Review of Gosford Park (2001) by Archibald T — 24 Mar 2011

Welcome to Gosford Park. If you're looking to murder Sir William McCordle please try the library.

Relatives and friends join the Gosford Park estate inhabited by Sir William and his wife Sylvia. It is to be a weekend of fun, gossip, infidelity and murder.

There are many, many characters in this film and each one is as lively as the next. It was almost like watching real people instead of actors. Much of the first act is built around introducing everyone. From the upstairs are the rich and the downstairs are the servants.

Each character is as mysterious as the next and I kept wondering who the hell it was going to be to make the first strike against Sir William. Everybody has a motive. The inspector is oblivious as he investigates. He seems too interested in 'playing' an inspector than actually being one.

There's a shocking twist at the end I didn't see coming. You see Clive Owen's character was an orphan and had been a driver for seven years. So, arriving at the estate causes some tension with Mrs. Wilson the head servant played by Helen Mirren. The tension is never realized by Owen's character because she never tells him the truth.

The ending doesn't resolve much, but it leaves you satisfied knowing that you've just seen a bunch of actors doing what they do best.