Very layered murder mystery with a very plausible story-line, inserted into a uniquely detailed examination of pre-WWII British high and low society. While it was long it never felt long, brilliant casting, great writing.

I really didn't like this movie and I'm not sure why. Great cast, great setting. Brilliant time period. So I can't for the life of me figure out why I didn't like it...I might have to give it another go

Robert Altman's Gosford Park is a stately mansion drama and an Agatha Christie-style murder mystery, but the twist is that it's perceived by the manor's servants. In only 2¼ hours, we get to know a cast of both upstairs and downstairs characters surprisingly well, and they've all got secrets. The pieces come together in the audience's mind before they're ever explained on screen (and some aren't). In fact, I wish the murder HADN'T been explained, because I think the audience CAN figure it out, just as if we were a member of the household. It's brilliant cast that includes wonderful actors in the smallest of parts, including Derek Jacobi, Kelly MacDonald, Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith, Stephen Fry, Helen Mirren, Clive Owen, and on and on and on. The world of the downstairs is a real revelation, and Julian Fellowes' script is entirely witty and well observed. It feels like a great concept for a TV show, and that thought led me to realize that of course it is. Fellowes went on to create Downton Abbey. So that's something else I've got to get into straight away.