Gosford Park
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Movie Reviews of Gosford Park
Movie Review: Stunning Class War Epic!
Summary: 5 Stars
Over the years, Robert Altman has proved as elusive as his films to classify or to try to get the definitive pulse from. His films are at once quite focused and yet all over the place. The predominating feature of each of the films is that it is an attempt to define and describe a kind of insane little aspect of the world, as in "MASH", "The Player", or "Nashville". He seems intrigued by the way in which earnestness and sophistry pass through the lens of every observer, so that while we believe we are viewing something in all due reference, he is poking fun at our attempt. Yet he is still standing there next to us, peering through that same small knothole and straining to try to understand whatever it is that is going inside that small space we can see beyond the wooden wall. For Altman, life is messy and hard to discern, and a lot of the dialogue in his films suffer from the same level of noise and discord. Yet no one seems as uniquely capable at capturing all of the noisome nuances of human interaction in its full range of pathos and progress than does Altman. As in MASH, his depiction of the nature of life in an English "cottage" is a masterpiece of such imaginings. The cast here is superb, including Maggie Smith, Jeremy Northam, and Kristin Scott Thomas as the rulers of this limited universe, as well as others such as Kelly MacDonald, Alan Bates, Helen Mirren, and Clive Owen as the working class stiffs just trying to scheme their way through the day.
Altman pokes great fun at both sides of the socioeconomic divide, and it is the nature of the class-ordained behavior that provides the foundation for this look at life in the English countryside. While it has commonly been observed before that a hard a difficult life has its rewards, especially allowing for a more realistic appreciation of the gifts of life, never has it been done so gracefully, imaginatively, and with such roaring good humor and repartee as here. Certainly, Altman's fondness for noise and chaos furthers this search for the truth in the situation as nothing else could. The film is entertaining, worthwhile, and extremely well done. I highly recommend it. Enjoy!
Movie Review: Altman Shines WIth "Gosford Park"
Summary: 5 Stars
For moviegoers who've been around the block enough times to know that Robert Altman, as of late, has not been making the best films he possibly could be (although those recent films, like "The Gingerbread Man" and "Cookie's Fortune," are still lightyears beyond some trite pieces of cinematic garbage that either resort to shameful tricks and gags or use all of their cinematic resources in a desperate attempt that cries "Please! Give me an Oscar!"). So with this knowledge, one can truly appreciate the utter genius that is "Gosford Park."An ensemble piece of the highest quality, "Gosford Park" is, at appearance, a murder mystery of the Agatha Christie variety, but is really a social commentary on the British class system of the early 20th-Century (although I'm sure it speaks just as relevant about the 21st-Century class system just as much). Robert Altman weaves this all together in a way that is not only intelligent, but also surprisingly entertaining and fun. "Fun" is a fantastically important word that is often ignored during the making of a film, but this time around, Robert Altman has strung together a highly stylized, classy film that takes that word and milks it for all its worth.
The ensemble also does a fantastic job in "Gosford Park." It's hard to pick people out of an ensemble (which is why ensemble films are called just that) but the calvalcade of British actors and actresses all assembled to play out the various Lords and Earls and their servants that inhabit this movie is outstanding. The few American actors peppered within the cast also manage to hold their own and do an outstanding job (Bob Balaban is wonderfully enjoyable, and even Ryan Phillippe, who I normally am not a fan of, displays an enjoyable air of mysicism about his character).
All in all, "Gosford Park" is a sublime mixture of style, fun, and great acting that is a joy to watch. Be warned, that it certainly takes some will power to get into the very slow-moving and subtle plot. But if you're looking for an intelligent movie that tickles the senses, than look no further than "Gosford Park."
And thank goodness Altman's back to fine form!
Movie Review: What a swell party this is!
Summary: 5 Stars
I wavered between giving Gosford Park four or five stars; like most of Altman's films, it has its faults. But--again like most of Altman's films--what's good about it is SO good that I decided to give it the extra star. Altman has great, lavish fun with Julian Fellowes' screenplay about nasty, dictatorial Sir William McCordle (Michael Gambon) and his catty wife Lady Sylvia (Kristin Scott Thomas) who invite a few friends and relatives for a grouse-shooting weekend at their palatial estate. Sir William is murdered in the course of the festivities, and the "whodunit" turns out to be far less interesting than the "whydunit." The murder plot is sub-Agatha Christie, and the muffled class war between the stupid, callous aristrocrats and the smart, sensitive servants is nothing new to anyone who's seen "Upstairs, Downstairs." Also, some in the huge cast of characters get lost in the shuffle (it's particularly distressing to see an actor as great as Sir Derek Jacobi cast as a supernumerary), and a few scenes drag, particularly toward the end. But the best moments are so telling, and the best performances so sharp, that it ends up being a perfectly delightful time. "Gosford Park," along with "The Lord of the Rings" and "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," seems to be one of the first productions emanating from the British Thespians' Full Employment Act, and it's a joy to see so many great actors on the screen together. The women have the juiciest roles here (redressing the usual cinematic tendency to have it the other way round). Particularly memorable are Maggie Smith, Helen Mirren, Emily Watson, and Kelly Macdonald (the last playing the movie's only fully admirable character). Among the men, honors are shared between Clive Owen--once again giving Michael Caine a run for the title of Coolest Living Englishman--and Ryan Philippe, who brings life and wit to his role as a devious pretty boy. The sets and photography are eye-popping, but this is basically an actors' show, and the best performances here will linger in your mind a long time indeed.Movie Review: Awesome movie, some stupid reviews
Summary: 5 Stars
An excellent movie, but if you prefer your entertainment free, just read some of the critical reviews here. Among the hilarious claims made by this film's critics:"the accents are impossible to understand"
Wakey wakey guys, there's a whole English-speaking world outside the USA (including the countries of most of your ancestors), and surprise surprise, we don't all speak exactly as you do! If you have to, watch the film with subtitles!
"the film was dull"
I can just imagine these people looking at a Rembrandt painting and calling it dull because the colours aren't bright enough. Haven't any of you ever heard of subtlety? Understatement? or the big one: IRONY? (not the Alanis Morrissette definition either, it's wrong).
"[it has a] mundane dispassionate story"
Which planet is this person from? How about when Mrs Wilson allows her long-lost son to leave without admitting she knows who he is? If you didn't find that scene charged with emotion then there's really something wrong with you. I recommend that you stick to movies with one-dimensional actors like Tom Cruise - you can tell when his scenes are "passionate" and "dramatic" because he starts shouting. When Cruise stops shouting, you know the "passionate" part is over.
"it is incomprehensible when connecting the characters"
Complex, certainly - hence the irony when the Detective says "We just want people with some connection to the dead man" as he dismisses a group including the deceased's mistresses and unacknowledged son. For you, I recommend "Anti-Trust", one of the worst movies I've ever seen, in which the entire plot is not only predictable, but explained repeatedly anyway with flashbacks to important scenes etc. Interestingly, that appalling piece of work also includes Ryan Phillippe, though in a much less appropriate role. It was sheer genius in Gosford Park to cast an unconvincing American actor as an unconvincing American actor.
"this is supposed to be a murder mystery"
If you watched the whole movie and still think it was intended to be a murder mystery then you are a moron, end of story.
Movie Review: Remember to pack your critical faculties
Summary: 5 Stars
On the most superficial level Gosford Park's a beautifully realised Agatha Christie send up, complete with Upstairs, Downstairs casting and a bumbling detective/smartarse sidekick combination, who between them play an outstanding "nobody leave ze room" role. But to see it as only that, as most of its few detractors on this site seem to have, is to miss the point altogether. If you come expecting a murder mystery, you'll go home confused and disappointed. This isn't Murder on the Orient Express. The murder doesn't really matter, that much - it's just context for the shenanigans which accompany it.
One or two people didn't like the "clipped British accents". Well, here's some news for you, friends: there's a planet full of folks out here who don't care much for the whiny Californian accent, but most of the time we attend the cinema, we don't get the choice. So deal with it. Gosford Park's set in the home counties, for crying out loud.
But in any case such moaning is not worthy of consideration. This is the sort of film you'll want to see again as soon as you leave the theatre, just to see the things you know that you missed the first time. The narrative is so well crafted - you really do feel like you're drifting from genuine conversation to genuine conversation without the plot being thumped between your eyes - and the little subplots and subtexts shimmer and bubble around, occasionally simmering and moulding into each other as relationships between the characters are hinted at, covered and uncovered.
What it tells us is that rich tend to hate each other and lead (and spice!) their lives through their servants, while the servants themselves were more bound by social convention even than their masters. Until the Americans come along, that is, and the emancipation begins! When visiting film star Ivor Novello performs the piano in the lounge, the rich folk ignore and/or are mildly irritated by his show-offery, while the servants, to a person, are captivated.
Read like that, it sounds like a soap opera, and I suppose it probably is. But what a soap.