Gosford Park (R, 2001)

Gosford Park is a beautifully rendered film. No, it isn't a 'murder mystery'. Rather, it is a deep, dark, multi-layered drama centering mainly around the servants residing in a country house full of wealthy British snobs. The first half of the film introduces you to the servants, their customs and quirks, the abuse they receive, and the various ways they cope with it. Then, halfway through the film, the owner of the house is murdered. The rest of the film deals with the initial chaos and ultimate liberation that results. The acting was nothing short of brilliant (Helen Mirren was certainly the best as the lead servant), and the cinematograpy was very unique and fascinating, almost like looking at a photorealistic painting. For an R-rated movie, Gosford Park is very tame, but a few things are worth mentioning. F-words pop up occasionally (I counted six), but most of the dialog is clean. Quite a few sexual references are present as well, but there's never any nudity, and almost everything is handled with tact. Also, just about everyone smokes casually, and a butler gets very drunk. However, most teens should be able to handle it without a problem. Hope this was helpful!