"Gosford Park" by Robert Altman

"Gosford Park" reminds the viewer of Altman's "Short Cuts" and "Rules of the Game," put together, with the brand new idea of using his directing style in a different genre, a Agatha Christie-style murder mystery. There is one thing common to almost all Altman's films, and that is a large cast, with more than a few recognisable actors included.

This film clearly shows the class relationship between British aristocracy and the lower class, or servants. The story takes place in a big castle, where the nobility invites guests for hunting season, along with their servants. During the night, one member of the aristocracy ends up dead, murdered.

The story reveals that even servants can be the same as the nobility they serve, down to sex and financial intrigues. The world of the two different classes tangles together with the discovery that the murdered member of the nobility was seducing his servants, often, making them adopt the babies, so noone would find out about the sex scandal.

"For me, this film is comedy on the upper floor and drama on the lower floor. ?Gosford Park? is a review of the British class society in the 30s, that presents not only British class society, but also any other class society prejudice. On some other continents [Asia, Australia or the USA] this prejudice, perhaps, would be called racism," Altman says.