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Gosford Park

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Gosford Park is an Academy award-winning 2001 film, directed by Robert Altman. The screenplay is by Julian Fellowes, based on an idea by Altman and producer Bob Balaban. It features an ensemble cast including Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon, Kristin Scott Thomas, Jeremy Northam, Bob Balaban, Ryan Phillippe, Stephen Fry, Kelly Macdonald, Clive Owen, Helen Mirren, Eileen Atkins, Emily Watson, Camilla Rutherford, Tom Hollander, Alan Bates, Derek Jacobi, and Richard E. Grant.

The film is set in 1932 at an English country house. A party of wealthy Britons and Americans, all accompanied by their servants, gather at the home of Sir William McCordle for a weekend of pheasant shooting. A murder occurs in the middle of the night. The plot presents the murder from the perspective of the servants. But rather than a simple mystery to be solved, the film uses the whodunit format to create a drama showcasing the tensions of the British class system. Many intertwining subplots detail the complex relationships among the characters, both above stairs (the wealthy guests) and below (the servants). The story is fictional, but features the film star Ivor Novello as a character.

Plot

In the rainy autumn of 1932, the snobbish Constance, Countess of Trentham (Dame Maggie Smith) and her timid Scottish maid Mary Maceachran (Kelly Macdonald) travel by car from her estate to Gosford Park, her niece Lady Sylvia McCordle's estate, for a weekend hunting party. On the way there, they encounter the matinee idol Ivor Novello (Jeremy Northam) and his friend, Hollywood producer Morris Weisman (Bob Balaban), who are also on their way to Gosford Park.

The guests are greeted by Sir William McCordle (Sir Michael Gambon), Lady Sylvia McCordle (Kristin Scott Thomas), and their daughter Isobel (Camilla Rutherford). Besides Aunt Constance, Ivor and Morris, the guests include Sylvia's sisters Louisa (Geraldine Somerville) and Lavinia; their respective husbands, Lord Stockbridge (Charles Dance) and Commander Meredith (Tom Hollander); The Honourable Freddy Nesbitt (James Wilby) and his "common" wife Mabel (Claudie Blakley); Isobel's suitor Lord Rupert Standish (Laurence Fox); and his friend Mr. Jeremy Blond (Trent Ford).

Downstairs, in the servants' quarters, the household staff is overseen by the butler Jennings (Sir Alan Bates); the cook, Mrs. Croft (Dame Eileen Atkins); and the housekeeper, Mrs. Wilson (Dame Helen Mirren). The other servants include:

The upstairs guests also bring along their own servants; every lady has a lady's maid, and every gentleman a valet. Most notably, Lord Stockbridge's valet is Robert Parks (Clive Owen), Lady Trentham's maid is Mary, and Morris Weisman's valet is Henry Denton (Ryan Phillippe). The servants are called by the name of their employers, e.g. Mary gets called Miss Trentham. Noticeably without servants are the impoverished Freddy and Mabel Nesbitt. In secret, Freddy is blackmailing Isobel with some past secret of hers.

Lavinia and the Commander are also impoverished after Sir William pulled out of the Commander's business ventures. Sylvia did the best out of the three sisters: William became rich as a factory owner, where he lecherously preyed on the young female workers, and he still flirts with any woman he sees. Aunt Constance depends on William's allowance for her livelihood. Lord Rupert is a younger son "with the taste of a Marquess, but the income of a vicar," hoping to marry Isobel for her father's money. Mabel is angry that Freddy flirts with Isobel.

Downstairs, Robert and Mary are attracted to each other, and he tells her he will surprise her. At dinner, Henry Denton asks how many of the servants' parents were in service also. Most raise their hands, a notable exception being Robert, who says when pressured that he grew up in an orphanage. Denton acts suspiciously: his Scottish accent is off and he is very nosy. However, he gets to dress the movie producer and Ivor Novello, much to the chagrin of the starstruck footman.

At dinner upstairs, Morris tells everyone that his latest Charlie Chan mystery movie will be set in an English country house during the weekend of a hunting party. Lady Trentham asks Morris who is the murderer in his movie; he won't reveal it, so the Countess assures him none of them will actually see the movie. Mr. Blond tells Lord Rupert he should find a way to get past Sir William and marry Isobel. After dinner, Henry flirts with Lady Sylvia and she tells him to bring her a glass of milk at 1 a.m. and to keep her from being bored. Morris asks Henry if he will return to his room later that night; Henry says they shouldn't risk it. Mary wanders into the wrong hallway and encounters Henry, who comes onto her strongly, under the impression that servant girls are easy. Mary fights him off, aided by Robert, who ensures that she escapes safely. After this, Henry goes to Lady Sylvia's room. Mary remembers that she has to wash the Countess's shirt, and goes to the ironing room to do it. There, she sees the fat kitchen maid, Bertha (Teresa Churcher), and realizes that she was having sex with a man; when she goes back to her room, she sees Sir William and assumes it must have been him. Mary tells Elsie, who says that is impossible.

The next day, the upstairs men go hunting for pheasants, while the ladies have brunch and make fun of Mabel. During the hunt, Sir William's ear is almost blown off by a stray shot. At lunch the Commander presses Sir William to invest in his scheme, but he refuses and causes a scene.

During the dinner service the second night, Elsie impulsively speaks out of turn to Lady Sylvia about her unfair treatment of Sir William. This behavior reveals Elsie's relationship with Sir William and is also grounds for immediate dismissal which she is well aware of. Elsie tries to regain her composure and leaves the dining room quickly. Once above stairs, she rips off her cap and gloves and shuts herself up in her bedroom. Henry offers to keep Elsie company, but she rejects him. Sir William angrily goes to the library. The rest of the upstairs guests go into the drawing room, where Ivor plays the piano and sings. The servants crowd outside the room to listen and dance to the music. The Countess continues her snobbery and the women continue to avoid Mabel. Freddy and the Commander slip out of the room.

In the library, Mrs. Wilson serves a cup of coffee to Sir William, but he knocks it out of her hand and asks for whisky. Later on, we see a pair of legs walk out to put on muddy shoes, slip a missing knife out of a fire bucket, go to the study, and stab Sir William in the chest. Louisa discovers the body. Jennings calls the police, who send an incompetent inspector (Stephen Fry) and put everyone under house arrest. The competent constable notices that there is little blood coming from the stab wound, suggesting that Sir William was already dead when he was stabbed. The servants speculate whether Sir William was poisoned. None of them really care that Sir William is dead, except Bertha, who asks Mrs. Croft about the factory girls who Sir William impregnated. Mrs. Croft warns Bertha to not carry on the way she does or she will have to give up a baby for adoption. Bertha says she would never give up a baby in order to keep a job.

The next day, the inspector questions many of the upstairs guests. He questions the Countess about her financial dependence on Sir William, but Mary lies for her. They also question the Commander's valet about the Commander's investment scheme. Henry Denton confesses that he isn't really Scottish or a valet: he is an American actor who will be playing a butler in Weisman's next film and was researching the role. George, the footman, gets revenge on Henry by spilling hot coffee in his lap. That night George finds Bertha and Mr. Blond in a compromising situation. It was Mr. Blond who was with Bertha in the ironing room the night before, not Sir William.

That night Elsie tells Mary how she didn't love Sir William but didn't mind him. She also tells Mary what Sir William used to tell her: "Seize the day." Taking this advice, Mary runs to Robert Parks' room, saying she knows he didn't kill Sir William because he would have to hate him in order to kill him. Robert replies, "Can't a man hate his own father?" He broke into the orphanage files and learned that his mother was one of Sir William's factory workers, who died shortly after childbirth. Sir William was the man who dropped him off at the orphanage. Mary tells him that he didn't kill William, because he was already dead from poison when Robert stabbed him. Robert grabs Mary and they kiss intensely. Mary runs back to her room. Upstairs, Isobel gives Freddy a cheque to appease him, but Mabel forces him to show it to her, so he rips it up.

The next day everyone is allowed to leave. In front of Mary, Lady Sylvia and the Countess discuss why Mrs. Croft and Mrs. Wilson are such bitter enemies: Mrs. Croft used to be a cook in one of William's factories, and Mrs. Wilson was a lowly factory worker. Now that Mrs. Wilson is the head housekeeper, Mrs. Croft is jealous. The Countess asks if there is a Mr. Wilson. Lady Sylvia believes Mrs. Wilson must have been married because she used to be called Parks.

Everyone begins to leave. Elsie gets a ride with Morris to London. Mr. Blond tells Rupert not to marry Isobel because she will not inherit Sir William's money until Lady Sylvia dies. The Countess is the last to leave, and Lady Sylvia invites Constance back for the funeral.

After everyone else but Louisa and the Countess is gone, Mary confronts Mrs. Wilson. She asks how Mrs. Wilson knew Robert was her son. Mrs. Wilson avoids the question, but admits that she saw the picture of herself on his night stand. She had been William's factory worker and had given up the baby in order to keep the job. William dumped many of his own illegitimate children into orphanages, while telling the mothers that he had placed then as adopted children with good families. She poisoned Sir William because she anticipated that Robert would wish to kill his father. "A good servant anticipates the needs of others." Mary asks Mrs. Wilson if she will tell Robert Parks she is his mother. Mrs. Wilson responds: "What purpose would that possibly serve?" What's important is that she has now made him untouchable: he can never be punished for the crime. And when Mary perseveres, asking what about her life, she retorts: "Didn't you hear me? I am the perfect servant. I have no life."

After Mary leaves, Mrs. Wilson gives in to her grief, and Mrs. Croft, who is actually Mrs. Wilson's sister, consoles her, saying that at least her son is alive, while Mrs. Croft quit her job but her son died of scarlet fever anyway.

As they are leaving, the Countess tells Mary she dreads having to testify at a murder trial. Mary agrees, saying there is no purpose it could possibly serve anyway.

Themes

The film is a study of the British class system during the 1930s. A number of secondary themes are also explored. For example, the film takes a subtle look at sexual mores during the 1930s, and touches on gay issues as well, such as the implied relationship between Henry and Weissman. The film also mentions the decline of the British Empire and the peerage system.

The pheasant shooting scene is an homage to the 1939 film The Rules of the Game, which also studies class relations in a country house setting.

Production

Locations were filmed at Syon House, Brentford, Middlesex, for upstairs bedrooms, and Wrotham Park, Barnet, Hertfordshire, for the exteriors, staircase, dining room and drawing room. The exterior shots of Maggie Smith's house was a Queen Anne style manor in Beaconsfield.

Awards

Academy Awards record
1. Best Original Screenplay (Julian Fellowes)
Golden Globe Awards record
1. Best Director (Robert Altman)
BAFTA Awards record
1. Best Film (Robert Altman, Bob Balaban, David Levy)
2. Best Costume Design (Jenny Beavan)

Gosford Park won the Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film at the British Academy Film Awards in 2002.

It also won the Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay, and was nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Helen Mirren), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Maggie Smith), Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Costume Design, Best Director and Best Picture.

Cast and characters

Upstairs

  • Michael Gambon as Sir William McCordle, an unsympathetic character, is "new money". He is married to Lady Sylvia, one of three sisters: Sylvia, Lavinia, and Louisa. Their father was the impoverished Earl of Carton. Sir William is a cad. He is the biological father of Robert Parks with his housekeeper, Mrs. Wilson. Parks was given to an orphanage and only recently understands his birth. McCordle also fathered a child with Mrs. Croft, the sister of Mrs. Wilson, but that baby died.
  • Maggie Smith as Constance, Countess of Trentham, an insufferable lady who is the aunt of Sylvia, Lavinia and Louisa. Lady Trentham's allowance is under threat of being cut by Sir William. At this point in her life, Constance's only pleasures come from food, gossip and Schadenfreude.
  • Kristin Scott Thomas as Lady Sylvia is Sir William's long-suffering wife. A good deal younger than he is, she is aware of his affairs but doesn't care as their marriage is an empty shell. Although she has a daughter by him, she is not aware that she is also Robert Parks' stepmother.
  • Camilla Rutherford as Isobel, the slow-witted daughter of Sir William and Lady Sylvia. She is being blackmailed by Freddie Nesbitt so he can get a job from Sir William.
  • Natasha Wightman as Lady Lavinia Meredith, sister of Louisa and Sylvia.
  • Tom Hollander as Lieutenant-Commander Anthony Meredith is married to Lady Lavinia. They are the only love match "above stairs". Anthony Meredith has a business deal with Sir William to supply the Sudanese army with equipment, which Sir William is planning to pull out of. The latter's death saves the deal.
  • Charles Dance as Raymond, Lord Stockbridge, a war hero, is married to Louisa.
  • Geraldine Somerville as Louisa, Lady Stockbridge, sister of Lavinia and Sylvia, married to Lord Stockbridge. The marriage has caused Louisa to drop in rank, as her father was an earl but her husband is only a baron. The order of precedence carries over into the staff in the Servants' Hall.
  • James Wilby as Freddie Nesbitt. A rake, Freddie is married to Mabel, a middle class minor heiress he married for money but now disdains, having spent all her inheritance. It is implied that Freddie Nesbitt and Isobel had an affair; Isobel terminated the resulting pregnancy, for which a desperate Freddie is now blackmailing her.
  • Claudie Blakley as Mabel, Freddie Nesbitt's wife. She is disdained or pitied by the others, but treated kindly by Ivor Novello. Mabel is the only person above stairs who seems to grow in stature and confidence over the weekend, finally standing up to her husband and later telling him "Don't be so frightened all the time"
  • Laurence Fox as Lord Rupert Standish, the younger son of a marquess, who is interested in Isobel (and her future fortune)
  • Trent Ford as Jeremy Blond, Lord Rupert's pragmatic and amoral friend.
  • Jeremy Northam as Ivor Novello, an actor, is Sir William's second cousin; their mothers were first cousins and were both teachers.
  • Bob Balaban as Morris Weissman. A Hollywood producer who accompanies Novello to the gathering, in order to research country houses for a future Charlie Chan film.

Downstairs

  • Alan Bates as Jennings, the butler. Jennings had been a conscientious objector in World War I. He has a secret liaison with Dorothy, the Still Room Maid.
  • Helen Mirren as Mrs. Wilson, the chief housekeeper. She is eventually revealed as Robert Parks's mother
  • Eileen Atkins as Mrs. Croft, the cook. She is Mrs. Wilson's sister, and cherishes bitterness toward her in large part because the child conceived from her own illicit relationship with Sir William died, while Mrs. Wilson's survived.
  • Ryan Phillippe as Henry Denton. Denton is ostensibly Morris Weissman's servant, but is really an American actor researching a role and pretending to be Scottish, he is also secretly bisexual, being alternately involved with Weissman and Lady Sylvia.
  • Emily Watson as Elsie. Elsie is the head housemaid and one of Sir William's lovers.
  • Richard E. Grant as George, the sardonic, lascivious footman.
  • Clive Owen as Robert Parks is valet to Lord Stockbridge. He is the illegitimate son of Sir William and Mrs. Wilson, conceived when Mrs. Wilson and Mrs. Croft worked in one of Sir William's factories.
  • Derek Jacobi as Probert, Sir William's valet.
  • Kelly Macdonald as Mary Maceachran, Lady Trentham's lady's maid. Mary becomes a sleuth who uncovers the murderer, but chooses not to tell.
  • Sophie Thompson as Dorothy the Still Room Maid.
  • Meg Wynn Owen as Lewis, Lady Sylvia's lady's maid.
  • Jeremy Swift as Arthur, a footman starstruck by the presence of Ivor Novello.
  • Adrian Scarborough as Barnes, Commander Meredith's valet.
  • Teresa Churcher as Bertha, a plump kitchen maid with a rather insatiable sexual appetite, whose lovers in the film includes Jeremy Blond.

Outsiders

  • Stephen Fry as Inspector Thompson, comically inept policeman, who never quite manages to finish saying his name without being interrupted.
  • Ron Webster as Constable Dexter, Thompson's more perceptive assistant.

Soundtrack

  1. Waltz Of My Heart by Ivor Novello
  2. Mr. Parks by Patrick Doyle
  3. Gosford Park by Patrick Doyle
  4. Bored To Sobs by Patrick Doyle
  5. The Shirt by Patrick Doyle
  6. And Her Mother Came Too by Ivor Novello
  7. Walking To Shoot by Patrick Doyle
  8. No Smoke Without Fire by Patrick Doyle
  9. Scherzo In G by Patrick Doyle
  10. I Can Give You The Starlight by Ivor Novello
  11. What A Duke Should Be by Ivor Novello
  12. Inspector Thompson by Patrick Doyle
  13. Pull Yourself Together by Patrick Doyle
  14. Life Goes On by Patrick Doyle
  15. Secrets To Hide by Patrick Doyle
  16. Only For A While by Patrick Doyle
  17. Rather A Pasting by Patrick Doyle
  18. Love Jam by Patrick Doyle
  19. Why Isn't It You? by Ivor Novello
  20. The Way It's Meant To Be by Patrick Doyle
  21. Carpe Diem by Patrick Doyle
  22. Good Luck by Patrick Doyle
  23. Your Boy's Alive by Patrick Doyle
  24. The Land of Might-Have-Been by Ivor Novello

References

External links



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