A delightfully wry 1930s-set country house mystery. 4/5 stars
A varied collection of guests converge on a 1932 English country house. Jeremy Northam's super-smooth performance as Ivor Novello (he even does his own singing!) is the icing on the cake of this wonderfully wry look at a bygone age of servants, snobbery and social divisions.
Partly a send-up of the Agatha Christie-style of whodunit, director Robert (M*A*S*H, The Player) Altman is really far more interested in the preening vanity of his uppercrust characters – and of the grinding routine of the many servants who have to cater to their every whim.
Helen Mirren, Alan Bates, Clive Owen and Ryan Phillippe are just some of the stars in the kitchen. Meanwhile, those living the conceited good life upstairs include: Maggie Smith, Kristin Scott Thomas, Michael Gambon and, as a visiting Hollywood writer, Bob Balaban.
Playfully lighthearted, but with plenty of sharp edges where it counts, this is Altman at his brilliant best – while Downton Abbey writer Julian Fellowes picked up an Oscar for his script here.
