Gosford Park
The Julian Fellowes -scripted film Gosford Park, superficially a country-house murder mystery, is much more, some would say too much more. Risking a “too many notes, Mozart” observation, while the complexity of the above and below stairs stories allows for a huge and very starry British cast, it also reduces the power of the themes of class distinctions, sexuality, and abuse of power that it tries to explore. As for the mystery element, it sadly albeit with a twist follows death-drama rule one wherein the killer must be the most celebrated performer.
But Robert Altman’s unusual camera positioning and the skill of the cast, make it an interesting technical watch, the stagey production allowing – encouraging - a certain amount of scene stealing: Stephen Fry , Helen Mirren , Michael Gambon , Tom Hollander, Clive Owen , Derek Jacobi , Richard E. Grant , Alan Bates , Maggie Smith , Kristin Scott Thomas , the list goes on.
Altman chose some wonderful locations to frame the piece, including Wrotham Park and Syon House . It is eye-candy architecturally and for star spotters. But in the end, perhaps by design, it leaves the viewer feeling exhausted with following the tangled plot-threads, and not really caring for or about any of the characters.
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