Gosford Park started out like Robert Altman's other ensemble pieces for me, so many characters that felt the same colliding in this overwhelming cluster that I couldn't find a place for myself in. However while his other works of the many-casted variety pushed me further and further away as they went on, this did the opposite and managed to bring me in more and more.
His technique in shooting this was remarkable and absolutely perfect for the setting in which the story is staged. By having two cameras constantly moving at all times, it truly felt as though we were absorbed into the middle of this early 20th century English house, becoming a part of the gossip and the class disputes. I don't think a film of this nature could have been directed any better than how Altman did it.
The thing that holds it back a lot for me is the script, which piles on way too many characters so the thing can never properly gain it's footing. The overall experience felt properly done but there were just too many people. Even at the end of the film there were times where two characters would be talking and they'd mentioned someone and I would have no idea who they were talking about. The (mostly) tremendous cast manages to make up for a lot of this, by bringing great depth without a lot of screen time, but it still feels like this would have been better suited with a longer duration. A lot of the more integral dynamics feel underdeveloped, despite the best effort of the cast.
I also had a problem with how closed off the whole thing was. It couldn't (re: shouldn't) have been done any other way, but the muteness kept me at a distance for the whole thing, so in some of the more emotional moments my reaction wasn't as strong as it could have been.
Still, there's much, much more to admire here than there is to criticize. Altman's technique is tremendous and he was able to gather together a fine ensemble cast to play out these cold creatures. Helen Mirren is heartbreaking, Kristin Scott Thomas is always the perfect bitch, Emily Watson and Kelly Macdonald bring a human touch to the piece and Clive Owen again demonstrates that he has a lot of talent that he hasn't been putting to proper use lately. A good film that has some writing flaws that prevent it from being a great one.
His technique in shooting this was remarkable and absolutely perfect for the setting in which the story is staged. By having two cameras constantly moving at all times, it truly felt as though we were absorbed into the middle of this early 20th century English house, becoming a part of the gossip and the class disputes. I don't think a film of this nature could have been directed any better than how Altman did it.
The thing that holds it back a lot for me is the script, which piles on way too many characters so the thing can never properly gain it's footing. The overall experience felt properly done but there were just too many people. Even at the end of the film there were times where two characters would be talking and they'd mentioned someone and I would have no idea who they were talking about. The (mostly) tremendous cast manages to make up for a lot of this, by bringing great depth without a lot of screen time, but it still feels like this would have been better suited with a longer duration. A lot of the more integral dynamics feel underdeveloped, despite the best effort of the cast.
I also had a problem with how closed off the whole thing was. It couldn't (re: shouldn't) have been done any other way, but the muteness kept me at a distance for the whole thing, so in some of the more emotional moments my reaction wasn't as strong as it could have been.
Still, there's much, much more to admire here than there is to criticize. Altman's technique is tremendous and he was able to gather together a fine ensemble cast to play out these cold creatures. Helen Mirren is heartbreaking, Kristin Scott Thomas is always the perfect bitch, Emily Watson and Kelly Macdonald bring a human touch to the piece and Clive Owen again demonstrates that he has a lot of talent that he hasn't been putting to proper use lately. A good film that has some writing flaws that prevent it from being a great one.