GOSFORD PARK, directed by Robert Altman

By 2001, director Robert Altman had so perfected the large ensemble film that it became his trademark. Nashville captured the frustrated optimism of country music, and indeed the mid-70s in general. Short Cuts went on to perfectly convey the nihilism and disconnect that is Los Angeles. Cookie's Fortune showed the quirkiness of small town living. With each passing project, Altman seemed to add to the genre.
With Gosford Park, Altman accomplished many things in one fell swoop. Not only did he take a classic film genre (a sophisticated whodunnit) and make it his own, but he also managed to do it while simultaneously creating a fascinating mediation on class. Then, for an extra bit of fun, he incorporated the heartbreaking theme of regret, and expressed it with subtlety and humor. And he did it all with not one, but two, ensembles! For every socialite in the stately mansion, there is at least one servant, creating two bustling worlds, almost completely separate from each other.
This is an amazing film to behold. The story revolves around a luxurious country mansion in 1930s England. Several people have gathered there for a weekend of hunting. In their downtime, they lazily lounge around, listening to music and playing bridge. Their servants, meanwhile, are working furiously to meet the often-unreasonable demands of their employers. Within each world, there are positive characters and negative characters, which instantly puts this film into a class of its own. A lesser film would have simply classified the rich as evil and complacent, when, in fact, many of them deal with the same emotional issues as the poorer characters. Using a familiar genre and character archetypes, Altman seizes the opportunity to give us not only a glimpse of the difference between classes, but the similarities, as well. No matter how rich or poor people are, they are still capable of love and betrayal and regret.
It is this last essential human component that the film ends on, showing the cracked facades of several characters, upset with their choices, wishing they had done something different. It is worth noting that the song playing over the final credits is all about a wonderful place that we'd all like to go called "The Land of Might-Have-Been." The song truly describes an amazing place, but, the damnedest thing is that nobody- however rich or poor- can ever get there.