Gosford Park
As a child, the books I loved more than any others were Agatha Christie’s murder mysteries. When I finally came to see Gosford Park — a film involving a murder at a British country manor — a month or so back, I really enjoyed it. But interestingly, these two facts are completely unrelated.
From what I hear, director Robert Altman likes to choose a genre of film, then turn it on it’s head. That’s what he does here, at any rate. Your average murder mystery shows the creepy intrigues of the aristocracy — Gosford Park by contrast is all about the servants. We’re taken into the last few years of the dying culture of service in Britain — as well as seeing through Morris Wiessman and Ivor Novello the birth of the new celebrity culture.
Gosford Park is an extraordinarily well-done character piece — a character piece spanning about 30 different characters. Altman is a director who gives free reign to his actors, each of whom place a strong investment in their character. There are no extras in the film — in any given scene, everyone you see has a motivation and a reason for being there. While this isn’t immediately noticable on first viewing, it does contribute to a rich layer of realism that envelops the film. This also comes of course from an insane amount of attention to detail. There’s brilliant dialogue on offer, as well as superb acting, and a heartfelt narrative.
Most of the actors here are decently famous, some to the point of near godhood — so it seems useless to add my paltry praises to them here. The least known of the cast however gets the main role of Mary MacEachran, maid to Maggie Smith’s ever so snobbish Lady Trentham. Kelly MacDonald proves herself no slouch though, and is an adorable identification point for the viewer. There are no weak links here, but I was particularly impressed by Emily Watson, Helen Mirren, and Clive Owen.
Having waffled on so enthusiastically, you may now be thinking “Good gracious! Why have I never seen this movie? Quickly, to the video store!”. Well, you probably wouldn’t say “Good gracious”, but the point stands. However don’t watch Gosford Park expecting it to knock your socks off. It’s quiet, subtle (with the exception of the wonderful Stephen Fry), and endearing, and it excels in it’s way, but it’s no thrill-ride, and not particularly suspenseful. For best results, curl up in front of it on a lonely night by yourself and get lost in the world Altman has created so deftly.
Oh, and press ‘Play’. That’ll help.
DVD Review
If I’ve sounded even remotely knowledgable about Robert Altman’s directorial style in this review, it’s only because I had it all explained to me in a very informative director’s commentary and documentary extras. There are two documentaries — one on ‘The Authenticity of Gosford Park‘ and one general ‘Making Of’ feature. Both are quite interesting and completely free of any irritating cheesy American voice-overs. There’s also footage of a Q&A session with journalists after the film’s premiere — this seems oddly short, but is still interesting.
The commentary itself is of course interesting. Altman comes across as very clever, though a little forgetful, explaining one or two concepts twice. I’m always amused in commentaries with more than one person by who takes charge, and Altman is very much at the top of the pecking order with this one. His lackeys (producers) are helpful in reminding him what he should be talking about though.
In short, a worthwhile DVD if you enjoyed the film. And even if you’d never seen it before, like me. After all, I told you it was good.
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