Gosford Park is a perfect example of how a movie could and should be made. By Hollywood standards, the studio that made this picture did not have to mortgage Planet Earth to get it produced. In addition, this film did not sink to the lowest common denominators with bathroom humor, nor did it rely on spectacular special effects for it to be a great movie. Robert Altman's direction, which deserves much credit for this brilliant film, keeps us interested as the storyline moves along. Though the cast is full of many characters, we can easily identify with those characters. The characters in this film are distinctive from one another, which is one of the signs of a great film.
Once again, Maggie Smith, as the Countess of Trentham, gives her usual brilliant performance. She stands head-and-shoulders above the rest of the cast, which is the highest compliment since I was pleased with ALL the performances. Kristin Scott Thomas gives one of her best performances as the perfect 'snob'. If she is overlooked by her peers, it would be a shame, because she was incredibly believable. I usually do not take notice of the writing unless William Goldman is the screenwriter, but I have so much respect for actor Julian Fellowes for writing the film's screenplay. It is his first major motion picture success as a screenwriter, and what a success it is! Gosford Park is intelligent and witty. A good portion of movies today are not intelligent - or the writing tries to dumb-us-down to grade school levels. Gosford Park credits the audience for being intelligent enough to understand the intellectual plot, witticisms and one-liners. I have added Gosford Park to my long list of favorite films.
Once again, Maggie Smith, as the Countess of Trentham, gives her usual brilliant performance. She stands head-and-shoulders above the rest of the cast, which is the highest compliment since I was pleased with ALL the performances. Kristin Scott Thomas gives one of her best performances as the perfect 'snob'. If she is overlooked by her peers, it would be a shame, because she was incredibly believable. I usually do not take notice of the writing unless William Goldman is the screenwriter, but I have so much respect for actor Julian Fellowes for writing the film's screenplay. It is his first major motion picture success as a screenwriter, and what a success it is! Gosford Park is intelligent and witty. A good portion of movies today are not intelligent - or the writing tries to dumb-us-down to grade school levels. Gosford Park credits the audience for being intelligent enough to understand the intellectual plot, witticisms and one-liners. I have added Gosford Park to my long list of favorite films.