Appreciation Post: Gosford Park

I love the movie Gosford Park.

Let me tell you why.

1. It’s a beautiful movie. I must confess to loving the “upstairs/downstairs” aesthetic, but this movie is just beyond. The clothes are gorgeous without being costumey. The camera meanders through scenes and lingers over little details. Light and shadow actually matter.
2. The cast is brilliant. Charles Dance is an absolute treasure.
3. It showcases the reality of upstairs/downstairs. While it seems like writer Julian Fellowes has dedicated his life to smearing the British aristocracy, it’s striking to me how many parallels exist between the “upstairs” folks in 1932 and the “director” folks in 2019. There’s a huge gulf between the people at the top who put their names on things and the people downstairs who do the work. In the words of Detective Stephen Fry: “I’m not interested in the servants; only people with a connection with the dead man.”
4. It’s subtle. Nothing is explained—it is shown. (Until the murder is solved at the end, of course. Then we get a few explanations.) This is one of those movies that I can watch multiple times and find something new each time. Some people hate this type of movie. I am not those people.
5. The accents are lovely. /Hi, I’m American
6. It’s a good reminder of just how little justice is done on this earth. Much of the time, the authorities don’t really care. People can be counted on to act in their own best interests, and true selflessness is rare.
7. Slow-burn melancholy romance is the best kind of romance.
8. It’s delightfully planned out, but executed quite naturally. Like how there are not one, but two sets of mis-matched couples—where if they paired up and swapped spouses everyone would have been a whole lot happier. So much duality, but since it’s never explained, you have to work it all out for yourself.
9. It’s not often that I find fictional characters that I identify with. Mary Maceachran is one of those characters.
10. Helen Mirren’s speech on the gift of anticipation speaks to my soul.

What gift do you think a good servant has that separates them from the others? Its the gift of anticipation. And I’m a good servant; I’m better than good, I’m the best; I’m the perfect servant. I know when they’ll be hungry, and the food is ready. I know when they’ll be tired, and the bed is turned down. I know it before they know it themselves.

And that’s it, really. It’s a movie that requires attention from the viewer—a puzzle that extends beyond the murder mystery.