THE SHOOTING PARTY

Alan Bridges (“The Hireling,” “The Return of the Soldier”) beautifully captures the rhythms, atmosphere and subtle wit if Isabel Colegate's award-winning novel. Set in 1913, the passing of the Edwardian Era is personified by the interplay of classes among THE SHOOTING PARTY's wealthy, titled hosts and guests and their servants and other commoners. A sort of British “Rules of the Game,” the film's central character is the host, Sir Randolph Nettleby (James Mason's final screen role) at whose estate unfolds a drama of love, adulterious intrigues and jealousies that lead to a fatal accident, the harbinger of world-wide violence to come. Flawless ensemble performances are enriched by Bridges' perceptive evocation of place, time and manners.