Movie 2006.04.23 - Gosford Park

Would've been easy to simply conclude that the butler did it, but this whodunit didn't make it easy for the viewers. The whole movie runs at 137 minutes. First half of the movie gives you a short introduction to the hundreds (I exaggerate) of characters - masters and servants. The murder takes place around the middle of the movie, then the rest is unraveling who the culprit is. The local police is called in, but the inspector's so incompetent, it's up to the audience to do the sleuthing.

If you're after a murder mystery, don't mind the tension between the masters and the maids. Forget about the petty rivalries among the English, Scots, and Americans. Gloss over who has an interest in whom and for what purposes. All you need to know is that Mrs. Wilson did it, and the son, too. She poisoned Sir William, so that by the time Robert walked in and stabbed his father, he's already dead. That makes Robert untouchable because there's no law against stabbing corpses. Ouch.