Gosford Park

In the English countryside, where the rich are haughty and their servants are equally pretentious, a weekend gathering filled with teas, suppers and shooting begins. Tensions are already high as the guests arrive and nobody can stand each other, really, and pretenses are at their highest. In the middle of the weekend, the host, Sir William McCordle (Michael Gambon,) is found dead with a knife in his chest and everyone has a motive for his death. From his wife Lady Sylvia (Kristen Scott Thomas) to his brother-in-law, Commander Anthony Meredith (Tom Hollander) to a visiting valet, Robert Parks (Clive Owen.) When the bumbling local detective inspector (Stephen Fry) shows up to investigate, he finds his hands full; but everyone else has their own explanation of the crime.

In a classic whodunnit, Robert Altman's brilliant ensemble drama is a real who's who for British Actors with heavy hitters including Jeremy Northam, Alan Bates, Clive Owen, Derek Jacobi, Michael Gambon, Richard E Grant, Stephen Fry, Maggie Smith, Kristen Scott Thomas, Emily Watson and Tom Hollander. Accompanying them are equally brilliant non-British players Ryan Phillippe, Bob Balaban and Kelly Macdonald, who plays our protagonist. The production design, cinematography and editing are equally well performed making this a exceptionally well done film. And Patrick Doyle's perfectly balanced score, bright, warm and haunting, is well cut with Jeremy Northam's performance of the real-life crooner Ivor Novello's ballads.

With a massive 32-part speaking cast, Gosford Park's story-line is complex and multi-layered with each character having their own story-arc. My favorites are that of Robert Parks and Mrs Wilson, The Meredith's, Elsie (Emily Watson) and Mabel Nesbit's. We've got one of revenge, one of finance, one of freedom and that of unrequited love. Mrs. Nesbitt's (Claudie Blakely) story involves her domestic abuse at the hands of her husband and the general scorn from everyone in the house, aside from Mr. Novello who comes from a meager upbringing, too. His treatment of her gives her strength to stand up to her husband and the rest of the guests. Ms Blakely and Mr. Northam's chemistry is so comfortable, there's room to consider if Mr. Novello carried that much compassion in real life. Elsie's story involves the tipping point of impatience with the upstairs snobbery and household gossip and she speaks out of turn, liberating herself. I am particularly fond of the romance of The Meredith's, Anthony and Lavinia. Their heavy financial burden begins in desperation, Anthony's business is failing and Sir William's death makes the investment secure. After an evening conversation with one of the kitchen maids in the pantry, he realizes that love is important and he returns to his wife with a new purpose. Wonderful exchanges between Helen Mirren's Mrs. Wilson and Clive Owen's Robert Parks is so subtle that the dark tension that is their history is clear. Such a brilliant cast!!

The story is so well told, and is one of my favorites in my collection. Kelly Macdonald's Mary Maceachran tells our story so very well. I enjoy her innocence and her role as our eyes, she does what we're supposed to be doing: solving the crime and figuring out the politics of service. But in the end, it's not the whodunnit that's important, it's that it was done...and this is the reaction.

This is such a rich piece, well written and fantastically acted, along with a fabulous score. It has everything a classic murder mystery wears: plenty of suspects, torrid affairs, gossip and poison on every windowsill, perfect recipe for a beautiful film..and, I can't help it, it's so incredibly British!!

****

In: Jeremy Northam

Out; Bob Balaban

Coming Soon: Lady in the Water