Gosford Park
(**)
review by Ken Gumbs
I felt bad. I felt very bad. I walked up and down the street after watching
it. I tried to go over the film in my head. What was the problem? What is wrong
with me? How could everyone love Gosford Park, everyone except me. Yes, I am
even afraid to say it myself, I disliked Gosford Park. There, I said it. I hope
they don’t take away my film school degree for this.
The acting of course was superb. There were also plenty of Brits in this cast
and anyone in Hollywood knows that English
accents usually mean quality acting. Robert Altman is no doubt one of the best
directors working out of Hollywood and he has assembled a wonderful cast. Location
and costuming makes this 1930’s English Countryside look beautiful and
authentic.
With all this praise why such a low score? I went into Gosford Park looking
for a whodunit and I came out with a whocares.
A weekend shooting event turns into a murder mystery that is not too mysterious.
The murder takes place after 80 minutes of draging character introductions.
80 minutes only begins to tell the stories of the over 40 actors that all have
parts in this film.
While ensemble casts have become common in Altman’s films, this cast makes
this secluded English mansion seem cluttered and confusing. And the murder mystery
turns out to be not only predictable but boring. Altman was trying to
comment on the social hierarchies in England between the world wars instead
of making a Charlie Chan murder mystery.
The relationships between the rich people upstairs and the poor servants downstairs
is where the real story should have been. The problem is that soon the rich
snobs upstairs and the boring servants downstairs both seem equally annoying.
And then your left with a 2.5 hour, well directed film with a bunch of annoying
Brits.
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