Gosford Park (2001) has been on my list for a long time. I checked the DVD out of the library back in the early 2000’s, and never got around to watching it. As my love for murder mysteries has grown over the years, Gosford Park has been recommended time and again. It is even described as being inspired by Agatha Christie. So finally, my husband and I checked it out. 

Gosford Park is written by Julian Fellowes, who later wrote Downton Abbey (2010-2015), and feels very much like a prequel to Fellowes’ highly successful show. We follow the impressive thirty-person all-star cast, including the likes of Helen Mirren, Stephen Fry, Clive Owen, Ryan Phillippe, and Maggie Smith, through a hunting party weekend in an English countryside. Half of the cast are nobles, and the other half are waitstaff. We spend the first hour getting to know the characters, their dynamics with each other, and their relationships to Sir William McCordle (Michael Gambon), the host of the hunting party and owner of the estate. We see relationships, both licit and illicit; we learn the rules of the waitstaff; we observe the impact of wealth, and how the lack thereof can lead to desperation. When Sir William is killed, we are left to figure out whodunnit. Was it the wife who clearly didn’t love him? The impoverished brother-in-law? One of the mysterious valets?

I wanted to love Gosford Park. A cozy, British murder mystery is my favorite type of movie. Unfortunately, it is not really a murder mystery. The murder occurs approximately an hour and twenty minutes into this movie, which is what first tipped me off to the fact that the murder was not going to be the central plot point. There is a whodunnit, and we do find out who the murderer was, but the main focus of the movie is on the characters and their interactions with each other. Some of the characters are intriguing, like Elsie (Emily Watson), Robert Parks (Clive Owens), and Constance (Maggie Smith), and I would have loved to see more from them. However, with such a large cast, we could only learn so much about each character. Some characters are left under-utilized, like Charles Dance’s Lord Raymond Stockbridge, while others, like Ryan Phillippe’s Henry Denton, were utilized just enough to cause confusion. What exactly was his purpose? He seems like comic relief, but then he attempts to rape one of the characters! The concept is interesting, which is probably why Downton Abbey was so successful. With this many characters, a series would be much more effective than just a movie. I think I would have liked it more had it not been marketed as a murder mystery.

This movie highlights a lot of sin: sex outside of marriage, an employee exploiting his workers, murder, greed, and revenge. In some ways, it acts as a “what not to do” for Catholics. I think one of the main messages we can take from this is that it is not our place to take justice into our own hands. There were several reasons why Sir William might have “deserved” to die, but that does not justify violence being committed against him. While most of us will never be murderers, there are other ways we may take revenge or impose justice. This includes wishing ill upon someone or passively harming another through sins of omission (for example, not telling them information that could be beneficial). After all, aren’t we all sinners, deserving of death? The Lord, in His great mercy, provides opportunity for forgiveness and a fresh start. Everyone, no matter how evil they may seem, is entitled to that forgiveness.

Overall, if you like Downton Abbey or class-driven British movies, you would definitely enjoy Gosford Park. I certainly don’t regret watching it, and would maybe see it again. It would be best to go in with clear expectations, and you’ll probably like it more.