Gosford Park
December 26, 2001 in theaters
Robert Altman's 2001 ensemble murder mystery is less a whodunit than a social autopsy, examining the upstairs-downstairs dynamics of a 1930s English country house where a murder is almost beside the point. The film assembles one of the greatest casts of Altman's career, including Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Helen Mirren, and lets them collide in overlapping conversations that Altman captures with his signature overlapping dialogue. A murder occurs, but the film's real investigation is into the class system that makes the manor run, and the secrets that both the aristocrats and their servants carry. Julian Fellowes won an Academy Award for his screenplay, and the film's DNA would eventually evolve into Downton Abbey. Gosford Park is a mystery for viewers who care less about who did it and more about why anyone would want to.
Cast
Maggie Smith
Constance Trentham
Michael Gambon
William McCordle
Kristin Scott Thomas
Sylvia McCordle
Camilla Rutherford
Isobel McCordle
Charles Dance
Raymond Stockbridge
Geraldine Somerville
Louisa Stockbridge
Tom Hollander
Anthony Meredith
Natasha Wightman
Lavinia Meredith
Jeremy Northam
Ivor Novello
Bob Balaban
Morris Weissman
Director
TRAILER
QUOTE
"Nobody wants to be told they're ordinary. They all want to be special."
-- Constance
DID YOU KNOW?
The film directly inspired Fellowes to create Downton Abbey, which began as a Gosford Park spin-off concept.
THE VERDICT
Synthesized from published reviews
Altman's last great film, and one of his most accessible. The murder mystery is a Trojan horse for a study of class and servitude that only Altman could stage. The ensemble is flawless, and Julian Fellowes' script finds humor and cruelty in equal measure. The mystery itself is secondary, which may frustrate genre purists, but the film's social observation is the real reward.
GALLERY
VIDEOS
