I watched Gosford Park with no expectations. I knew it received some Academy Award nominations and that's about it.
What started like just any other period drama turned out to be one of the best written and amazingly acted films I've seen.
I love movies with characters talking. I love it when dialogue can entertain as much and more than action. Gosford Park has a lot of characters that move the story through brilliant and very entertaining dialogue.
The characters, all of them, are great. No protagonist, just a bunch of characters together in one big setting. The acting was amazing from everyone. Ryan Philippe in the best performance I've seen him give, same with Kelly Macdonald. Maggie Smith, Emily Watson, Helen Mirren, Clive Owen, Kristin Scott Thomas and Michael Gambon were perfect as well. And the rest of the cast whose names I don't remember right now were also great.
It may sound like I'm overly simplifying by saying "everyone was great", but in this case it's very true. I was mesmerized by how brilliant the casting was. Especially for a movie with as many characters as this.
The direction was superb. I'm not familiar with Robert Altman's work but this certainly was a very good place to start.
The film has very good dramatic moments and the comedy is also spot-on. It balances beautifully between drama, intrigue and comedy and the result is a film that is a delight to watch, and re-watch.
I think Gosford Park is an example of great writing, great acting, great directing and easily one of the top ten films of the 21st century.
What started like just any other period drama turned out to be one of the best written and amazingly acted films I've seen.
I love movies with characters talking. I love it when dialogue can entertain as much and more than action. Gosford Park has a lot of characters that move the story through brilliant and very entertaining dialogue.
The characters, all of them, are great. No protagonist, just a bunch of characters together in one big setting. The acting was amazing from everyone. Ryan Philippe in the best performance I've seen him give, same with Kelly Macdonald. Maggie Smith, Emily Watson, Helen Mirren, Clive Owen, Kristin Scott Thomas and Michael Gambon were perfect as well. And the rest of the cast whose names I don't remember right now were also great.
It may sound like I'm overly simplifying by saying "everyone was great", but in this case it's very true. I was mesmerized by how brilliant the casting was. Especially for a movie with as many characters as this.
The direction was superb. I'm not familiar with Robert Altman's work but this certainly was a very good place to start.
The film has very good dramatic moments and the comedy is also spot-on. It balances beautifully between drama, intrigue and comedy and the result is a film that is a delight to watch, and re-watch.
I think Gosford Park is an example of great writing, great acting, great directing and easily one of the top ten films of the 21st century.