Maggie Smith. Jeremy Northam. Kristin Scott Thomas. Clive Owen. Helen Mirren. Michael Gambon. Emily Watson. Ryan Phillipe. Stephen Fry. While it would be a logical conclusion to assume that I’ve just listed off the stars of ten upcoming period pieces, this is just the star-studded (and mostly British) cast of Gosford Park. While you may not recognize all the names, you will surely have several of moments of “Hey, that’s the guy from that other movie!”
Ten years ago, director Robert Altman skewered Hollywood with his own high-brow parody movie, The Player, and astounded movie lovers everywhere by pulling together some of the biggest Hollywood stars. This time around, Altman takes on the Merchant/Ivory period pieces with Gosford Park and again convinces the biggest name in British film to join him.
Set in the 1930′s, Gosford Park is the site of yet another snotty rich-people weekend party. Hey!! Stop that, wake up, I’m not done yet. The big twist in Altman’s version of this story, is the level of attention he gives to every person in the house. In a novel approach to retelling the classic tale, we spend as much time upstairs (with the wealthy aristrocrats) as downstairs (with the servants) — and it quickly becomes obvious that the lines between the two are very blurry as they talk, share secrets and frolic together.
Against this backdrop, the host of our little gathering is murdered not once, but twice as Altman pays homage to all the Agatha Christie mysteries that have come before. But in all honesty, the crime is really not the focus here, it’s just an interesting way to progress the stories and relationships.
Admittedly, there are times when having 23 “main” characters gets to be confusing, particularly in the early parts of the film as a new character is introduced every thirty seconds. But Altman seems aware of that, and our knowledge of each group of characters is built upon throughout the film.
The tone through most of the movie is very light, with the typical dry British wit and cutting sarcasm — and the delivery is perfect. If anything, though, I believe the movie could have done with more of the same — Altman clearly had the cast and the script to pull it off, but it seems he consciously chose to limit the humour in favour of a heavier dramatic element.
Clearly, this movie isn’t for everyone. This is not an over-the-top parody in the vein of Scary Movie! It is a subtle twist on a theme with an already limited audience, but I believe this audience will truly appreciate the combination of acting, writing and directing.
Rating: The End of the Insolence, 7/10