Saturday, April 16, 2022

Gosford Park

Friday and Saturday night, Sharon and I watched Gosford Park. I stumbled on to the movie reading about Julian Fellowes after we finished watching the first season of The Glided Age.

Gosford Park is a 2001 satirical black comedy mystery film directed by Robert Altman and written by Julian Fellowes [The Glided Age, Downton Abbey]. The film stars an ensemble cast, which includes Eileen Atkins, Bob Balaban, Alan Bates, Charles Dance, Stephen Fry, Michael Gambon, Richard E. Grant, Derek Jacobi, Kelly Macdonald, Helen Mirren, Jeremy Northam, Clive Owen, Ryan Phillippe, Maggie Smith, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Emily Watson.

The story follows a party of wealthy Britons plus an American producer and their servants. They have gathered for a shooting weekend at Gosford Park, an English country house. A murder occurs after a dinner party. The film follows the subsequent investigation from the servants' and guests' perspectives.

Gosford Park was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Supporting Actress for both Mirren and Smith. It won Best Original Screenplay.

When the movie ended, Sharon said "that was awful." I liked it more than she did. Given the number of characters, it was a little difficult to follow all of the subplots. We ended up turning on the subtitles in order to follow the dialogue. You can see the roots of Downton Abbey in the film. I only recommend it as a curiosity in the context of Jullian Fellowes career and Best Picture nominees.

No comments:

Post a Comment