Gosford Park

Starring: Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon, Kristin Scott Thomas, Camilla Rutherford, Charles Dance, Ryan Phillippe, Clive Owen, Helen Mirren, Emily Watson, Geraldine Somerville, Tom Hollander, Jeremy Northam, Bob Balaban, James Wilby, Stephen Fry, Alan Bates, Kelly MacDonald, Claudie Blakley
Directed by: Robert Altman
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Mystery
2001

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Multiple storylines intersect between guests and servants in an English country home.

Review:

Tim: Robert Altman is an interesting director. I haven't seen a lot of his movies, but the ones I've seen have always been decent films. I haven't exactly loved the movies of his I've seen. Gosford Park is actually one of the better films. His directing trademarks are all here, and it's certainly an interesting film. I thought this was a good movie, but it seems like critics rate it a bit too highly, in my opinion.

The main draw here is seeing a huge cast, all interacting back-and-forth in this country estate in England. We have rich people, servants, and there are secrets, betrayals, murder, and more. Altman does a fantastic job of grabbing the audience and putting us right in the middle of the action. For the duration of the film, he really transports you to this location, and you feel like you are surrounded by these characters. The fast dialogue and constantly moving camerawork really place you in the movie, although this can be a bit overwhelming. I felt like I missed out on a lot of side conversations because everything was happening so fast. I give him credit for creating this frantic pace of the film, but would it have killed him to slow down, just a little?

The cast is pretty fantastic, and Altman works hard to give everyone enough screen time. Maggie Smith is quite good in her role, and we spend a lot of time with her. I thought Kelly MacDonald did a fantastic job and held her own against much more recognizable actors. Michael Gambon is pretty good. Kristin Scott Thomas gets a good amount of screen time, and she makes her character interesting and mysterious. I liked seeing Charles Dance here. Ryan Phillippe felt a bit out of place as the American, but I thought he gave a good performance. I really liked Clive Owen here, and he gives a strong, memorable performance. Helen Mirren was good, but she didn't have much to do until the very end. I like Emily Watson, and she had a fun role here. Stephen Fry is always someone I enjoy, although I felt like his character was a bit short-changed. There's many, many other actors in the cast, and as a whole, they were pretty fantastic.

Altman is at his best as he moves the camera around the house, allowing us short glimpses of all these little conversations and relationships. It's a complex movie, especially at the beginning, and it can get overwhelming. He does a fantastic job of creating this realistic, believable house, and we get sucked into the drama and the gossip happening in every corridor. I really enjoyed that aspect of the film, and the most fun I had was sitting back and taking it all in.

However, a movie has to have a plot as well. This is where Altman stumbles just a bit. The main event of the film is a murder, and finding out who is responsible for it. The murder doesn't happen until over halfway through the film. While we have enough time for character development, the middle of the film dragged a bit. The murder happens, and yet, instead of heightened tension and real drama, things just kind of plod along as usual. I was hoping for a little more suspense or drama, but these come across as very restrained. This kept me interested in the story, but not overly involved. This is a complaint I had with the movie as a whole- it's all very interested, but the huge cast prevented me from really identifying with one or two characters. I wanted to see how it all turned out, but I never really cared about anyone here.

This was my biggest complaint- this is supposedly a movie about a murder mystery, and yet, Altman seems to show almost no interest in the murder or the mystery part. Sure, we get an answer to who did it at the end, but it feels like a minor speed bump on the path Altman is more focused on. I'm not suggesting the whole tone of the movie needed to change, but I expected a little more upheaval when someone is murdered in cold blood. This needed to be a stronger focus for the film.

This film was nominated for 7 Academy Awards, but only grabbed 1 statue. The film won for Best Original Screenplay, which from the huge amount of characters, rapid dialogue, and frentic pace, it absolutely deserved. It was also nominated for Best Art Direction, Best Costune Design (no surprise to either of those), Best Director, 2 Supporting Actress noms (Maggie Smith and Helen Mirren), and Best Picture. I'm actually quite surprised with the nomination for Best Picture. I thought this was a good movie, but not that good.

I understand that I'm not the biggest Robert Altman fan in the world, although I do appreciate his work. It felt like Gosford Park was a good movie, but not a great one. I admit this is a film that you probably understand and appreciate more on repeat viewings, but at 137 minutes, I don't have the capacity to rewatch this multiple times. I appreciate the complex film Altman created, but I think there was more potential that was left on the table. This is a good movie, though, and one definitely worth watching.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7


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