Goodbye, Maggie Smith (1934-2024)

by Cláudio Alves

DOWNTON ABBEY: A NEW ERA (2022) was one of Maggie Smith's last screen appearances.

We always knew the day would come, but it's still difficult to imagine life without the great Maggie Smith among us. Born to a secretary and a pathologist in the interim years between the Great World Wars, she became a respected star of the stage before a jump to cinema in the 1960s expanded her horizons. From temptress to bitter old lady, from romantic heroin to comic relief, dipsomaniac tragedienne, whodunit queen and deranged diva – she could do it all, despite what some might have said about her late-career range or lack thereof. To me, Dame Maggie Smith was a titan, one of my favorite screen presences, and a reliable workhorse who could elevate every project she was involved in, even those that didn't deserve her talents. The British star will be sorely missed and the arts are poorer without her. Nay, the world.

Over the years, multiple writers at The Film Experience have explored the career of the late great two-time Oscar winner. So, let's revisit those pieces and bask in the love for an actress of incomparable wit and unimpeachable craft…

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A Maggie Smith Top Ten

by Cláudio Alves

Have you seen The Miracle Club yet? Thaddeus O'Sullivan's comedy has been in theaters for a week, and it's bound to bewitch actressexuals, showcasing performances from a cadre of lovely thespians. There's Kathy Bates and Laura Linney in what Matt St Clair described as a work of "unwavering grace and sly tenacity." There's also Maggie Smith, one of my favorite living actresses, delivering another late-career turn to remind viewers they shouldn't take her for granted. Sure, her decade-spanning portrayal of Violet Crawley in Downton Abbey seemed like a congealment of the actress's greatest hits. However, that doesn't mean Smith is a one-trick pony, that her filmography is without risk or variety.

To commemorate, let's make the two-time Oscar winner our subject for list-mania. So, dear reader, will you join me down Maggie Smith's extensive repertoire, searching for the top ten highlights? It's a vast scope of roles, from scene-stealing supporting parts to titanic leads, from heartbreak to cutting pithiness…

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The New Classics: Gosford Park

Hey everyone. Michael Cusumano here. If you've got to be trapped inside, why not be trapped inside with thirty or so of the greatest British actors ever? 18-year-old mystery spoilers ahead!

 

Scene: The Murder of Willam McCordle 
I don’t think you count yourself as having seen a Robert Altman film unless you’ve seen it three times, minimum. All great films expand on rewatch, but Altman movies transform, accumulating power as additional dimensions come into focus. In no film is this more apparent than his late-period masterwork, Gosford Park...

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Best of the "Whodunnit?" Genre (Part One)

by Eurocheese

Rian Johnson’s upcoming Knives Out is a thrill ride of a whodunnit, toying with one of the most enjoyable film genres. To celebrate, I'm sharing my all time list of favorite murder mysteries. Feel free to add your own in the comments – we could all use some good discoveries from any era or country.

Before we begin some whodunnit qualifiers to narrow down this list. The films must have: 

1. A set group of suspects, who we get to know through the film (disqualifies movies like Se7en)
2. An unknown culprit (knocks out most of Hitchcock)
3. Evidence, so the audience has some chance of guessing the final answer
4. ...And the identity of the culprit being revealed late in the film, either by a detective or the movie itself.

This should go without saying, but a whodunnit isn’t as fun when the answer is spoiled, so no spoilers in the comments (about any of these or Knives Out)!

TEN FAVOURITE WHODUNNITS...

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Oscar History: Dame Maggie Smith

by Cláudio Alves

Younger audiences may know Dame Maggie Smith as Professor McGonagall and the sharp-tongued Countess of Grantham, but, before Downton Abbey and Harry Potter, she was already a British national treasure, having won two Oscars by 1979, with four additional nominations. This awards season, with the Dowager Countess promoted to the big screen, she might return to the Academy’s good graces.

Her Downton Abbey role has already proven an awards magnet with three Emmys and a Golden Globe. Maybe its popularity will translate to movie awards? 

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