Wednesday, January 14, 2004
Gosford Park...
So, I just saw Gosford Park on cable. I have to say that I really enjoyed it. I'd heard the name thrown around a lot at the time of Oscars, but never really knew what it was about. But the description on the TV sounded interesting, and so I went for it, and am glad that I did.
The basic plot is that of a murder-mystery during a gathering at an English estate. Except that doesn't really describe it at all, since if gives you the wrong impression. While mystery and murder are involved, that really isn't the focus. The focus is the characters, both the lords and ladies and the servants.
You get a sense that things really were like that in the past, in the way the personalities interact and how the various maids and cooks and butlers and everyone keep everything working smoothly, as well as the personal attendants to the various people that come.
There is quite a few characters in this movie, and one of the things that impressed me was that it was able to introduce all these people and have them all involved with each other in various ways, without being a confusing mess. I'm sure there's things that'd be clearer on a second viewing, but it really worked fine the very first time.
I do have to admit that while I know there have been a bazillion movies made in the category of muder at an estate, I've barely seen any of them. Really the closest thing that comes to mind was Clue. As a kid, I watched that movie over and over again, and I still really enjoy it. One of those movies that has an amazing amount of quotable lines in it and IMO very funny in general.
So for me, Gosford Park was kind of the realistic drama version of Clue, both good for entirely different reasons. And both highly recommended! :)
The basic plot is that of a murder-mystery during a gathering at an English estate. Except that doesn't really describe it at all, since if gives you the wrong impression. While mystery and murder are involved, that really isn't the focus. The focus is the characters, both the lords and ladies and the servants.
You get a sense that things really were like that in the past, in the way the personalities interact and how the various maids and cooks and butlers and everyone keep everything working smoothly, as well as the personal attendants to the various people that come.
There is quite a few characters in this movie, and one of the things that impressed me was that it was able to introduce all these people and have them all involved with each other in various ways, without being a confusing mess. I'm sure there's things that'd be clearer on a second viewing, but it really worked fine the very first time.
I do have to admit that while I know there have been a bazillion movies made in the category of muder at an estate, I've barely seen any of them. Really the closest thing that comes to mind was Clue. As a kid, I watched that movie over and over again, and I still really enjoy it. One of those movies that has an amazing amount of quotable lines in it and IMO very funny in general.
So for me, Gosford Park was kind of the realistic drama version of Clue, both good for entirely different reasons. And both highly recommended! :)
