Well, I suppose life must go on. Unhook me!
Written: Dec 17 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Deep, all-star cast, witty script, excellent period detail, good cinematography and soundtrack
Cons: Too many characters to keep track of in a single viewing
The Bottom Line: This marvelous film really needs multiple viewing to appreciate since the number of characters and script density make it difficult to absorb on a first experience.
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| metalluk's Full Review: |
Gosford Park (2001) is a film treasure except for one major flaw. The story includes such a large number of significant characters and such a high density of significant lines in the script that it is next to impossible to digest this movie experience in a single viewing. An ability to recognize and keep straight a large cast is not one of my strengths as a viewer, but I was at least gratified to find that many other reviewers admit to the same problem. I watched this film twice through today, before undertaking this review, once to get the cast straight and a second time to enjoy the nuances of the script. Even referring frequently to a printout of a character and cast listing and stopping the tape now and then to take notes, I found the first time through something of a puzzlement. Roger Ebert was confused enough, judging from his review, to mix up which sister is married to which man and to misstate the relationship between Sir William and Lady Constance. My second viewing was far more satisfying. It is perhaps revealing that the tagline used on the DVD case for this film is "A second visit to Gosford Park is twice the fun." This is one instance when the tagline really does say it all. I think that seeing this film in a theater could be quite annoying and would probably have left me with a feeling of not understanding much of what had transpired. By contrast, now that I own the DVD, I'll be able to return to this film repeatedly in the years ahead. Director Robert Altman has provided such richness in the images and the dialog that I feel certain that repeat viewings will be amply rewarded.
Historical Background: Robert Altman, born February 20th, 1925, in Kansas City Mo., had a long career in Hollywood, as screenwriter, director, and producer. Known for quirky and sometimes almost anthropological films, Altman liked to focus his lens irreverently on the cultures in which his films were set. He trained as an engineer and began a few short-lived businesses, while also writing screenplays, finally selling one that became the basis for The Bodyguard (1948). Altman then took a job making industrial films for a firm in Kansas City to gain experience as a filmmaker. He directed his first entertainment film, The Delinquents (1957), using money he raised from local sources. Then, with George W. George, Altman co-directed and co-produced the documentary The James Dean Story (1957). That led to a decade of work in television producing such series as Bonanza and Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
Altman returned to making feature films with Countdown (1968). Then, two years later, he struck gold with M*A*S*H (1970), which won the Palme d'Or at Cannes and an Oscar for Best Screenplay. The huge box office success of M*A*S*H earned Altman many studio offers, but Altman instead chose to continue to make somewhat artsy films of a modest scale, including notably Mccabe and Mrs. Miller (1971), The Long Goodbye (1973), and Thieves Like Us (1974). At about the time that Altman's box office potential was being written off by Hollywood, he returned to the limelight with Nashville (1975), which inventively intertwined the stories of 24 different characters! Nashville earned Academy Award nominations and won the Best Film and Best Director awards from the New York Film Critics. Again, however, Altman dissipated Hollywood's renewed interest in his work with some interesting but commercially limited efforts, such as 3 Women (1977) and A Wedding (1978). It also didn't help that Altman developed a reputation for drinking, arrogance, and crankiness at about this time, problems that he later overcame.
In the early eighties, Altman directed an adaptation of Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982). He had success later in the decade with the miniseries Tanner '88 (1988) and the film Vincent and Theo (1990). Then, in 1992, Altman directed his third great commercial success, The Player (1992), a dark comedy about a screenwriter murdered by a movie executive. The film was remarkable for the inclusion of cameo appearances by 66 movie celebrities, each of who agreed to compensation according to scale. After that success, Altman again reverted for a bit to the kind of lengthy, complex film with which he's sometimes baffled audiences. He had some additional successes, however, with Kansas City (1996), Gosford Park (2001), and The Company (2003). It is remarkable that Altman was able to maintain such a high quality of films even as he approached octogenarian status.
The Story: This being a mystery film, among other things, it would be a disservice to readers to give away answers to the whodunit and why-donit aspects of the story. The best service I can provide, I suspect, is to introduce the various characters and their general circumstances and relationships so that a first viewing can be a less taxing experience for readers. Lord Carlton (who doesn't appear in the film at all) has a sister, Lady Constance Trentham (Maggie Smith), and three adult, married daughters, Sylvia (Kristin Scott Thomas), Louisa (Geraldind Somerville), and Lavinia (Natasha Wightman). Constance, who epitomizes the aristocracy, has a condescending attitude toward commoners, regardless of their level of success. She has a propensity for snappy zingers and a sense of entitlement, despite the fact that she is entirely dependent on her wealthy son-in-law, William McCordle (Michael Gambon), for her allowance. Lady Trentham is currently breaking in a new Scottish maid, Mary Maceachran (Kelly Macdonald). The sweet-natured and good-hearted Mary provides much of the viewers' perspective for this film.
Lord Carlton was intent that one of his two elder daughters should marry Sir William McCordle because McCordle has a large fortune, derived from the factories he owns. Sylvia and Louisa had cut cards for him and Sylvia had won. That proved unfortunate, since the snooty Sylvia has no use for her self-made husband, whom she considers uncouth and ill mannered, while Louisa has a genuine affection for the man, which he reciprocates. Sylvia appears to have more genuine respect for Louisa's husband, Raymond Stockbridge (Charles Dance), who was something of a war hero rather than a profiteer like McCordle. The McCordles have organized a weekend grouse-shooting party at their estate, Gosford Park, which is where all of the film's action takes place. Mr. Stockbridge has brought along his valet, Robert Parks (Clive Owen), to tend to his needs. Parks grew up in an orphanage.
The McCordles have a daughter, Isobel (Camilla Rutherford), who once had an affair with The Honorable Freddie Nesbitt (James Wilby), who is now married to a commoner, Mabel (Claudie Blakley). Freddie married Mabel for her father's money, but it turned out to be less than he had hoped and he now treats Mabel like a poor relation. Freddie is out of work and intends to blackmail Isobel with the threat of revealing their former liaison, unless she convinces her father to give him a job. Freddie's title, "The Honorable," is a classic misnomer since he is anything but.
The youngest sister, Lavinia, is married to Commander Anthony Meredith (Tom Hollander), a short man and a commoner whose business deal with William is falling apart. William was to bankroll a scheme to make boots in Sudan, but has decided that it's not a sound investment. Meredith is a nervous wreck, anticipating financial ruination, but neither Lavinia nor her sisters have enough clout with William to alter his decision. Accompanying Commander Meredith is his valet, Barnes (Adrian Scarborough), who is contemptuous of his employer's pathetic financial condition and inability to earn a living.
Also attending the weekend festivities is Ivor Novello (Jeremy Northam), a famous Hollywood actor and heartthrob who has played opposite Greta Garbo. Ivor is a second cousin of William McCordle. He's brought along Hollywood producer Morris Weissman (Bob Balaban), who is working on a new movie to be entitled Charlie Chan in London. It's going to feature a scene in a country manor much like Gosford Park and Weissman's real intent in angling for an invitation was to learn more about real English country living. Weissman is a hotshot, constantly on the phone to Hollywood, arguing over details about the casting and story for the picture. Weissman has also brought along a young actor, Henry Denton (Ryan Phillippe), who will be playing the part of a butler in the film. Weissman has conspired with Sir William to present Henry to the hired help as Weissman's valet so that Henry can experience firsthand the life and activities of the servants. Henry may also be Weissman's gay lover, though Henry is equally adept (or more so) with the other gender, as he proves repeatedly over the course of the weekend.
Two relatively insignificant characters round out the upstairs group: Lord Rupert Standish (Laurence Fox), who brings the guns for the weekend sport, and his wife's father, Jeremy Blond (Trent Ford), who is an inveterate gold-digger, somehow in cahoots with Freddie Nesbitt.
Downstairs are the servants of Gosford Park. The headman is the butler, Mr. Jennings (Alan Bates), a stern old taskmaster devoted to the service and the proper operation of the household. Working under Jennings are Probert (Derek Jacobi), who is Sir William's personal valet, George (Richard E. Grant), a saucy footman who resents being a servant, and Arthur (Jeremy Swift), a gay may who would like nothing better than to be assigned the task of helping Ivor Novello with his dressing requirements.
Responsibility for the female portion of the service is split between the housekeeper, Mrs. Wilson (Helen Mirren), and the cook, Mrs. Croft (Eileen Atkins), who are sisters but barely on speaking terms with one another. Both once worked in one of Sir William's factories. Reporting to Mrs. Wilson are Elsie (Emily Watson), the maid, and Miss Lewis (Meg Wynn Owen), Sylvia's personal maid. Elsie is having an affair with Sir William. She is also assigned for the weekend the temporary job of tending to the dressing needs of Mabel Nesbitt, who (gasp!) has no servant of her own. Reporting to Mrs. Croft is Bertha (Teresa Churcher), who generously caters to the sexual needs of any man who wants her. Poor dependable Dorothy (Sophie Thompson) has to divide her time between both Mrs. Wilson's and Mrs. Croft's domains and is hopelessly in love with the butler, Jennings.
During the course of the weekend, various agendas begin to play out. Countess Trentham and Anthony Meredith are both there to suck up to Sir William, who seems to be the only one in the group with real money. Freddie also needs a handout, but hopes to get it through his relationship with Isobel. Henry Denton, who is masquerading as a servant, furnishes both hot milk and stud service for Sylvia. Denton has less success trying to force himself on Mary and, later, Elsie. Sylvia, meanwhile, harangues her husband publicly for his ill breeding and when Elsie the maid, his lover, inappropriately blurts out a brief defense of poor Bill, she is summarily fired. During the hunt, Sir William gets his ear nicked by an errant shot from one of the other huntsmen. Weissman spends most of his time on the phone, describing the plot of his proposed movie, oblivious to the fact that a similar plot is playing out, even as he speaks, in the Gosford Park household. Ivor Novello entertains the assembled guests by singing and playing at the piano, much to the pleasure of the servants and the disdainful boredom of the aristocrats. Meanwhile, the various personal valets and maids who have arrived with high-placed guests are integrated into the servant's activities. Mary shares a room with Elsie while Henry Denton is billeted with Robert Parks.
The plot takes its major turn at about the film's midpoint with the murder of Sir William. Two new characters are then introduced in the form of Inspector Thompson (Stephen Fry), a bumbling incompetent far more interested in ingratiating himself with the aristocrats than in solving the crime, and his assistant, Constable Dexter (Ron Webster), who's a bit more competent but hamstrung by his boss. In the end, it is only through the intercession of Mary that the whodunit is resolved and only she, we, and the murderer end up fully in the know.
Themes: This film is an incisive commentary of the English class system as it existed in the 1930's. The lives of the people in service to the aristocracy revolved almost entirely around the lives of their respective employers. Mrs. Wilson sums the point up effectively when she ways to Mary, "I'm the perfect servant, I have no life." It is noteworthy that the in-house help identify each of the visiting valets (attending one of the guests) only by the name of their employer. Thus, Henry Denton becomes Weissman, Robert Parks is called Stockbridge, and Barnes becomes Meredith. Mary is referred to as Trentham. When the servants eat together downstairs, they are seated in a strict order of precedence, not by the seniority of the servants but by the rank of their employers. Thus, Mary, who is brand new in the service, must take the seat of honor because her employer, Lady Trentham, is a Countess and a Countess outranks a Baroness.
The household encompasses two separate spheres of conversation and gossip, one upstairs and the other downstairs, but the most adept of the players, such as Lady Trentham, draw their ammunition from both domains. Lady Trentham insists that Mary pass on the gossip from the servants' quarters. The Countess doesn't want her maid to be discrete except in relationship to her own secrets. Denton violates the separation of the domains by posing as a servant and later pays a price for that indiscretion when George exacts a bit of revenge. The bumbling Inspector Thompson foolishly neglects to question the servants about the murder that took place because, as he says, he only needs to speak with those having a "real connection" with the dead man. Little does he realize that the connections between the servants and their employers are, in many ways, more vital and real than are the connections among the various aristocrats.
Production Values: The script, written by Julian Fellowes, based on an idea of Robert Altman and Bob Balaban, is modeled after Jean Renoir's great film The Rules of the Game (1939). The script is brilliantly crafted except for the complexity problem alluded to above. Altman is a master of ensemble films and smoothly introducing many different characters, but the sheer number of significant characters in the present film overtaxes even Altman's legendary capabilities. The two detectives mirror the upstairs/downstairs dichotomy of the household at Gosford Park. Like the servants, the constable does all of the real work. The inspector, like most of the aristocrats, is just putting on a show. There are subtle hints even before the murder that a murder mystery is being set up, when the story reveals a missing knife or the camera shows the presence of a bottle labeled "poison."
Each piece of dialog in this film advances and explains the complex associations that exist between the characters, with numerous hidden relationships. Here are some of my favorite bits of dialog:
Louisa: I've rather gone off cards. I've never been very lucky with them.
William: Me too.
William: How would you know what I'm interested in?
Sylvia: Well, I know you're interested in money and fiddling with your guns but when it comes to anything else, I'm stumped.
Elsie: That is not fair. Bill is ----
Weissman: What about Claudette Colbert? She's British, isn't she? She sounds British. Is she, like, affected, or is she British?
Constable: There doesn't seem to be much blood sir.
Raymond to Louisa: Oh, stop sniveling. Anyone would think you were Italian.
Sylvia, to Henry: Well, I suppose life must go on. Unhook me!
Servant: Do you think he's the murderer?
Robert Parks: He's worse than that; he's an actor!
Mrs. Croft: He was a hard-hearted randy old sot.
Dorothy, to Jennings: You know, you know I'd say anything for you.
Raymond to Anthony: When a man's as short as you are, it must be very difficult to judge the height of the birds.
Barnes: I washed him and dressed him and if he can't find his way to the drawing room it isn't my fault.
Mrs. Wilson: I'm the perfect servant. I have no life.
The scenes on the main floors of Gosford Park were filmed in a real country home in England, but Altman's son, Steven Altman, constructed sets for the downstairs and the attic scenes on studio soundstages. Needless to say, there's a stark contrast between the opulence of the aristocracy's quarters and those of the servants. There are a lot of creative camera angles and lighting effects and the editing for this film is particularly sharp and effective. The color scheme for the film consists of a soft autumn palette.
The cast is utterly incredible, featuring many of England's best actors as well as a few from America and Scotland. Maggie Smith is perhaps the standout, stealing scenes left and right. She had a great career, including appearances in The Pumpkin Eater (1964), The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969), Murder by Death (1976), A Room with a View (1985), Hook (1991), The First Wives Club (1996), Washington Square (1997), Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001), and Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002). Michael Gambon, who plays the stern and uncompromising Sir William, is well-known for appearances in such films as Turtle Diary (1985), Sleepy Hollow (1999), Charlotte Gray (2001), and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004).
Kristin Scott Thomas gives a solid performance as Sylvia, combining sensuousness with haughty condescension. I was impressed with her in both Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) and The English Patient (1996). Her other work has included Richard III (1995), Angels and Insects (1995), Mission: Impossible (1996), and The Horse Whisperer (1998). Jeremy Northam was another standout as Ivor Novello. His other appearances have included roles in Carrington (1995), Emma (1996), An Ideal Husband (1999), and Possession (2002). Tom Hollander caught my attention recently in Pride and Prejudice (2005) and is effective here as well.
Kelly Macdonald's role as Mary Maceachran didn't strike me as an especially difficult one, but that may be a testament to her skill. It's certainly a crucial part for viewer enjoyment. She is otherwise best known for appearances in Trainspotting (1995) and Elizabeth (1998). Emily Watson had a more challenging part as Elsie. She's appeared elsewhere in Breaking the Waves (1996), Hilary and Jackie (1998), Punch-Drunk Love (2002), and Red Dragon (2002). Also impressive among the servants were Alan Bates as Jennings, Richard E. Grant as George, and Sophie Thompson as Dorothy. Bates is one of my old favorites from his work in The King of Hearts (1966) and The Go-Between (1971). He's also appeared in Zorba the Greek (1964), Far from the Madding Crowd (1967), and The Sum of All Fears (2002). Richard E. Grant has a very distinctive look as an actor. He's appeared in Withnail and I (1987), Henry & June (1990), Hudson Hawk (1991), L.A. Story (1991), The Player (1992), Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), The Age of Innocence (1993), The Portrait of a Lady (1996), A Merry War (1997), and Spice World (1998). Sophie Thompson, who is the sister of Emma Thompson, is another one of my old favorites from such films as Emma (1996) and Persuasion (1996).
Clive Owen is very convincing as Robert Parks. You may have seen him previously in Croupier (1999) or The Bourne Identity (2002). Helen Mirren has a pivotal role as Mrs. Wilson. Her other work has included parts in O Lucky Man! (1973), The Long Good Friday (1980), Excalibur (1981), The Mosquito Coast (1986), The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989), The Comfort of Strangers (1991), The Madness of King George (1994), The Prince of Egypt (1998), The Pledge (2001), and Last Orders (2001).
Bottom-Line: The Collector's Edition DVD for this film includes a commentary track with director Robert Altman (with Steven Altman and David Levy acting as prods), a second track featuring Oscar winning screenwriter Julian Fellowes, deleted scenes with optional commentary, a "making of" documentary, another documentary on the period authenticity, and a question and answer session with the cast and filmmakers.
For reasons that I touched on in the opening paragraph, I can't really recommend this film to viewers who are likely to want to watch it only once, either because that is their viewing habit or because of limited interest. It's just too complex and confusing a film to be satisfying on that basis. On the other hand, I highly recommend the film for those who cherish densely scripted period pieces with a richness of character portrayals and witty dialog that will reward multiple viewings over a period of time.
Recommended:
Yes
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