Review of Gosford Park (2001) by Keithm. — 08 Jul 2006

I wonder if we all watch the same movie when we sit in the dark together. A disingenuous statement, of course: our attitudes, expectations, distractions, taste, intelligence, knowledge, biases, and the state of our bladders after consuming pails of Coke all ensure we see something different.

With Gosford Park I read of tedium, familiar territory, tiresomeness, boredom. What I saw in my several viewings was an embracing yet acerbic melange of genres polished to a single piece through a screenplay larded with wit, superb filming, and masterful performances.

I think that as an indictment and acknowledgement of a period at its end and its denizens, it is as fine a movie as The Rules of the Game. Olympian.