GOSFORD PARK

Review: Set in a country house in England, 1932. The upstairs guests and downstairs servants are at a party and have to investigate a murder involving one of them.
Director: Robert Altman
Actors: Maggie Smith, Ryan Phillippe, Michael Gambon, Kristin Scott Thomas, Charles Dance, Tom Hollander, Stephen Fry, Kelly Macdonald, Clive Owen, Helen Mirren, Emily Watson, Derek Jacobi, Richard E.Grant and Finty Williams
Year: 2001
Genre: Drama
Conclusion: 4/5
A fantastic cast but mainly full of English actors. The script is brilliantly written by Julian Fellows. The choreography is well captured. There is never a dull moment in this film. It all runs very smoothly. The costuming in this is all very well thought out. It works well for every character. The themes that are shown in this film are selfishness, greed, snobbery, eccentricity and class exploitation. All of the jewellery that the upstairs ladies wore in the film was authentic and had to be escorted in by armed guards each day. Actor Jude Law was originally cast as Henry Denton, but dropped out. At the Academy Awards in 2002 this won 1 Oscar and that was for Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen (Julian Fellows). At the Golden Globe Awards in 2002 it also won 1 Award and that was for Best Director – Motion Picture (Robert Altman). At the Bafta Awards in 2002 it won 2 Awards. They were the Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film and also for Best Costume Design.