9 of 10
Cinematography by Andrew Dunn
Maggie Smith
Michael Gambon
Jeremy Northam
Stephen Fry
Clive Owen
Helen Mirren
Emily Watson
Ryan Phillippe
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| Gosford Park 9 of 10 |
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| Directed by Robert Altman Cinematography by Andrew Dunn Maggie Smith Michael Gambon Jeremy Northam Stephen Fry Clive Owen Helen Mirren Emily Watson Ryan Phillippe |
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| A fascinating film from Robert Altman, Gosford Park offers a new twist on an old story. It is a traditional mystery story, told in a non-traditional way, and with a strange, even disconcerting emphasis. In fact, the mystery story is finally nothing more than an engaging (and distracting) backdrop against which the members of Sir William McCordle's household go about their strange, private little businesses. The script, penned by former actor Julian Fellowes, is brilliant, but complex, and Altman uses that complexity to full effect. The viewers often find themselves looking at something they believe to be important while hearing something else which is equally important. The is definitely not a movie for the attentiveness-challenged. The overall effect of this method is that the viewers are as much in the dark as the story's protagonists, and gradually begin to shift their emphasis to the real crux of the film: the characters of the people involved, especially the constant grinding between "upstairs" and "downstairs." The mystery itself becomes so much of a secondary focus that Altman seems to almost forget to tell the audience who actually committed the crime. The whole revelation scene is rather surreal, and there are several people who would certainly have committed the crime had they been given the chance. The cast is brilliant, a series of one strange, complicated character after another. Particularly memorable are Maggie Smith (as a sort of family matriarch), Clive Owen (a mysterious manservant with a hidden past), Emily Watson (a maid with a little too much authority), and Michael Gambon (the unfortunate, and nearly forgotten, victim.) In fact, the only sour note is probably the only American in the film, Ryan Phillipe, who seems a little too strange and distant to believe completely. Overall, this film has the look and feel of an almost infinitely polished A&E Mystery episode, but with a story that explores and exposes human character like the best of the BBC Dickensonian productions. Profoundly and emphatically British. | |||||||