the servants both resident and visiting. Everybody has secrets, the tension is so thick it could be cut with a knife and there is conveniently one missing from the kitchen. For more than half the film we see motives offered and wait for the murder and yet after it occurs it becomes evident that this is NOT a murder mystery at all!
The film has been compared to Upstairs Downstairs and it does involve the lives of those both above and below stairs, but it is much more than that. The various stories are added layer by layer some, such as the imposter in the servants' hall are obvious while others like the secret abortion are only alluded in a couple of lines. The various stories are, while interesting, not really the point of the film either. This is a beautifully drawn portrait of a way of life that is long gone and will probably never return. Almost everyone has read about or seen depictions of English Country Life in the '20's and '30's. It is a setting that has been used in drama, comedy, romance and of course mystery genres for years but Gosford Park makes it clear that we have only the faintest ideas of what that life was really like. The genius of this film is that it takes all the information that could have been spread out in a PBS documentary series and used fiction to illustrate the same points in a much more effective and enjoyable way.
The cast is huge and filled with actors, both well known and soon to be well known. No one is given such a large role that it becomes their film and yet each performer manages to turn their scenes into a polished little gem.
The extras included in the DVD are wonderful. They include deleted scenes (with commentary), features on the making of, and authenticity of the movies as well as Q & A with cast and filmakers. The best of the extras by far are the commentaries with the director, Robert Altman and screenwriter, Julian Oscar.
I highly recommend the purchase (as opposed to the renting) of this film. It is so packed with detail that it would be impossible to absorb it all in just one or two viewings.
Movie Review: Many-layered: Every performance is perfect.....
Summary: 5 Stars
This film can be seen many times and each time, you see something you missed the time before. Both of the commentaries are fascinating. The screenwriter has experienced knowing people who really lived like this, so he is very interesting to listen to. The cast is filled with excellent actors, who, I think, took smaller parts because they wanted to work in a Robert Altman film and they are sublime. No one ever puts a foot wrong. Watch facial expressions and "thrown away" remarks, that are really vital to the story. I would suggest putting on the "caption" feature so you can follow the story while listening to the commentaries, or even to be sure you know what the Scottish Mary Maceachran (Maggie Smith's lady's maid) is saying or any other British speech pattern that may be unfamiliar to your ear. Watch for Meg Wynn Owen, who plays Lady Sylvia's lady's maid- she played Hazel Bellamy in the "Upstairs, Downstairs" series back in the 1970's (a matchless series, in my opinion- don't miss it). Sophie Thompson (Emma's sister) is quietly perfect as Dorothy, the still room maid, who worships Jennings, the butler. She played a perfectly silly woman in "Four Weddings and a Funeral"- she was the second bride, but she really shows her acting chops in this film. Watch for the "strawberry jam" scene with Tom Hollander and her speech about the meaning of love, even though your love isn't returned. I couldn't recommend it more. Jeremy Northam plays Ivor Novello (look him up on Google- Jeremy even looks a little like him) in a small part but played beautifully. Altman said he threw in the "F" word enough times so it would keep 14 year old boys out of the film when it showed in theaters; I don't think it would have been a problem. 14 year old boys wouldn't have been tempted and they wouldn't have understood it- in fact, I doubt if most men would get the point. They would have been looking at their watches hoping it would end soon. People who like the era and all the layers of detail will love it, I am sure. 5 stars from me, though I am a complete and utter Anglophile. You can't go wrong with an Altman film, in any case. It's also a good "escape" movie- takes you away from one's daily problems for a couple of hours- make some microwave popcorn and some iced tea (or a pot of hot tea!) and kick back. Exquisite!Movie Review: Highly Involving, Deep & Intricate
Summary: 5 Stars
"Gosford Park" is a wonderful British ensemble period piece directed by the deft hand of Robert Altman. I must profess to not like all of Altman's movies --- but only because of their particular plots. He is always a master at weaving a web of multiple character interaction, and having it wickedly make reassuring sense in the end. This time around, he has incorporated British class tensions, 1930's posh sensibilities, a murder in the middle of the night, and some unsettling character revelations. And it is all done superbly.The picture starts with all of the various characters arriving at Sir William McCordle's English countryside mansion for the weekend. The 'technical' reason for the gathering is a shooting party, but there are many other underlying plot contrivances and character passions that drive their desire to be present at Sir William's. I am so happy to watch a movie with such a myriad of fine British actors that I've loved watching in countless other quality productions, that I won't list them all here, but let me point-out the subtle, and not-so-subtle excellent performances of Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon, Helen Mirren, and Alan Bates. Their roles, and performances, are especially well-done. Everyone in this movie is simply great, though, and shows how well a true ensemble piece can be.
The story moves along briskly, cutting inbetween the upperclass upstairs, and their servants downstairs. Both levels provide very interesting back-story. There is a murder during one of the nights, a bumbling police detective on the scene, and secrets and motives begin to lift out of the haze of attempted privacy. The acting and directing are simply exquisite in this subtle balance and unfolding. The murder does not occur until a little past the half-way point of the movie, and though I was wondering whodunit, it really did seem one of the more trivial aspects of the film.
"Gosford Park" is about people. It may be set in 1930's England, but what it so expertly shows us is that people aren't really all that different no matter what era they come from, what class they're a part of, or what petty things they have to worry about in their everyday lives. The movie is funny, charming, serious, multi-layered, and richly textured. I want to watch it again, and again, and again.
Movie Review: A winner for Robert Altman
Summary: 5 Stars
Depending on whom you ask, legendary director Robert Altman is either a fool or a genius. His fifty year career includes prominence in the early days of TV with his direction of dozens of hit series such as "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", "Maverick", and "Bonanza". His filmmaking credits include "M.A.S.H." and "The Player", both critically acclaimed. His mercurial style of filmmaking is probably a rebellion from the highly structured approach imposed upon him by early TV. The direction of his recent films can only be described as chaotic, with a cacophony of actors speaking over one another, and moving hither and yon as the camera sweeps from one side of the room to the other attempting to home in on the dialogue of particular characters. Altman himself admits that he doesn't even read the script and really isn't concerned with what the actors say, as long as things sound right to him when they come out of their mouths. He encourages ad-libbing and the more disordered the scene, the better he generally likes it. Often, this produces utter disasters, like "Dr. T and the Women" and "Gun". Sometimes it produces a gem like "Gosford Park".
As a murder mystery, Gosford Park is not all that special. It is fairly predictable with obvious hints dropped at every turn as to who did it and why. As is the case in most of Altman's recent films, it is difficult to make out a lot of the dialogue with the din on the soundstage of everyone talking at once. However, what makes this film unique is the treatment of the human dynamic between the aristocracy and the servants. While lampooning the wealthy by contrasting their behavior with the simple wisdom of commoners is nothing new, never has it been done with such depth and nuance. Altman's flowing direction of simultaneous events is probably the only way this could have been accomplished so effectively.
The all-star ensemble cast is superlative. Maggie Smith, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Jeremy Northam all give fabulous performances upstairs, and Kelly Macdonald, Clive Owen, Helen Mirren, Emily Watson and Alan Bates are marvelous downstairs. For film lovers who enjoy good acting, this film is paradise.
Genius or fool? Who knows, maybe both. However for Robert Altman, this film is clearly a winner. I rated it 9/10.
Movie Review: So British It Hurts
Summary: 5 Stars
Director Robert Altman's (M*A*S*H) latest serving of film delight, the enigmatically-named Gosford Park, is a rare treat in a cinematic season largely devoted to action and fantasy. An amalgam of character study, murder mystery, and class tensions, Gosford Park may be unique among films in that it proudly proclaims in its opening credits that it is "based on an idea." Indeed, an idea is what Gosford Park seems to revel in, the idea of the good and the bad among British aristocracy and our notions of them, both as Americans and as a people of a time when class distinctions don't matter so much.Keeping track of the characters in this film is a chore. The film (somewhat) follows the adventures of Mary (the gorgeous Kelly McDonald), a new maid who works for Lady Constance, Countess of Trentham (a perfectly cast Dame Maggie Smith). The Countess has been invited, along with several other guests, to attend a weekend dinner and hunting party at a house - presumably called Gosford Park - owned by Sir William McCordle and his wife Lady Sylvia (Kristin Scott Thomas, who seems perpetually typecast as an adulteress). The ladies all sit around and gossip, the men go hunting and smoke cigars, and the servants talk about what's really happening in the little social circle they've decided to work for.
Of course, one of the partygoers ends up dead, and the murder is handled as more of an inconvenience than anything else. The normal air of division between the servants and the aristocrats turns into a feeling of almost hostility as the police attempt to close in on the murderer, and in doing so reveal some very ugly secrets about each of the people involved.
It's a whodunit without a sense of urgency (yes, the murder does get solved), and far more of a intimate but detached look at a way of life that most Americans are utterly unfamiliar with. Add to that Altman's perfect sense of pacing and delivery, along with some of the best cinematography since The Thin Red Line, and Gosford Park become a tasty treat for all brave enough to venture back to that emerald isle. There are some strong Oscar contenders here, and if this movie doesn't at least get a nomination for Best Picture, it should raise some eyebrows and start the gossip rolling - but only among the servants, of course.