Gosford Park (A- or 3.5/4 stars)
An old-fashioned country estate is the setting of a 1930's British murder mystery satire titled, 'Gosford Park', directed by Robert Altman. Sir William & Sylvia McCordle (Michael Gambon, Kristin Scott Thomas) have invited a plethora of friends & family for an elegant shooting party weekend. William is old & sickly. It's assumed that his written will has many benefactors in it. But as the weekend goes on, secrets are revealed, whispers are hushed, & everyone (both the aristocrats upstairs & the servants below) are conniving to get any of his $$. In this film, it's fascinating to watch the British class system at play in the 1930s; along with all the proprietorial & sexual mores. This is a completely absorbing, multi-storylined dramedy. Sure, there's a murder. But that's almost incidental to everything that occurs both before & after it. Aside from some slow sections here & there, 'Gosford Park' is a great looking & truly wonderful film to watch.
Gosford Park, 1932: the guests are slowly arriving amid a rain & fog-infested morning. Even though it is not critical to your enjoyment, it could be advantageous to keep in mind the reasons why a murder would take place during the course of this film. First to arrive is Sylvia's aunt, The Countess of Trentham (a deliciously callous Maggie Smith), & her mousy maid, Mary (Kelly Macdonald). Upon crossing the McCordle threshold, Sylvia asks the Countess if her journey was horrid; to which her stodgy reply is "Ohh, fairly horrid". The Countess depends on an allowance from William, but he's threatening to withdraw it ... keep that in mind. Another guest is Sylvia's sister Louisa (Geraldine Somerville), & her husband, Lord Stockbridge (Charles Dance). Both sisters married for $$. However, in drawing cards for William (many years back), it is Louisa who missed out. Does Sylvia know of their secret affair (after all these years)? Keep it in mind.
Other guests include Commander Meredith (Tom Hollander), the honorable Freddie Nesbitt (James Wilby) & his mousy wife (Claudie Blakely), Hollywood star, Ivor Novello (Jeremy Northam), movie producer, Morris Weissman (Bob Balaban), & his 'valet', Henry Denton (Ryan Phillippe). These men are harboring a multitude of secrets. Could they lead to murder? There are others, but it's best to focus now on the downstairs crew. There's Jennings, the Butler (Alan Bates). 2 of the more interesting individuals are Mrs. Wilson (Helen Mirren), the housekeeper who harbors a long-buried secret, & her sister, the cook, Mrs. Croft (Eileen Atkins). They haven't spoken for years ... keep that in mind. Housemaid Elsie (a wonderful Emily Watson) is also having an affair with Sir William. Could she want a crack at his doe? Probert (Derek Jacobi) is William's personal valet; his shadow, always fulfilling bizarre requests ... keep that in mind.
Along with the house staff, also downstairs is an assortment of guest valets, maids, & servers. You've got Robert (Clive Owen), Lord Stockbridge's valet; his presence downstairs comes as a huge shock to one house member in particular ... keep it in mind. As fly-on-the-wall fascinating as the aristocrats are; given the revelations of old romances & new rivalries ... it's the 'downstairs' drama that's even more intriguing. But just as we're really getting to know everyone, screams are heard, & a prominent figure in the story is found murdered. A shoddy inspector is called-in to investigate (Stephen Fry); with subsequent trench coat & smoking pipe. Everyone is a suspect, & nearly everyone has a motive for the murder. How will the killer be smoked out? Who committed the murder, and why?
The great thing about this film is that the interweaving set-up to the murder is the most intriguing part; clues are dropped everywhere. Without the dense layer-upon-layer set-up, we really wouldn't care about the murder because we wouldn't know the narrative back stories & potential consequences of each person. We're given ample time to know them, their ties, their vanities, their ambitions, their shortcomings, their rivalries, their secrets, why they're here, & for what reason they could have devised the murder themselves. Of course, this takes a lot of emphasis off of the aftermath & resolution of the murder, but it's still interesting, nevertheless. Even though the plot is standard, it's the style of the film that pulls you in ... the witty dialogue, the colorful characters, the country estate, the furniture, the costumes, the dark corridors, & the "what's happening behind that door!" eavesdropping effect.
The ensemble is brilliant; using biting one-liners, quips, glances, or a terse upper lip to get their points across. Even Ryan Phillippe (called-in last second to replace Jude Law) holds his own. But there are 2 stand-out performances from Maggie Smith & Helen Mirren. Smith's pinched, curmudgeonly Countess is flawless. I could just sit & observe her for hours & be thoroughly amused. Mirren is in a far-less showy role, but she leaves a big impact by the end. I have to say that I enjoyed Gosford Park's individual jigsaw puzzle moments more than it's assembled whole; getting 'to' the murder is more fun that the actual act & post-script. So with exception to some middling scenes post-murder, this film is exquisite; and one that demands multiple viewings to catch it all. I know I gladly will.
Gosford Park, 1932: the guests are slowly arriving amid a rain & fog-infested morning. Even though it is not critical to your enjoyment, it could be advantageous to keep in mind the reasons why a murder would take place during the course of this film. First to arrive is Sylvia's aunt, The Countess of Trentham (a deliciously callous Maggie Smith), & her mousy maid, Mary (Kelly Macdonald). Upon crossing the McCordle threshold, Sylvia asks the Countess if her journey was horrid; to which her stodgy reply is "Ohh, fairly horrid". The Countess depends on an allowance from William, but he's threatening to withdraw it ... keep that in mind. Another guest is Sylvia's sister Louisa (Geraldine Somerville), & her husband, Lord Stockbridge (Charles Dance). Both sisters married for $$. However, in drawing cards for William (many years back), it is Louisa who missed out. Does Sylvia know of their secret affair (after all these years)? Keep it in mind.
Other guests include Commander Meredith (Tom Hollander), the honorable Freddie Nesbitt (James Wilby) & his mousy wife (Claudie Blakely), Hollywood star, Ivor Novello (Jeremy Northam), movie producer, Morris Weissman (Bob Balaban), & his 'valet', Henry Denton (Ryan Phillippe). These men are harboring a multitude of secrets. Could they lead to murder? There are others, but it's best to focus now on the downstairs crew. There's Jennings, the Butler (Alan Bates). 2 of the more interesting individuals are Mrs. Wilson (Helen Mirren), the housekeeper who harbors a long-buried secret, & her sister, the cook, Mrs. Croft (Eileen Atkins). They haven't spoken for years ... keep that in mind. Housemaid Elsie (a wonderful Emily Watson) is also having an affair with Sir William. Could she want a crack at his doe? Probert (Derek Jacobi) is William's personal valet; his shadow, always fulfilling bizarre requests ... keep that in mind.
Along with the house staff, also downstairs is an assortment of guest valets, maids, & servers. You've got Robert (Clive Owen), Lord Stockbridge's valet; his presence downstairs comes as a huge shock to one house member in particular ... keep it in mind. As fly-on-the-wall fascinating as the aristocrats are; given the revelations of old romances & new rivalries ... it's the 'downstairs' drama that's even more intriguing. But just as we're really getting to know everyone, screams are heard, & a prominent figure in the story is found murdered. A shoddy inspector is called-in to investigate (Stephen Fry); with subsequent trench coat & smoking pipe. Everyone is a suspect, & nearly everyone has a motive for the murder. How will the killer be smoked out? Who committed the murder, and why?
The great thing about this film is that the interweaving set-up to the murder is the most intriguing part; clues are dropped everywhere. Without the dense layer-upon-layer set-up, we really wouldn't care about the murder because we wouldn't know the narrative back stories & potential consequences of each person. We're given ample time to know them, their ties, their vanities, their ambitions, their shortcomings, their rivalries, their secrets, why they're here, & for what reason they could have devised the murder themselves. Of course, this takes a lot of emphasis off of the aftermath & resolution of the murder, but it's still interesting, nevertheless. Even though the plot is standard, it's the style of the film that pulls you in ... the witty dialogue, the colorful characters, the country estate, the furniture, the costumes, the dark corridors, & the "what's happening behind that door!" eavesdropping effect.
The ensemble is brilliant; using biting one-liners, quips, glances, or a terse upper lip to get their points across. Even Ryan Phillippe (called-in last second to replace Jude Law) holds his own. But there are 2 stand-out performances from Maggie Smith & Helen Mirren. Smith's pinched, curmudgeonly Countess is flawless. I could just sit & observe her for hours & be thoroughly amused. Mirren is in a far-less showy role, but she leaves a big impact by the end. I have to say that I enjoyed Gosford Park's individual jigsaw puzzle moments more than it's assembled whole; getting 'to' the murder is more fun that the actual act & post-script. So with exception to some middling scenes post-murder, this film is exquisite; and one that demands multiple viewings to catch it all. I know I gladly will.