Review of Gosford Park (2001) by Mirko B — 08 Sep 2008

I'm a big fan of Poirot so country-house-whodunnits appeal to me considerably. One of the first things you notice about Altman's film is how much effort was put into portraying the era properly, from the period interiors and costume design to the text as such.

Now, in some cases all this leads to fall-outs where it really matters, like acting(think Titanic), but that trap was successfully overcome by Altman's marvelous directing. An all-star team of British actors(Maggie Smith, Helen Mirren, K.

S. Thomas, Stephen Fry...) make this a film an absolute delight to watch. A group of England's 1930's beautiful people gathers at a country estate where the habitual hunting party gets an unexpected spice in the form of a murder.

The succeeding events lead to shocking reveals of all kinds, giving the viewer a pedantic, detailed analysis of the English society and its class discrepancies during the glamorous 1930's...