|
HugeReviews.com Reviews:
Gosford
Park—A Review (to be Read in a British Accent)
by Michael Flanagan
HUGE
Gosford Park answers
the riddle of how to enjoy a whodunit after
you’ve seen it once, when repeat viewings would
only seem to be used to look for the clues you may
have missed the first time.
Those types of films get old pretty
quickly. Gosford
Park is infinitely rewatchable, mainly due to
the fact that the murder—the icon of the
whodunit—just doesn’t matter.
The murderers, on the other hand, are
central to this tale of the human condition.
What propels this film is its
cast. Its
setting is classic, its story wonderful, but the
many (many) people who grace us, the audience,
with their powerful screen presence are at the
center of the master class of quality that makes
up Gosford Park.
I will say nothing more about them—all
were wonderful—but to provide a link to the
listing at The Internet Movie Database (imdb.com).
One must pay homage to the
wonderful set.
The house of Gosford Park consists of
endless hallways, twists and turns, and secret
passages that will delight any fan of Clue,
while at the same time impress you with its
natural beauty and structure.
The libraries, banquet halls, lounges, and
bedrooms that make up “Above Stairs” are
extremely well designed by Stephen Altman, son of
director Robert Altman.
“Below Stairs” also fits the story
perfectly, with dark, not quite dank hallways,
crowded kitchens, and windowless bedrooms.
What perhaps makes this massive set even
more impressive is that, halfway through the film,
you know where everything is.
If asked, at the beginning of the second
act, how to get from the kitchen to the front
door, I could easily find my way, not that I would
want to leave!
And then there’s Robert
Altman. His films have always impressed me by creating a sense of
realism where most unknowingly fail.
In Altman’s films, there is no classical
story structure; there is character development
within an established story—such as the Korean
War in M*A*S*H, Hollywood in The Player,
or the fashion industry in Prêt-à-Porter.
People speak over one another
simultaneously, and most of the time it’s not
scripted. Altman
works with pure improvisation, allowing the actors
to move their characters through a scene with only
the idea of the scripted scene and not necessarily
the exact words.
This works brilliantly with the talented
cast of Gosford Park, and it also provides
another reason to see the film: with multiple
characters speaking at once, combined with rooms
full of various styles of British accents, you
have to see it multiple times just to get the
dialogue—not that missing some takes away from
the experience.
And the conclusion, the
solution to the crime…is drama.
Drama in the classical sense of the word.
Powerfully good drama that doesn’t try to
wrap up the story in a complete package.
Altman has created a world with Gosford
Park, and to try to wrap up a world, by its
very nature, is impossible.
I could go on about Gosford Park for
pages, but the best way to convey the
near-perfection of the film is to see it. Enjoy it. Then
see it again.
I will be buying the DVD, if only for the
subtitles!
Well, alright, one more
thing…Upon leaving the theatre in which I
had just enjoyed this film, I stopped at the
men’s room.
The brass sign on the door of this
particular art house cinema was engraved with the
title “Gentlemen.”
I smiled at the appropriateness, tapped my
top hat, and went in.
|
