I saw the movie at least four tomes by now, and each time I am astoumded what a great actress she is. She is playing her rather unlikiable character with such gusto, it is fascinating. I absolutely love her lines, too, she had awesome materoal to work with. She alone is worth watching tje movie for, but of course the whole cast is admirable.
Pardon, "hilarious" that is.
share"Please don't encourage them. They'll just go on and on and on"
"What happens to a dream deferred?"
I loved her too, in that movie, and now in the Downton Abbey serials. Though I think the oscar for her tiny role was a little bit too much.
English is not my first language. Any corrections are welcome.
I loved her too, in that movie, and now in the Downton Abbey serials. Though I think the oscar for her tiny role was a little bit too much.What Oscar are you referring to? Do you mean a nomination? Because Maggie didn't get an Oscar for this.
Yes, MyMovieRomance, I was referring to the oscar nomination.
English is not my first language. Any corrections are welcome.
Julian Fellowes said, in an interview, that the Countess was loosely based on one of his aunts and that quite a few of the lines--"What is a weekend?"--were things that she actually said.
shareMy favorite is when one of the servants "accidentally" spills coffee on the lap of the American valet (after he was outed)...her amused tittering & tee-heeing is beyond rich!
shareA rather personal comment: Your post has a number of spelling errors, but I find them somehow charming.
Lady Trentham was so unabashedly wicked. Even when poor Mabel replied with dignity to her tacky comment about having only one evening gown. She doesn't even flinch. She just makes a further tacky comment, "Tricky color, green..." and doesn't bat an eye.
shareThat line, "Tricky color, green," was not scripted, it was ad libbed by the brilliant Maggie Smith. It was fabulously catty, wasn't it?
It's not what a movie is about, it's how it is about it.
RIP Roger Ebert
Maggie Smith is excellently snobbish and catty here. The only one she likes in this family is Sylvia, who is very much her younger copy. They both are horribly sarcastic to poor Mabel and think they are goddesses over men. Well, Maggie is the old goddess.
_________
What a ridiculous dog! Excuse me, my dog is not ridiculous. Oh...Whose dog is this then?
I didn't realize it was an ad lib. Further proof of her greatness. The delivery was perfect. Catty to the 10th power.
shareMy favorite was "Bought marmalade? I call that very feeble"!
I always want to shout at the TV, "eat your marmalade, and be happy that your now-secure allowance is enabling you to continue to live the lifestyle you're accustomed to, you old bat!"
I kid, because I love her fabulously snobbish character, but there's no way I could have been a servant in those days.
I also love the beginning scene, when she's traveling to Gosford Park, and can't get the thermos open. After Ivor and Morris go on their way, she complains to Mary that she's freezing and they need to continue on their journey. All the while, she's warm and snug inside the car, while poor Mary is soaking wet standing in the rain!
I think Kristin Scott Thomas is even more delicious, albeit not so on the nose. It's all in her expressions and bored sighs.
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