The polite
society enjoy the hospitality on the surface at least!
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Fantastic
cast with an equally fine script, Gosford Park is an
Upstairs Downstairs murder mystery which is sure to be
a huge success.
Jacqui Vinters
This is the first time that director Robert Altman has journeyed
to England and he has managed to create a film mosaic which has
all the hallmarks to become a classic.
Gosford Park
is packed with a plethora of well known British stars resulting
in superb acting. It is also full of subtle nuances which enables
the film to work on many different levels.
 |
| Sir William
McCordle hosts a diner party, but will it be his last? |
Plot
It
is November, 1932. Gosford Park is the magnificent country estate
to which Sir William McCordle (Gambon) and his wife, Lady Sylvia
(Scott Thomas), 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.
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| Downstairs
life is just as ordered and complicated |
But all is not
as it seems: neither amongst the guests dining at their considerable
leisure, nor in the attic bedrooms and stark work stations where
the servants labour for the comfort of their employers.
A murder (or
is it two?) is committed and the detective story begins.
Verdict
Getting an insight into the workings of a 1930's estate household
is fascinating, and attention
to every detail has been meticulously maintained.
You pick your
way through the story by piecing together snippets of conversation
you overhear. Being as inconsequential as the servants, you eavesdrop
on the masters and mistresses of the household upstairs, but also
have access to the downstairs gossip.
The only part
for me which jarred is the portrayal of the bumbling police detective
(Stephen Fry) who seems to be more of a caricature than a character.
Such buffoonery is in stark contrast to the light handed treatment
from the other actors.
But the film
is a moving portrait of events that bridge generations and class
and unravels the intricate relationships of both sections of the
household. Superb in every aspect.
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