Gosford Park
In November 1932, Constance, Countess of Trentham (Maggie Smith), and her lady's maid, Mary MacEachran (Kelly Macdonald) travel to Gosford Park for a weekend shooting party. On the way, they encounter actor Ivor Novello (Jeremy Northam), American film producer Morris Weissman (Bob Balaban) and Weissman's valet, Henry Denton (Ryan Phillippe), who are also attending the hunting party. At the house, they are greeted by Lady Trentham's niece, Lady Sylvia McCordle (Kristin Scott Thomas), her husband Sir William McCordle (Michael Gambon), and their daughter, Isobel (Camilla Rutherford). The other guests include Lady Sylvia's sisters, Louisa, Lady Stockbridge (Geraldine Somerville) and Lady Lavinia Meredith (Natasha Wightman) and their husbands, Raymond, Lord Stockbridge (Charles Dance) and Commander Anthony Meredith (Tom Hollander). Also in attendance are the Honourable Freddie Nesbitt (James Wilby) and his wife, Mabel (Claudie Blakley); Isobel's suitor, Lord Rupert Standish (Laurence Fox) and his friend Jeremy Blond (Trent Ford).
The servants' hall is divided by a strict social hierarchy, dominated by the head housekeeper, Mrs. Wilson (Helen Mirren). She maintains a hostile relationship with the head cook, Mrs. Croft (Eileen Atkins). Mary is immediately intrigued by Lord Stockbridge's valet, Robert Parks (Clive Owen), who has recently changed his job to work for Lord Stockbridge, but was previously with the Earl of Flintshire, and who was raised in an orphanage. The head housemaid, Elsie (Emily Watson), takes a kindly interest in the naive Mary and guides her through the complexities of being in domestic service.
Sir William is an extremely rich industrialist, and much of the company are dependent on him in one way or another. Commander Meredith is in on the verge of bankruptcy and is outraged when Sir William announces he intends to withdraw his investment in Meredith's latest business venture. Lady Sylvia reveals to her aunt that William may stop paying Lady Trentham's allowance. Freddie Nesbitt was having an affair with Sir Williams' daughter Isobel, and is blackmailing her to keep the secret of an aborted pregnancy. Likewise, Rupert Standish is trying to romance Isobel for her money.
Lady Sylvia makes an assignation with Mr Weissman's valet, Henry Denton, for 1am that night, and it becomes clear that she is in the habit of having brief sexual liaisons with visitting male servants.
The next morning the men go out early on a pheasant shoot, and Sir William is slightly injured by a stray birdshot. Later, the ladies join the gentlemen for an outdoor luncheon on the estate grounds, where Commander Meredith pleads with Sir William not to back out of the investment.
Dinner that evening is tense and sombre. As the conversation progresses, tempers flare and Lady Sylvia attacks Sir William, implying that he was a First World War profiteer. Elsie rises to his defence, breaking the class barrier, and thus revealing her affair with Sir William to everyone at the table. Everyone watches in shocked silence at this indiscretion, and Elsie hurries from the room—knowing that she will be dismissed.
Sir William abruptly storms away from the dinner table and goes to the library, where Mrs. Wilson brings him coffee. He demands a glass of whisky instead. Lady Sylvia asks Mr. Novello to entertain the guests. During the concert, George (Richard E. Grant, first footman), Parks, Mr. Nesbitt and Commander Meredith disappear. An unknown person goes to the library and stabs Sir William as he sits slumped in his chair, apparently sleeping.
Minutes later, Lady Stockbridge goes to the library to entice Sir William to return to the party and her screams bring everyone to the room. Commander Meredith and Mr. Nesbitt do not offer an explanation of their disappearances, while George says he was fetching milk for the coffee service and Parks claims to have been fetching hot water bottles.
Inspector Thompson (Stephen Fry) and Constable Dexter (Ron Webster) arrive to investigate the murder. Dexter suggests that Sir William was already dead when he was stabbed. It is eventually discovered that Sir William was poisoned before being stabbed. Inspector Thompson uncovers a complex web of resentments between the guests and Sir William, realizing that almost everyone had a motive to murder him.
Mr Weissman's valet, Henry Denton, then reveals that he is in fact an actor who has been masquerading as a valet in order to improve his acting in the forthcoming film Mr Weissman is about to start filming.
Mrs. Croft, meanwhile, tells her kitchen staff that Sir William was known for seducing the young girls working in his factories. If a woman became pregnant, Sir William offered two choices: keep the baby and lose your job, or give the baby up and keep your job. Those who gave up their babies were told that the adoptions were being arranged with good families. In reality, Sir William paid squalid orphanages to take the children. Mary goes to Parks' room and tells him that she knows he is the murderer. Parks tells her that he discovered Sir William was his father, entered service and attempted to gain employment with someone in his circle. Parks tells Mary that he only stabbed the corpse, someone else had already poisoned Sir William beforehand.
Mary overhears a conversation between Lady Trentham and Lady Sylvia, who discloses that both Mrs. Croft and Mrs. Wilson were once workers in Sir William's factory. Lady Trentham asks if Mrs. Wilson was ever married and Lady Sylvia replies that her name was once Parks or Parker. Mary makes the connection and goes to Mrs. Wilson, who admits that she poisoned Sir William after realizing that Parks was her son, assuming correctly that he was there to murder his father. She also reveals that she and Mrs. Croft are sisters. Mrs. Croft kept her own baby from Sir William, who later died from scarlet fever, while Mrs. Wilson gave hers up, creating a lifelong rift between the two sisters.
Inspector Thompson decides to let everyone leave, as he has their addresses anyway. The guests depart one by one, while Mrs. Croft comforts her grieving sister in private, putting to rest their feud.
dark, mystery, murder, atmospheric, satire, romantic