I’m the perfect servant; I have no life.
I am sure anyone with an interest in the artistic side of motion pictures is familiar with the work of Robert Altman. And I’m sure anyone interested in Altman has seen his 2001 Academy-Award winning Victorian whodunnit Gosford Park.
Gosford Park is a rare film in the fact that, as I was watching it, I was not sure if I was enjoying it. Heck, I am still not sure. It is definitely hard to criticize since Altman directs the technicalities with perfection. But it is the basic areas that leave much to be desired.
The acting is fine. Great, even. The cast is filled with a charming blend of stars and character actors alike, and all come out very realistic and well-performed.
The film is a marvelous example of a period piece, and takes the next step by giving an accurate and interesting behind-the-curtains representation of what the servants were up to, and how they satisfied the needs of a houseful of snobby British elitists.
Screenwriter Julien Fellows won an Oscar for his work here, and there is no denying he did a fine job. At least, he seemed to do a fine job. It sounded like what I suspect a British snob from the thirties would sound like. I think.
The problem arrives in the pacing. The film is marketed as a whodunnit, it has all the elements of a whodunnit, but the murder does not take place until over halfway through the movie. And the movie is 2hrs 20mins long. Now, I’m usually the last person to complain about length. I love long movies. I feel cheated when I spend $10 to sit in a theater for a mere 80 minutes. But here… it just does not work.
I see what was intended, though. There is an entire house of people, obviously it takes some time to introduce us to them – to find motives and pick out the future suspects. But, in spite of an entire house of people (no, I did not count), only around five are applicable suspects when the murder rolls around. Everyone else is just… there. To… scream and faint and… act all British and snobby?
Speaking of the murder, this scene is the highlight of the film for me. The anticipation, the mounting suspense, Altman pulls off everything brilliantly. Pity that scene only lasts around a minute.
It definitely was not a bad film, but it could have been much more. I don’t regret watching it, but I probably never will again. As a historical piece, it’s well done, but there are plenty of better alternatives. As a whodunnit, it’s a bit bloated. (Might I recommend Sydney Lumet’s Murder on the Orient Express instead?)
6/10 – Worth A Watch
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