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If you like a good mystery, this movie’s for you—it definitely fits
that description. The first time I saw it, I couldn’t help but wonder how
much of the mystery was really mysterious and how much was simply figuring
out who all the characters were. (It took me about two-thirds of the first viewing
to figure out what everyone’s name was—hosts and house guests
“above stairs” and their servants “below stairs”—
who was married to whom upstairs, and whom everyone downstairs served, not to mention what each person was keeping secret from others.) The murder didn’t take place until quite a ways into the movie
because it took so long to set everything up. I couldn’t help but wish there was
a book I could have read before the movie to prepare me, though I was thoroughly
enjoying having to work so hard. After all, it was a fun kind of work.
But I wondered how much of the enjoyment was in not knowing and how much
was in the actual craftmanship of the movie. So I went to see it a second time,
just to see if I’d still enjoy it. The second viewing proved that I really
did like the movie—the characters truly are complex, and the clues and motives
truly are well-written and well-filmed. I actually enjoyed not having to work
quite so hard the second time but still found myself challenged. Like many classics,
the filming and script have layers to them, so the movie improves upon acquaintance.
This award-winning film deserves its awards. Its excellent cast includes Kristin
Scott Thomas, Emily Watson, and Geoffrey Rush, among others. The script is excellently
written. And the camera work is maddeningly precise—giving and withholding
clues in just the right proportions. There’s a fascinating exploration
of societal rank—the entire movie flip-flops back and forth between the
“above stairs” world of the gentlemen and ladies and the “below
stairs” world of their servants with wonderful results. Of course, there’s
nothing subtle about the token Americans being there for explanation of and
flouting of the British class system. It may have been a tad too obvious as
a device. But then again, it does its job of keeping you grounded in the whole
class question while you’re busy working out the other important details—like
what all the characters’ names are and why they’d want to kill each
other.
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