Gosford Park

Infobox Film
name = Gosford Park


caption = Original film poster
writer = Julian Fellowes
director = Robert Altman
producer = Robert Altman
Bob Balaban
David Levy
starring = Sir Michael Gambon
Dame Maggie Smith
Kelly Macdonald
Emily Watson
Helen Mirren
Clive Owen
Ryan Phillippe
Jeremy Northam
cinematography = Andrew Dunn
music = Patrick Doyle
distributor = USA Films
released = 7 November 2001 (LFF)
26 December 2001 (limited)
4 January 2002
1 February 2001
runtime = 137 minutes
language = English
country = flag|UK
budget = $19,800,000cite web |url=http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=gosfordpark.htm |title=Gosford Park |accessdate=2008-04-26 |author=Staff |work=Box Office Mojo ]
gross = $87,754,044
imdb_id = 0280707

"Gosford Park" is a 2001 film directed by Robert Altman. The screenplay is by Julian Fellowes, based on an idea by Altman and producer Bob Balaban. It features an ensemble cast including Sir Michael Gambon, Dame Maggie Smith, Dame Helen Mirren, Kristin Scott Thomas, Jeremy Northam, Bob Balaban, Ryan Phillippe, Stephen Fry, Kelly Macdonald, Clive Owen, Eileen Atkins, Emily Watson, Camilla Rutherford, Tom Hollander, Alan Bates, Sir Derek Jacobi, and Richard E. Grant.

The film is set in 1932 at an English country house. A party of wealthy Britons and Americans accompanied by their servants gather at the home of Sir William McCordle for a shooting weekend. A murder occurs in the middle of the night, the film presenting the murder from the servants' perspective. But rather than a simple mystery to be solved, the film uses the whodunit format to create a drama showcasing the tensions of the British class system. Many intertwining subplots detail the complex relationships among the characters, both above stairs (the wealthy guests) and below (the servants).

ynopsis

In the rainy November of 1932, the snobbish Constance, Countess of Trentham and her young, inexperienced and timid Scottish maid Mary Maceachran travel by car from the Countess' estate to Gosford Park, a country estate belonging to the Countess’ niece and nephew-in-law for a weekend shooting party. On the way there, they encounter another party also on their way to Gosford Park: the matinée idol Ivor Novello, his friend, Hollywood producer Morris Weissman and Henry Denton, Morris Weissman’s valet. Upon their arrival, the guests are greeted by Sir William McCordle, his rather younger wife and the Countess’ niece, Lady Sylvia McCordle, and their daughter Isobel.

Besides the Countess, Mr. Novello and Mr. Weissman, the “upstairs” guests include Lady Sylvia's sisters Louisa and Lavinia; their respective husbands, Lord Raymond Stockbridge and Commander Anthony Meredith; the Honourable Freddie Nesbitt and his "common" wife Mabel; Isobel's suitor Lord Rupert Standish and his friend Mr. Jeremy Blond. Lord Standish and Mr. Blond arrive during dinner service on the first evening, considerably later than the other guests.

The Nesbitts’ official association with the McCordles is not established with any certainty; the couple is also noticeably without ladies’ maid or valet. Mr. Nesbitt has married with an eye to his wife’s father's money, made from the manufacture of gloves; the money is now gone and the Nesbitts are in dire financial straits. In secret, Mr. Nesbitt is blackmailing Isobel with some past secret of hers in an effort to gain her assistance in procuring employment from Sir William. His behaviour seems to indicate that at one time, he had seduced Isobel; it is later revealed that the secret Mr. Nesbitt is using to blackmail Isobel is a pregnancy which was kept secret from her parents. It is not clear whether or not the child was Mr. Nesbitt’s, although the inference that Isobel had been seduced by him makes it likely. It is also inferred, but never clearly stated, that the child was aborted before Isobel’s parents might have independently discovered the affair.

Mrs. Nesbitt becomes convinced by her husband’s behaviour that her husband is seeking to re-establish the liaison while here, a conviction fueled by the derision directed at her by her husband and his ennobled acquaintances among the party. Her position as someone to be ridiculed by the party, in behaviour by most and openly by Lady Trentham, is further established by the fact that she has only brought one dress for evening. Disclaiming that she was rushed during packing by her husband and only brought one by mistake, it is later hinted that she only possesses one evening dress.

Another internal conflict among the upstairs guests is that Sir William and Commander Meredith are also in financial difficulty; an expedition to provide supplies and modern equipment to the Sudanese army is the Commander’s last chance to avoid financial ruin, and Sir William’s investment in the project is crucial to its success. Sir William intends to rescind his agreement to invest, and also intended to disclose that to the Commander the following week, after the shooting party. Commander Meredith’s insistence in bringing up the matter after a chance word between he and Isobel during the first evening’s dinner causes Sir William’s intentions to be revealed early. Lady Lavinia is supportive of her husband, whom she apparently married for love, and angry with her sisters that they will not use their influence to change Sir William’s mind.

Lady Trentham is stated to receive an allowance from Sir William; how often the payments are made and the size of the allowance is not established, but it is Lady Trentham and Lady Sylvia’s understanding that it would be paid for the remainder of Lady Trentham’s lifetime. Sir William comments to his wife before dinner the first evening that he is of a mind to stop paying the allowance entirely if Lady Trentham asks him for more money during the weekend, which Lady Sylvia warns her aunt about prior to dinner on the second night.

Lady Sylvia and Lady Louisa appear to be married to exactly the opposite sort of man than would suit either of them; discussion amongst the servants reveals that Lord Carton, the sisters’ father, was intent to have Sir William marry one of his elder two daughters but didn’t care which daughter married him. Lady Sylvia and Lady Louisa cut cards for the “privilege”, and Lady Sylvia won. It is blatantly apparent that Lady Louisa and Sir William are having an affair, and that Lady Sylvia would like to have one with Lord Stockbridge, who seems to rebuff her more serious attempts to flirt or invite such a liaison.

Mr. Weissman, who produces Charlie Chan mystery movies, is intent on conducting pre-production business for his newest film, “Charlie Chan in London”, over the course of the weekend. He appears to be encountering serious opposition to his casting and writing preferences on the film, and presents great annoyance to the English guests by placing several “urgent” calls to California. Mr. Novello, who is Sir William’s maternal first cousin once-removed, agreed to provide musical entertainment in the evenings in exchange for Sir William allowing Mr. Weissman to come and observe a shooting weekend; Mr. Weissman intends to use his observations to make the new film’s setting more realistic, as it will also be set at an English country estate during a shooting weekend.

The “downstairs” party for the weekend includes the servant staff of Gosford Park and the ladies’ maids and valets of the visitors. While many are not named, the notable characters are as follows:

Mary and Parks are instantly attracted to one another upon first meeting. Parks subtly flirts with Mary during many conversations over their duties. Over the course of the weekend, Mary’s inexperience is highlighted, although she is influenced in several ways by Parks, Mrs. Wilson, Elsie and the circumstances in general and has a better understanding of what is expected of her by the end of the film.

Denton, whose faux Scottish accent is noticed by nearly all the servant staff, is slightly better at covering his inexperience due to his appearance of smooth confidence. He asks a number of questions which gives the other servants pause, including asking the assembled staff at dinner on the first night who among them had parents in service, and whether or not it influenced their own decision to go into service. Several at the table raise their hands as having parents in service; Barnes states his parents were factory workers and he felt they had better positions than he. Dorothy claims that her parents were farmers and tenants of Lady Sylvia’s father, Lord Carton. Initially reluctant to give details, Parks indicates that he knows the occupations of his parents, but that knowledge did not influence his own decision to enter service, as he was raised in an orphanage outside London.

At that same dinner, Lady Sylvia meets Denton and is quite taken with his youthful handsomeness when she comes to inform Mrs. Wilson that Morris Weissman is a vegetarian. Mrs. Wilson informs her that Denton had already informed she and Mrs. Croft upon arriving at Gosford Park.

The first evening sees Sir William arrange for Elsie to come to him that evening with a careful glance and avoid allowing Lady Trentham to have a private word regarding her allowance. Bertha catching the eye of Mr. Blond upon their arrival and Lady Trentham reveals that Lady Sylvia and Lady Louisa cut cards for the honor of marrying Sir William to Mary. Denton attempts to rape Mary in the room he shares with Parks, though Parks interrupts; Denton later arranges an interlude with Lady Sylvia, taking advantage of her attraction to him. When going down to wash a shirt for Lady Trentham late in the evening, Mary interrupts the interlude between Mr. Blond and Bertha by walking into the next room and turning on the light, although Mary believes it is Sir William. Before dinner, the Nesbitts bitterly quarrel and Mr. Nesbitt nearly becomes physically violent with his wife, but Elsie comes back from seeking hairpins for Mrs. Nesbitt and interrupts the argument.

The next day is a pheasant hunt: while the gentlemen go out with the various hunting servants (beaters, dog handlers and loaders), the ladies linger in Lady Trentham’s rooms, with the exception of Isobel and Mrs. Nesbitt. Lady Lavinia upbraids her sisters for not trying harder to help her and her husband by preventing Sir William’s investment withdrawal. The tension between Lady Sylvia and her daughter becomes evident when Isobel comes in to say the cars are ready to take the ladies out to the gazebo pavilion for luncheon: Lady Sylvia expresses dismay at what Isobel is wearing, to which Isobel snaps back that Lady Sylvia herself purchased the outfit. Lady Trentham cuts another insult to Mrs. Nesbitt’s fashion sense, whom Lady Lavinia then defends.

During the hunt, Sir William's ear is grazed by a stray shot. No one is certain who fired it, although Mr. Novello, Mr. Weissman and Denton are not suspects because they are sitting aside observing and not carrying guns. During luncheon service, Commander Meredith tries to quietly plead with Sir William not to back out of the investment and, in desperation, causes him to drop a glass and alerts the entire party to the argument.

Just prior to dinner, while dressing for the evening, Lady Trentham insists upon knowing the servants’ gossip about the Commander’s situation, telling Mary that she only requires discretion about her own affairs in a ladies’ maid. During the dinner service, Lady Sylvia attacks Sir William’s character out of anger, implying that he was a profiteer during the war, that it was out of cowardice that he did not go into the armed services, and that all he is interested in is money and guns. Elsie, who had become fond of Sir William during their liaison because he talked to her like a person, loses her temper and snaps at Lady Sylvia, betraying the affair with her start of a defense for Sir William and calling him “Billy”. Knowing that this is grounds for immediate dismissal, Elsie stares Lady Sylvia down for a moment and then leaves the dining room before anyone can verbally respond. Sir William angrily closets himself in the library and the other guests adjourn to the dining room; Lady Sylvia confides in her sisters that she knew about the affair, and this has given her the excuse she needed to dismiss Elsie. She then asks Mr. Novello to play while the party clusters in the drawing room to converse and play bridge.

The servants cluster in the dining hall to hear what happened from those who were serving. Jennings disperses them, particularly reprimanding George and Dorothy. Eventually, listening to Mr. Novello playing and singing at the piano, the servants cluster in various doorways to listen. Denton goes up to Elsie’s room to offer a drink and sexual comfort, but she rebuffs him, having no interest. Mrs. Wilson comes into the library bringing Sir William a cup of coffee while he cleans his guns. In a fit of anger, he knocks it out of her hand and demands a glass of whiskey.

While Mr. Novello plays, four people disappear: Parks, George, Mr. Nesbitt and Commander Meredith. Intercut with images of the servants enjoying the music in many different parts of the house, an unknown man slips out, puts on muddy over-shoes and removes a missing silver carving knife from where it was hidden in a fire bucket. Only black-trouser-clad legs are visible to the viewer. The man goes to the library and stabs Sir William in the chest, pushing the body over. All four missing men then reappear: Commander Meredith and Mr. Nesbitt do not offer an explanation of their disappearances; George was ostensibly fetching more milk for the coffee service, though he begged a cigarette from another servant, but was gone far too long for Jennings’ liking; and Parks was fetching and filling the hot water bottles both he and Mary would need for their employers later.

Lady Sylvia despairs of talking to Sir William about the incident and defusing his anger; she asks Lady Louisa to try, declaring that Sir William has always preferred Louisa to Sylvia. Lady Louisa enters the study and finds Sir William slumped over the desk. Initially believing him to be asleep, she approaches and discovers he is dead. Her hysterical screams bring gentry and servants alike to the library, where Lord Standish attempts to keep Isobel out of the room, Lady Lavinia faints, Lady Louisa is passed off to another man in her hysteria and Lady Sylvia stumbles to a couch and sits down in numb shock. After assessing the situation, Lord Stockbridge steps out, hangs the phone up on Mr. Weissman (who was on the phone with someone in California at the time and did not even abandon his conversation when Lady Louisa began screaming hysterically in the next room), and then calls the local constabulary.

A short time later, Inspector Thomson and Constable Dexter, along with several others, arrive to begin investigating the situation. The inspector's competent assistant notices that there is little blood coming from the stab wound, suggesting that Sir William was already dead when he was stabbed. The inspector makes several procedural errors in that initial evening, including allowing Lady Sylvia to interrupt him and to make introductions, ignoring Constable Dexter’s observations, having Probert brought up into the library before the body is examined and removed to answer questions, and allowing Probert to sit Sir William up, revealing the knife buried in his chest.

The various servants are informed that the Inspector and constables will not allow anyone to leave, including Elsie, whom Mrs. Wilson orders to remain in her rooms until the house arrest is lifted. Denton confesses his real background to Jennings, and it quickly makes the rounds among the servants. Jennings immediately moves him out of the servants’ quarters and into his own room, as he should not be treated as a valet but as a guest. Denton offers consolation to Lady Sylvia, who does not know he is an American yet.

The next morning, Lady Sylvia goes for her usual morning ride after breakfasting in her room in violation of the house arrest. Inspector Thomson is surprised by this, clearly not having anticipated that the widow would not be prostrate with grief above-stairs. The other guests sit down to a breakfast buffet, including Mr. Denton, who now makes no pretence of being a servant and whom Jennings treats with dismissive contempt. Jennings also reassigns George as valet to Mr. Weissman as well as Lord Standish, and Parks volunteers as valet to Mr. Novello after Jennings refuses to add him to Arthur’s duties. Mr. Denton is not assigned a valet out of contempt for his subterfuge.

Inspector Thomson begins to question the upstairs guests over the course of the day: Lady Trentham is asked about her allowance, which is no longer in danger of being revoked now that Sir William is dead. Mary is also asked if she knows anything about the disagreement over the allowance while Lady Trentham is present (another breach of police procedure); she impresses Lady Trentham by denying any knowledge of the allowance whatsoever and stating that Lady Trentham and Sir William got on well. Lord Stockbridge is asked about the low shot that grazed Sir William the day before, about which he withholds details: he in fact knows that Commander Meredith fired the shot, but did not disclose that to the Inspector because he believed it to be an accident owing to the Commander’s short stature. Barnes, however, overhears Commander Meredith tell Lady Lavinia that Sir William’s death was a lucky thing for them, as the investment Sir William promised is now also secure; he discloses it to Inspector Thomson out of contempt for his employer, who is then interrogated at length over the low shot due to his apparent motive.

Elsie has snuck into Isobel’s room to talk with her, having become the girl’s confidante. She shows Elsie a note left by Mr. Nesbitt during his disappearance from the drawing room threatening to reveal her secret if Sir William does not provide him with a job. Elsie comments on how stupid the note was. Isobel then asks if Elsie will be all right and if she is “in trouble” (pregnant). Elsie tells her that she is not pregnant, but she expects to manage just fine once she leaves. Later, still being pressed by Mr. Nesbitt, Isobel writes him a cheque. Mrs. Nesbitt, who sees the exchange, demands to know what Isobel gave him. Her husband shows it to her and then tears it up in a fit of rage over his wife’s questioning him, declaring that she can buy herself a new dress with the fragments.

Commander Meredith spends dinner hiding in the pantry below stairs, eating jams and wondering about why some men are lucky financially and some aren’t, though not for lack of trying. After asking Dorothy about the idea, she replies fervently that she believes love is the only thing that matters, even if it is not reciprocated. Commander Meredith mulls this for a moment, applies the idea to his own situation due to the love-match he enjoys with Lady Lavinia, and goes up to join the party in the drawing room. Mr. Denton is also in the drawing room, having been refused even an opportunity to explain or apologize for his actions to the staff. George dumps hot coffee in Denton’s lap as an act of revenge.

Having formally interviewed only three servants (Mrs. Croft, Mary and Barnes), Inspector Thomson announces to the servants that the party will be allowed to leave in the morning, as the servants had no “real connection with the dead man” and therefore need not be questioned. The servants appear stunned by this idea, but are relieved that their duties will not be unduly overburdened by a lengthy house arrest of the shooting party.

That night Elsie tells Mary how she did not love Sir William but did not mind him. She also tells Mary what Sir William used to tell her: "Carpe diem, seize the day." Inspired by this statement, Mary runs to Parks’ room. She there confesses her disbelief at the idea that Parks could have been the one to murder Sir William, declaring that Parks would have had to hate Sir William and they had never met before this weekend. Parks replies with a question: “Can’t a man hate his own father?”

His further explanation of his motive is interwoven with an exposition given to Bertha by Mrs. Croft earlier in the day: Parks’ mother worked in one of Sir William’s factories some thirty years earlier, and Sir William had a reputation for seducing the female factory workers. If a woman became pregnant and had the baby, Sir William offered two choices: keep the baby and lose your job, or give the baby up and keep your job. Those who gave up their babies to save their jobs were told that the adoptions were being privately arranged by Sir William with good families of his acquaintance. According to Parks, that was a deception; in reality, Sir William was paying off those who ran the orphanages to take the children and keep their paternity secret. Parks discovered his father’s identity just before his 18th birthday, when, as part of a group, he broke into the administration office to see his file. He entered service and worked his way up in an attempt to gain employment with someone in Sir William’s circle of acquaintance and thereby an opportunity to kill him.

Mary is shocked at the cold-blooded premeditation, numbly asking why Parks chose poison. When Parks tells her that he didn’t poison Sir William, Mary has a moment of wild hope that Parks stabbed him only because he knew Sir William was dead, but Parks gently disabuses her of the notion. He then passionately kisses Mary, who returns the embrace, but leaves when the kiss ends, shaken by what she has learned.

The next day Lady Sylvia returns from her morning ride to find that the Stockbridges, Lady Trentham, Mr. Novello and Mr. Weissman are still in residence but are preparing to leave; the Merediths, the Nesbitts, Lord Standish and Mr. Blond have already left. As they are leaving, Isobel overhears Mr. Blond telling Lord Standish that he can do better than Isobel because he would have to wait too long to get his hands on the McCordle money, as Lady Sylvia is now in charge of the estate. Isobel tearfully ends the courtship between herself and Lord Standish, thinking he was only interested in her for her father’s money; Lord Standish was genuinely interested in Isobel, and leaves Gosford Park angry and hurt because his friend’s comment had caused Isobel to think otherwise.

Coming to her aunt’s rooms, Lady Sylvia and Lady Trentham discuss what she intends to do with the house, and the conversation drifts to speculation over why Mrs. Croft and Mrs. Wilson are such bitter enemies. Mary listens as Lady Sylvia tells her aunt that Mrs. Croft used to be a cook in one of William's factories, apparently a higher rank than factory line worker, which was Mrs. Wilson’s position in the same factory. It is Lady Sylvia’s belief that the tension between them stems from the fact that Mrs. Wilson now outranks Mrs. Croft. Lady Trentham asks if Mrs. Wilson was ever married; Lady Sylvia replies that she must have been, as her name was “Parks or Parker or something like that” when she worked in the factory.

Slipping downstairs as the final guests are preparing to leave, Mary openly asks Mrs. Wilson how she knew Robert was her son. Initially avoiding a direct answer, Mrs. Wilson avoids the question but admits that she saw the picture of his mother on his nightstand. She in time reveals that she and Mrs. Croft are sisters, that the enmity between them really has two causes: 1) that she gave her child up, while her sister kept hers and lost her job; and 2) that when her sister’s child died from scarlet fever, she made Sir William give her sister her job back. Mrs. Croft had never forgiven her sister for either.

Mrs. Wilson then reveals, at Mary’s prompting, that she anticipated her son’s homicidal intentions, and that by poisoning Sir William herself, she had removed her son from danger: there isn’t much of a crime in stabbing a dead man, and therefore, the authorities would not pursue him when investigating the death. She also informs Mary that good servants must possess the gift of anticipation, and that she is the perfect servant: she knows when others will need something before they themselves know, and it is presented precisely when necessary… and she has no life of her own; therefore, she has nothing to lose if she is discovered by the authorities to be the murderess. Mary asks if Mrs. Wilson will tell Parks that she is his mother; Mrs. Wilson avoids the question, asking instead what purpose Mary thinks it would serve for him to know. Mary, contemplating everything she has learned, goes to meet the car and Lady Trentham.

Stepping into her own room after a brief word with Dorothy, Mrs. Wilson loses her unflappable composure and dissolves into hysterical sobs. Mrs. Croft comes in to comfort her, offering forgiveness by telling her that at least her child is alive, and that Mrs. Croft realizes Mrs. Wilson was only doing what she felt was best for her child.

She bids farewell to Elsie and Parks, noting with some amusement that Elsie is taking Sir Williams’ dog with her (Lady Sylvia had always hated the dog, kicking it at one point during the movie). Lady Trentham worries that she or Mary might have to testify at a trial, and speculates with horror over the notion of someone being hanged due to such testimony. Mary echoes Mrs. Wilson’s sentiment, rhetorically asking what purpose it would serve. This answer apparently reassures Lady Trentham, and the movie closes with Lady Sylvia re-entering Gosford Park and Jennings closing the door.

Cast and characters

Upstairs

*Sir Michael Gambon as Sir William McCordle, a cad, husband to Lady Sylvia
*Dame Maggie Smith as Constance, Countess of Trentham, aunt of Sylvia, Louisa, and Lavinia
*Kristin Scott Thomas as Lady Sylvia McCordle, Sir William's wife
*Camilla Rutherford as Isobel McCordle, the daughter of Sir William and Lady Sylvia
*Natasha Wightman as Lady Lavinia Meredith, sister of Louisa and Sylvia
*Tom Hollander as Lieutenant-Commander Anthony Meredith, husband to Lady Lavinia
*Geraldine Somerville as Louisa, Lady Stockbridge, sister of Lavinia and Sylvia, wife to Lord Stockbridge
*Charles Dance as Raymond, Lord Stockbridge, husband to Lady Louisa
*James Wilby as The Hon. Freddie Nesbitt, a rake, husband to Mabel
*Claudie Blakley as Mabel Nesbitt, Freddie Nesbitt's wife
*Laurence Fox as Lord Rupert Standish, the younger son of a marquess; apparently invited to Gosford Park by Lady Sylvia to woo Isobel
*Trent Ford as Jeremy Blond, Lord Rupert's friend
*Jeremy Northam as Ivor Novello, an actor, Sir William's second cousin
*Bob Balaban as Morris Weissman, a Hollywood producer

Downstairs

*Alan Bates as Jennings, the butler
*Helen Mirren as Mrs. Wilson, the housekeeper
*Eileen Atkins as Mrs. Croft, the cook
*Ryan Phillippe as Henry Denton, Morris Weissman's manservant
*Emily Watson as Elsie, the head housemaid, one of Sir William's lovers
*Richard E. Grant as George, a footman
*Clive Owen as Robert Parks, valet to Lord Stockbridge
*Derek Jacobi as Probert, Sir William's valet
*Kelly Macdonald as Mary Maceachran, Lady Trentham's lady's maid
*Sophie Thompson as Dorothy, the Still Room Maid
*Meg Wynn Owen as Lewis, Lady Sylvia's lady's maid
*Jeremy Swift as Arthur, a footman
*Adrian Scarborough as Barnes, Commander Meredith's valet
*Teresa Churcher as Bertha, a kitchen maid

Outsiders

*Stephen Fry as Inspector Thompson, a policeman
*Ron Webster as Constable Dexter, Thompson's assistant

Themes

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 and also touches on gay issues, such as the implied relationship between Henry and Weissman. As it is set in 1932, between World Wars I and II, the impact of the First World War is also explored in the film's screenplay. [cite web |url=http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9804EFD81531F935A15751C1A9679C8B63 |title=Full of Baronial Splendor and Hatefulness |accessdate=2008-04-26 |last=Holden |first=Stephen |authorlink=Stephen Holden |date=2001-12-26 |work=The New York Times |publisher=The New York Times Company ] 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. [cite web |url=http://www.popmatters.com/film/reviews/g/gosford-park-dvd.shtml |title=Gosford Park |accessdate=2008-04-26 |last=Fuchs |first=Cynthia |date=2002-06-27 |work=PopMatters ]

Salon.com critic Steven Johnson notes a revival of the manor house mystery style, popularized 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. [cite web |url=http://dir.salon.com/story/ent/movies/feature/2002/01/24/gosford_novels/ |title=The ghosts of "Gosford Park" |accessdate=2008-04-26 |last=Johnson |first=Steven |date=2002-01-24 |work=Salon.com ] 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.cite video |people=Miller, Danny (Director); Gill, Kevin (Executive Producer) |date2=2001-12-14 |title=The Making of Gosford Park |medium=DVD |publisher=USA Films ]

*In the film reference is made to the film -an actual film first made by Alfred Hitchcock in 1927 and remade in 1932 starring the real Ivor Novello

Production

Actors and screenplay

In "Gosford Park", as well as many other Altman films, the director had a list of actors he intended to appear in the film before it was cast formally. The film's casting director was Mary Selway, who was described by the producer David Levy as knowing many British actors.cite video |people=Hammond, Pete (Moderator) et al |date2=2002-03-08 |title=Cast and Filmmaker's Q&A Session |medium=DVD |publisher=USA Films ] Julian Fellowes, the film's writer, says the screenplay was "not an homage to Agatha Christie, but a reworking of that genre." Altman did not want to use the script directly for the film, rather as a starting point for the actors, thus Fellowes was credited not only as the film's writer but also as a technical advisor, meaning that he wrote portions of the film as it was being produced. He notes that, when writing a large scene with many actors and characters, not everything that the characters would say during the scene is scripted and instead leaves the actors to improvise other lines.

Filming and editing

Filming was conducted at Syon House for upstairs bedrooms and Wrotham Park for the exteriors, staircase, dining room and drawing room. Sound stages were built to film the scenes of the manor's downstairs area.cite web |url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20020101/REVIEWS/201010302/1023 |title=Gosford Park |accessdate=2008-04-26 |last=Ebert |first=Roger |authorlink=Roger Ebert |date=2002-01-02 |work=Chicago Sun-Times |publisher=Sun-Times Media Group ] Shepperton Studios was used for off-location filming. [cite web |url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0280707/locations |title=Filming locations for Gosford Park (2001) |accessdate=2008-04-26 |author=Staff |work=Internet Movie Database |publisher=Amazon.com ]

The film was shot with two cameras, both moving perpetually in opposite directions. The cameras pointed toward no specific area, intended to cause the audience to move their eyes throughout the scene. Altman notes that most of the film's cast had experience in theatre as well as film, meaning that they had acted in situations where the view of the audience is not on one specific actor and each audience member sees a slightly different image of the players on stage. Andrew Dunn, the film's cinematographer, appreciated the co-operative nature of "Gosford Park"'s filming process. He shot the film on Kodak Kodak Vision Expression 500T film stock generally with two Panavision cameras, using lighting ranging from relatively dim candles to bright hydrargyrum medium-arc iodide lamps. [cite web |url=http://www.kodak.com/US/plugins/acrobat/en/motion/newsletters/inCamera/jan2002/gosford.pdf |title=Andrew Dunn BSC tracks mysterious movements at "Gosford Park" |accessdate=2008-04-26 |year=2002 |month=January |work=In Camera |publisher=Eastman Kodak |pages=4–5 ] Editor Tim Squyres described the editing process on "Gosford Park" as an unusual one, as the dual cameras used were generally located in the same areas when filming, instead of the more standard method of setting up a scene directly.cite web |url=http://www.moviemaker.com/editing/article/breaking_away_2806/ |title=Breaking Away |accessdate=2008-05-01 |last=Wood |first=Jennifer M. |date=2007-02-03 |work=MovieMaker ]

Reception

Infobox movie certificates
Australia = M
Brazil = 14
Canada = 14A
France = U
Germany = 12
Hong_Kong = IIA
United_Kingdom = 15
United_States = R

The film came into wide release on 18 January 2002 and left theatres on 6 June 2002. According to the film website Box Office Mojo, "Gosford Park" received a total of $87,754,044 in its combined total gross at the box office. The review aggregator Metacritic listed the film's overall reception at 90 percent, which corresponds with "universal acclaim" [cite web |url=http://www.metacritic.com/video/titles/gosfordpark |title=Gosford Park (2001): Reviews |accessdate=2008-04-26 |author=Staff |work=Metacritic |publisher=CNET Networks ] and Rotten Tomatoes at 86 percent. [cite web |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/gosford_park/ |title=Gosford Park (2001) |accessdate=2008-05-01 |author=Staff |work=Rotten Tomatoes ] The film received an overwhelmingly positive response from critics, including Roger Ebert, who awarded it his highest rating of four stars, describing the story as "such a joyous and audacious achievement it deserves comparison with his [Robert Altman's] very best movies." Ebert specifically noted a quality of the film that many Altman films share: a focus on character rather than plot. Emanuel Levy, an independent critic, gave "Gosford Park" an A minus rating. He described one of its themes as "illuminating a society and a way of life on the verge of extinction,"cite web |url=http://emanuellevy.com/article.php?articleID=2152 |title=Gosford Park |accessdate=2008-04-27 |last=Levy |first=Emanuel |authorlink=Emanuel Levy |work=EmanuelLevy.com ] placing the interwar setting as an integral part of the film's class study. However, he notes that because Altman is an independent observer of the society he portrays in the film, it does not have the biting qualities of his previous social commentaries such as "Short Cuts", set in the director's home country of the United States.

"Gosford Park"'s cinematography was a focus of several critics. CNN's Paul Clinton praised Andrew Dunn's camera work, describing it as "lush and rich; the camera glides up and down the stairs of the grand estate, the period look is beautifully crafted." [cite web |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/04/review.gosford.park/index.html |title=Review: 'Gosford Park' a winning mystery |accessdate=2008-04-26 |last=Clinton |first=Paul |authorlink=Paul Clinton |date=2002-01-04 |work=CNN ] Ed Gonzalez of the Internet publication "Slant Magazine" writes that "Altman's camera is the star of "Gosford Park" and that the film's cinematography is used as an aid to its storytelling.cite web |url=http://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/dvd_review.asp?ID=32 |title=DVD Review: Gosford Park |accessdate=2008-04-26 |last=Gonzalez |first=Ed |date=2002-05-26 |work=Slant Magazine ]

Awards

"Gosford Park" won the Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film at the British Academy Film Awards in 2002. It also won the Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay and was nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Helen Mirren), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Maggie Smith), Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Costume Design, Best Director, and Best Picture.

oundtrack

Infobox Album
Name = Gosford Park
Type = soundtrack
Artist = Patrick Doyle and Ivor Novello


Released = 15 January 2002
Recorded =
Genre = Soundtrack
Length =
Label = Decca Records
Producer =
Reviews =

Altman discussed the direction the film's soundtrack would take with composer Patrick Doyle, suggesting that the soundtrack should not attempt to direct the audience to any particular part of the film, but to support it nonetheless.cite web |url=http://www.deccaclassics.com/music/soundtracks/gosfordpark.html |title=Gosford Park |accessdate=2008-04-26 |last=Doyle |first=Patrick |authorlink=Patrick Doyle |coauthors=Altman, Robert |publisher=Decca Records ] Another potential issue in the soundtrack's composition was the integration of Ivor Novello songs with the overall score. Altman noted that both of these aspects were handled well by the composer. Doyle used the film's main character, Mary, as a focal point for his composition, taking influences from her Scottish nationality and incorporating them into the score. He described the collaboration with Altman as "one of the happiest of my career."

The film review website SoundtrackNet reviewed the soundtrack positively, despite a lukewarm review for the film at large. The critic, Glenn McClanan, praises Doyle's scoring as "effective and surprisingly well-developed."cite web |url=http://www.soundtrack.net/albums/database/?id=2960 |title=Review |accessdate=2008-04-26 |last=McClanan |first=Glenn |date=2003-08-30 |work=SoundtrackNet ] He goes on to say that the score was intended mainly for two purposes: to give the audience a sense of the film's setting and to impart to the audience a sense of emotion, and that the film is successful in both endeavours.

Track listing

# "Waltz of My Heart" – Ivor Novello
# "Mr. Parks" – Patrick Doyle
# "Gosford Park" – Patrick Doyle
# "Bored to Sobs" – Patrick Doyle
# "The Shirt" – Patrick Doyle
# "And Her Mother Came Too" – Ivor Novello
# "Walking to Shoot" – Patrick Doyle
# "No Smoke Without Fire" – Patrick Doyle
# "Scherzo in G" – Patrick Doyle
# "I Can Give You the Starlight" – Ivor Novello
# "What a Duke Should Be" – Ivor Novello
# "Inspector Thompson" – Patrick Doyle
# "Pull Yourself Together" – Patrick Doyle
# "Life Goes On" – Patrick Doyle
# "Secrets to Hide" – Patrick Doyle
# "Only for a While" – Patrick Doyle
# "Rather a Pasting'" – Patrick Doyle
# "Love Jam" – Patrick Doyle
# "Why Isn't It You?" – Ivor Novello
# "The Way It's Meant to Be" – Patrick Doyle
# "Carpe Diem" – Patrick Doyle
# "Good Luck" – Patrick Doyle
# "Your Boy's Alive" – Patrick Doyle
# "The Land of Might-Have-Been" – Ivor Novello

DVD release

The region 1 DVD of "Gosford Park" was released on 25 June 2002, with the region 2 release on 3 December 2002. The critic Ed Gonzalez reviewed the DVD negatively, calling the picture quality "atrocious on the small screen," going on to say that "the image quality of this video transfer is downright lousy from start to finish." However, reviewer Robert Mack generally wrote favourably of the picture quality, noting excellence in the shots' detail and sharpness and the lack of compression artefacts, but describing an unfavourable darkness to scenes filmed within the manor house.cite web |url=http://www.dvd.net.au/review.cgi?review_id=1881 |title=Gosford Park |accessdate=2008-04-27 |last=Mack |first=Robert |work=DVD.net.au ] Both reviewers commented positively on the film's score and soundtrack. Gonzalez wrote that "Gosford Park" sounds amazing for a film so dialogue-dependent" and Mack that "the audio transfer is about as good as it can get on a movie of this style."

References

External links

###@@@KEY@@@###s-achsuccession box
before = "Billy Elliot"
after = "The Warrior"
title = Alexanda Korda Award for Best British Film
years = 2001|succession box
before = "Almost Famous" – Cameron Crowe
after = "Talk to Her" – Pedro Almodóvar
title = Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay
years = 2001|