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Plot Summary
The Academy Award winner for Best Original Screenplay, Gosford Park is a whodunit as only director Robert Altman could do it. As a hunting party gathers at the country estate, no one is aware that before the weekend is over, someone will be murdered - twice! The police are baffled but the all-seeing, all-hearing servants know that almost everyone had a motive. This critically-acclaimed murder mystery features a who's who of celebrated actors. With a diverse cast of characters - all with something to hide - it'll keep you guessing right to the surprising end. Gosford Park proves that murder can be such an inconvenience.
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Rotten Tomatoes Movie Reviews
TOMATOMETER
86%- Reviews Counted: 142
- Fresh: 122
- Rotten: 20
- Average Rating: 7.5/10
Top Critics' Reviews
Fresh: A scintillating comedy-drama and one of [Altman's] most richly moving and entertaining pictures.
Fresh: A sweet tune, airy but not quite gay, and it carries a sardonic edge.
Fresh: The venerated American director's best film since Short Cuts.
Fresh: Cinema used to its full artistic potential
Customer Reviews
A Great Mystery/ Time Piece Movie!
This is an obscure but truely enjoyable movie-- A murder mystery, but not an obvious or kitchy one-- you really wonder who did it, and there are clues the whole way. It is also an excellent representation of the time-- the separate lives of the servants, who live below ground are in parallel to the guests above it-- sharing their names and importance at the dinner table below ground. Fascinating, very in depth, and very long. (But you enjoy every minute of it!) I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys mysteries, historical pieces, or simply well-made movies. A vast arry of colorful characters, a plot that draws you in, a great ending. (I won't spoil it, obviously!)
Sex, servants, lies, money and murder—what more can you ask for?
Of course, great directing is understood, it being an Altman film. The ensemble is first-rate, but look at those names—you should expect good acting, and none of them dial in anything. Helen Mirren is as usual magnificent, but Maggie Smith steals every scene she's in as the snooty yet mischievous Countess Trentham. Clive Owen smolders as the mysterious manservant and Kelly Macdonald, in the film's lead role, holds her own as the innocent young ladies' maid with the sharp mind and kind heart. Bonus points for Jeremy Northam as real-life 30s star Ivor Novello and Ryan Philippe as the libidinous companion of a Hollywood producer. The evocation of the fabulous world-between-the-wars is haunting, and the sex, lies and shenanigans are simply delicious. The murder is the topping on a fabulous, but not trifling, English trifle.
Turning back time...
This is a chance to see what British life was like in the years of large estates with working butlers and maids in service. The upper class (upstairs) depended entirely on the working class (downstairs). In the first few minutes we see Maggie Smith can't open her thermos without help from her maid. Robert Altman found a butler and a maid whose entire life was spent in service of the "upstairs." They were on the set making sure the scenes were correct. Had he waited another ten years to make the film, they would have been gone. If you have a chance to hear screenwriter, Julian Fellows, a Brit, in his commentary during the film, many of his ideas came from growing up in that environment. His commentary was educational and fun to watch. Just watching this group of powerhouse actors act out the British story was a delight. I hope itunes will eventually download the special features along with the movie. It is a part of movie watching for me.
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