Gosford Park, by director Robert Altman, pieces together a period ensemble for which he is famous (think Short Cuts or Pret-a-Porter). This one is set in an English mansion during a shooting weekend in autumn in 1932. Michael Gambon and Kristen Scott Thomas play host to a number of guests that descend on their house for the weekend with their personal maids or valets in tow. This allows us to see life both above and below the stairs as each strata of society within the house abides by its own rules, traditions and formalities.
And if this is all it was then it might be an interesting if somewhat bland historical drama in the style of A Room With a View [which I’m not saying is bland only that it is primarily an historical drama] or some such. It is however just the vehicle for Altman to wickedly hack into the class system and take a few backhanders at Hollywood on the way.
The upstairs group is well serviced by actors such as Jeremy Northam, Maggie Smith and Charles Dance while the servants, cooks and valets are played with a splendid array of equally competing interests and allegiances by Kelly Macdonald, Emily Watson, Clive Owen, Ryan Phillipe, Richard E Grant, Derek Jacobi and Helen Mirren. No one actor hogs the screen and all have a story to tell (you can just see Maggie Smith making the most of every moment and every line she has).
When the head of the house, Gambon, finally ends up with a knife in the chest, the film moves to send up all those manor house detective stories a la Agatha Christie by sending an inept police inspector to investigate, played with just the right level of levity by Stephen Fry.
By leaving the actual story (that of the murder and the reasons why) until well after half-way allows Altman time to develop his characters and gives us time as viewers to understand the routine of the house and the petty jealousies and rivalries that exist between the characters. Gosford Park is in truth far more concerned with the characters and how they fit into their role than it ever is regarding the story line.
Roger Ebert describes Gosford Park as a “joyous and audacious achievement” and is a film that I enjoyed immensely.
5 comments:
Meow. Saucer of milk to table two.
Didn't know Steven Fry was in it, might actually watch it then. I've seen the first series of "A bit of Fry and Laurie" which I thought was hilarious - oh and the DVD of it is due out in a few months.
A few weeks back someone recommended "Phone Booth" to me. Have you seen it?
Phone Booth stars Colin Farrell and is directed by the master of the big explosion, Joel Schumacher. Kiefer Sutherland also plays the bad guy but mostly we just hear his voice.
Where this movie works is that the director works through the cinematic notion of, "what can I do if the protagonist is trapped in one place, ie a phone booth ?". Instead of one James Bond type chase sequence after another, this a taut thriller that is rooted in the one spot. Also, unlike other modern day blockbusters, Phone Booth doesn't outstay its welcome. Once they have been through their array of tricks the movie finishes at 70-something minutes instead of the usual padding to fill in running time. That aids in keeping the storyline and tension tight.
For some reason that reminds me. I saw "Red Eye" a couple of weeks back, directed by the same guy who did the Scream movies. It was absolutely awful. Terrible acting, terrible script, boring intro, predictable everything. Even the 'bloopers' were terrible!
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