Reading reviews is one of the fun parts of watching a new (to you) movie. The biggest comedic relief of this reading is the reference by so many to this film as a comedy and/or mystery. It's a drawing room drama of near epic proportions. The producers/directors seemed to want to throw it all in, and the crime part of the thing surely was not intended to be taken seriously. Blake Edwards may have recognized that police inspector, but Agatha Christie would have shuddered. She didn't do comedies, and her detectives were expert and successful. And, how can this be a "whodunit" when they show you who did it?? Clearly, everyone connected with the project worked hard. And they got their "A's" for effort. And a big "Q" for quantity, but "0" for quality. No matter how much talent you assemble, rabbits pulled out of hats, it all just gets lost in the jabbering herd.
A lot of people are referencing this movie right now because of the huge current following of PBS' "Downton Abbey." There are comparisons of site and theme and so forth. So, it sends one to or back to GP. It no doubt was ground breaking, in proportion at least, for its type and in its time -- but it has been majorly eclipsed with Abbey. Somehow, the more civil versions of this theme have surpassed offerings of this sort. You can scream artistic expression in many categories on this, but the period films (or other) that are the most revisited (and awarded as well) are not of this ilk. These characters don't live on. Who could even remember half of them? That's not the case with other period films of the type and subject, which have and are becoming classics, like "Downton Abbey," one in the works - undeniably a smash hit.
There's a problem today with confusing filthy talk and wholesale shoddy behavior with realism. Again, the characters that become real to people are not from films that attempt to standardize lower forms of human nature and expression. People have a way of wanting to spend their time and revisit works that reflect upward from dysfunction, with liberal sprinklings of sleaze. Sorry, but that's basically what you've got here. It may be a part of real life, but most people really aren't impressed by it, nor seek it as entertainment. "Adult themes" can be represented without being crammed down your throat. Applause to those with the artistic skill and human depth to bring that off. Unfortunately, that did not happen here. Innovative spectacle for its time -- a reach for a positive commentary.
A lot of people are referencing this movie right now because of the huge current following of PBS' "Downton Abbey." There are comparisons of site and theme and so forth. So, it sends one to or back to GP. It no doubt was ground breaking, in proportion at least, for its type and in its time -- but it has been majorly eclipsed with Abbey. Somehow, the more civil versions of this theme have surpassed offerings of this sort. You can scream artistic expression in many categories on this, but the period films (or other) that are the most revisited (and awarded as well) are not of this ilk. These characters don't live on. Who could even remember half of them? That's not the case with other period films of the type and subject, which have and are becoming classics, like "Downton Abbey," one in the works - undeniably a smash hit.
There's a problem today with confusing filthy talk and wholesale shoddy behavior with realism. Again, the characters that become real to people are not from films that attempt to standardize lower forms of human nature and expression. People have a way of wanting to spend their time and revisit works that reflect upward from dysfunction, with liberal sprinklings of sleaze. Sorry, but that's basically what you've got here. It may be a part of real life, but most people really aren't impressed by it, nor seek it as entertainment. "Adult themes" can be represented without being crammed down your throat. Applause to those with the artistic skill and human depth to bring that off. Unfortunately, that did not happen here. Innovative spectacle for its time -- a reach for a positive commentary.