GOSFORD PARK (15) - Walmer Castle

• Tweet
• Email

• Tweet
• Email

Maggie Smith. Helen Mirren. Kristin Scott Thomas. Clive Owen. Charles Dance. Michael Gambon. Ryan Phillipe. Jeremy Northam. Kelly MacDonald (mmm Kelly MacDonald). Tom Hollander. Derek Jacobi. Richard E Grant. Alan Bates. Emily Watson.

Robert Altman has always had a soft spot for an ensemble cast (The Player anyone?) so it was always going to be a first class team sheet when the great director turned his gaze towards our fair island of Blighty. He recruited screenwriter Julian Fellowes (later plying his craft on the much-loved Downton Abbey) and their whodunit-cum-upstairs-downstairs examination of the British class system, set in the halls of a country estate, did some serious business around the world.

It’s as twisty-turny as the lead of your extra long headphones and the late, great director makes sure there’s a great deal of fun to be had watching the cream of British talent plotting against one another. Audience allegiances chop and change with pleasing regularity and the camera refuses to stay still throughout. We follow the action gliding upstairs and down towards an unexpected conclusion that leaves the audience with a thousand questions but in no way dissatisfied.

Beautiful Walmer Castle itself is worth the entrance fee alone! So get there early and have a look around, soak up the atmosphere with your friends and family. There will be delicious food and drink on sale, some appropriately chosen music to get you in the mood, and one or two interesting tidbits on screen. We’d recommend a low chair or picnic blanket to sit on, and something warm to wear for after sunset. Look forward to seeing you there!

Not the Event you were looking for?