GOSFORD PARK

I went to see Gosford Park thinking it would be sort of along the lines of Murder By Death or Clue, two movies I really like. Well, it's nothing like those movies, but it is a good movie. It is a little slow though…at almost two and a half hours long, it doesn't exactly fly by.

Directed by Robert Altman, and based on an idea by him and actor Bob Balaban, Gosford Park is about the differences, and similarities, between the fancy guests in the upstairs and the servants in the downstairs of a big country house in England. There are a lot of characters and a lot of stories, but the main story is well told, and all of the acting in this movie is really great.

In a huge cast, the stand outs for me were Maggie Smith, last seen in a tiny little movie called HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE, and who was actually in the aforementioned Murder By Death which for some reason I refer to as my favorite movie of all time.
Helen Mirren is also in this movie, and I think she's great.
I'm not sure how old she is at this point, but I still see evidence of how she used to look…I used to think she was very, I dunno, sexy. I really don't like using that word, but I guess it fit's here best.
Anyway, she gives a great performance here, maybe her best ever.
The other stand out for me was an unknown to me, Kelly Macdonald, who plays Maggie Smith's maid.
She has a wonderful accent and a sweet, girl next door look to her. Oh, and she can act, too.

This movie has been getting a lot of praise, and I'm not really all that sure why. I do think it's a good movie, and the acting by every one is good, even the seemingly miscast Ryan Phillippe.
But like I said, it's kinda long and slow, so I have a hard time calling it a great movie.
But good is good, right?

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