Gosford Park

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⭐ 7.5/10

(Originally written by Joseph)

This movie is an episode of Downton Abbey disguised as a murder mystery. Rich aristocrats come from all around for a weekend party at a Dumbledore's house, but then there is a murder and lots of suspects...

Except it isn't really that. Like I said, it's an episode of Downton, mostly concerned with the doings of both the aristocrats and the servants. There are lots of little misdirections, lots of clues, some hints at motivation. But in the end, this is a very subdued murder mystery, and nobody really cares about the murder. It's interesting to compare to Knives Out, which has a similar setup in some ways, but that one is so much more snappy and dramatic. This is much more concerned with the characters than it is the murder, and the investigator is just a minor character.

I'm not really a murder-mystery expert, so this actually might be more of a commentary on the genre. There is an American filmmaker present, and he is much more sensational than everyone else about it. But for me, it was kinda just a slow movie about early 20th century Brits. Not bad at all, and it's one of those classics with every British actor you can think of. There is nice music, and nice costumes and settings. But if you're expecting some dramatic, dark mystery with lots of shocking twists, this is not the one.

But shout out to this movie for getting the two sexiest men alive on set in Charles Dance and Clive Owen.

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