Taglines: Tea At Four. Dinner At Eight. Murder At Midnight.
Set in the 1930s, the story takes place in an old-fashioned English country house where a weekend shooting party is underway. The story centers on the McCordle family, particularly the man of the house, William McCordle. Getting on in years, William has become benefactor to many of his relatives and friends. As the weekend goes on, secrets are revealed, and it seems everyone, above stairs and below, wants a piece of William and his money, but how far will they go to get it?
Gosford Park is a 2001 British mystery film directed by Robert Altman and written by Julian Fellowes. 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 and an American, and their servants, who gather for a shooting weekend at Gosford Park, an English country house. A murder occurs after a dinner party, and the film goes on to present the subsequent investigation from the servants’ and guests’ perspectives.
The film is a study of the British class system during the 1930s; Stephen Fry, Inspector Thompson in the film, says that it shows the upper class’s dependency on a servant class. A number of secondary themes are also explored. For example, the film takes a subtle look at sexual mores during the 1930s. As it is set in 1932, between the world wars, the impact of the First World War is also explored in the film’s screenplay. It also mentions the decline of the British Empire and the peerage system. Writing for PopMatters, Cynthia Fuchs described surface appearances, rather than complex interpersonal relationships, as a theme of the film.
Salon.com critic Steven Johnson notes a revival of the manor house mystery style, popularised by the writings of Agatha Christie, in the screenplay for Gosford Park. He called it a blend between this literary style and that of the 19th century novel. Bob Balaban, an actor and producer for Gosford Park, says that the idea of creating a murder mystery told by the servants in the manor was an interesting one for him and Altman.
Themes from the film were picked up and integrated into the series Downton Abbey by Julian Fellowes. Maggie Smith starred again in her role as a dowager countess, this time her title not being Trentham but Grantham; the family are related to the Marquess (rather than the Earl) of Flintshire.
The film was successful at the box office, grossing over $87 million in cinemas worldwide, making it Altman’s second most successful film after MASH. Widely acclaimed by critics, it received multiple awards and nominations, including seven Academy Award nominations and nine British Academy Film Awards nominations.
Gosford Park (2002)
Directed by: Robert Altman
Starring: Eileen Atkins, Bob Balaban, Alan Bates, Charles Dance, Stephen Fry, Michael Gambon, Richard E. Grant, Derek Jacobi, Kelly Macdonald, Helen Mirren, Clive Owen, Maggie Smith, Kristin Scott Thomas, Emily Watson
Screenplay by: Julian Fellowes
Production Design by: Stephen Altman
Cinematography by: Andrew Dunn
Film Editing by: Tim Squyres
Costume Design by: Jenny Beavan
Set Decoration by: Anna Pinnock
Art Direction by: John Frankish, Sarah Hauldren
Music by: Patrick Doyle
MPAA Rating: R for some language and brief sexuality.
Distributed by: USA Films
Release Date: January 18, 2002
Visits: 59
