Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 404: A Star-Studded Murder Mystery

Even though he'd been working constantly in the decades since we met him last, it's odd to think that we haven't seen director Robert Altman on the blog since the 1970s. Although he continued to make ensemble pieces that were critically lauded, the Academy never honoured one of his films after Nashville. That was until the 2002 ceremony when one of Altman's final movies was nominated for several Oscars and even picked up a Best Screenplay award. However, if you didn't know who was calling the shots, you may be mistaken for not knowing that Gosford Park was an Altman film at all. 

That's because, unlike the Altman films I've seen up to this point, Gosford Park was a very British movie set in the titular estate. The film began life as an idea that actor Bob Balaban, one of the only Americans in the cast, had and pitched it to Altman. After introducing Altman to screenwriter Julian Fellowes; the three decided to create an Agatha Christie-style murder mystery. Like previous Christie adaptations; Fellowes' film featured plenty of characters who had motivations to finish off the arrogant Sir William McCordle. Those on the guest list include his aunt Duchess Trentham, his sisters and brother-in-laws as well as his daughter's suitor. What makes Fellowes' country house script stand out from the crowd is that it follows the downstairs servants as much as it does their masters. As Sir William had a penchant for affairs with his maids there were one or two grudges leaking below stairs so it's no surprise when he's found poisoned and stabbed at the end of the film's second act. Whilst the oafish Inspector Thompson attempts to solve the murder; Duchess Trentham's lady's maid Mary does a better job herself. From the start of the film, Mary becomes our surrogate as she is new to the service industry and doesn't know her way around Gosford Park. However, mainly based on listening in to various pieces of gossip, Mary works out who it was that both poisoned and stabbed the victim. Whilst we don't ultimately know whether the culprits will get arrested, I found the ending to be an interesting twist where the murderer was presented in a more sympathetic light than the victim. 

Although the two share no similarities when it comes to their setting, both Nashville and Gosford Park had similar story structures. Both feature numerous subplots that tie together by the end of the film which, in the case of Gosford Park, happens when the murderer is revealed. Like Nashville, not all of Gosford Park's side stories work and as a result some of the characters were surplus to requirements. I got the feeling that Fellowes and Altman had a lot more time for the servants than they did for their masters. That's why I felt that Helen Mirren's housekeeper, Eileen Atkin's cook and the two maids played by Emily Watson and Kelly MacDonald were possibly the most sympathetic characters of the bunch. Mirren gave a particularly memorable turn as the housekeeper who had given up everything in order to be the perfect servant. Mirren was nominated in the Supporting Actress category alongside co-star Maggie Smith who looked like she was having a hoot at portraying Duchess Trentham. However some of the other members of the cast were less lucky with the parts they were handed with Derek Jacobi, Charles Dance and Richard E. Grant three examples of actors with thankless roles. Fellowes' script was nicely paced with the suspects being build up gradually until the murder itself finally occurred. One element of the film I didn't like was the introduction of Stephen Fry's incompetent detective who threatened to turn a likeable drama into a farce. I'm not sure why Altman and Fellowes thought that they needed to change the tone of the film but Thompson's arrival did nothing for me. What makes Gosford Park so likeable is its witty script coupled with some lovely shots of the British countryside by cinematographer Andrew Dunn. Whilst it never has any particular Earth-shattering revelations to make, Gosford Park is still an entertaining watch that includes a fine ensemble cast. It's just a shame that Altman isn't still around making films like this as he sadly passed away in 2006.

Next an odd double bill of films that both earned wins for Best Director and Best Original Score. 

Matt's Big Oscar Challenge Day 385: Two Days in L.A.

Often when critics compile their lists of worst Best Picture winners of all time there's one film that comes out on top, or if you like bottom. That film is Crash, which triumphed at the 2006 ceremony despite another film being the odds on favourite going in. Having seen the majority of the Best Picture nominees at the time, I felt that Crash was quite harshly judged and believed that most people hated it because of the academy's decision. But, watching it with my 2015 critic's eyes I have to say that those people who slated Crash's win at the time may have been more on the money than I initially thought.

Paul Haggis' film, which he co-wrote with Bobby Moresco, follows a cavalcade of characters as their paths cross over two days in L.A. The characters include racist Police Officer John Ryan, DA Rick Cabot and his wife Jean, TV Producer Cameron Thayer and petty criminals Anthony and Peter. It's pretty clear that Haggis' main theme is that of race as almost every line of the script relates to the characters' ethnicity or bigotry. Haggis changes the theme of race up a little by having many of the ethnic characters as racist as their white counterparts. This is best exemplified through black Police Lieutenant Dixon, who'd rather let racism go on in his force than risk his position by putting his neck on the line. Similarly, the final scene sees two angry drivers hurl racist insults at one another after getting into a car accident. The problem I have with this is that, as almost everyone is as bigoted as each other, it's really hard to like or identify with any of the characters. Maybe I was a little bit spoilt by the last three films I watched, but none of the characters in Crash feel like real people and that became more apparent when I realised that I didn't know any of their names when the film came to an end. The dialogue similarly doesn't feel believable and there's very little subtlety to Haggis' words with every scene focusing on racism in some form or another. I think that this took away from the believability of the film as a whole as Haggis appeared to be more interested in the his central theme rather than his characters.

Part of the problem is that there are just too many characters in the film so it's hard to really find someone to care about when they're only on screen for about ten minutes. There are two exceptions to the rule, the first being Matt Dillon's John Ryan; who's bigotry is explained through his relationship with his sick father. Dillon, who was the only member of the cast to be Oscar-nominated, presents his character as somebody who knows that he's a prick but at the same time tries to do right by his father. Similarly I was sympathetic to Michael Pena's locksmith Daniel who I felt to be the only truly good-natured character amongst a bad bunch. However a lot of the characters felt two-dimensional with a specific example being the Persian shopkeeper who spends most of the film angry with those around him. What I did like about Crash was its atmospheric style with cinematographer J. Michael Muro perfectly capturing the eeriness of Los Angeles at night. Muro's camera work is one of Crash's most positive elements and he at least tries to make the film look as interesting as possible. The most damning thing I can say about Crash is that it didn't really hold my attention primarily as I didn't care about many of the characters. While I admire what Haggis was trying to do, I think the film's message was more important to him than the characters; who simply acted as plot devices to further the themes of race. I have to say I really wanted to be one of those people who stuck up for Crash, but I'm coming round to think that maybe it didn't deserve it's Best Picture prize after all.

Next time we focus on a Swedish director who specialises in lush period pieces.