A report from Sue:

My evening at BAFTA was magical. We saw the film and it was followed by what they called a Scriptwriter's Masterclass. Essentially, this was a grand name for the usual Director and a couple of other people in the production doing a Q & A. In this case it was the scriptwriter, Julian Fellowes, who came along with the awesome Robert Altman and this was chaired by Stephen Fry.

The film was the masterpiece we have come to expect from Mr Altman, but at the same time a completely new area for him. Not only period drama, but British crime drama! The ensemble cast were remarkable, with no one member competing with another. Some of the performances with fewer lines, were actually more pivotal in the piece as a whole. I know you want me to comment on Clive's performance, which I feel I can be pretty objective about. He gives the solid performance you would expect and I think that is key to how Robert Altman works. He had a good idea of how each performer would present their role and he let them run with it. I would not say that any cast member performed in a way that would surprise anyone that knew their work. Mr Owen, was controlled, sometimes broody, showing a mocking superiority, and humility all at once (which is a mean feat!) His performance is confident and polished. He will never have the diversity and chameleon qualities that we all admire so much in the work of Russell Crowe, but he is able to bring contradictory emotions to the audience, which is a talent in itself. I felt threatened and reassured by him, at the same time. He always has an edge of mystery but makes you believe that he thinks you are 'in' on the secret. Have I explained that eloquently enough ?

The masterclass which followed was a wonderful experience, which I feel privileged to have attended. Julian Fellows was most informative, and very talented. It must be very intimidating to write for such a director, but of course immensely stimulating. He was on set at all times and quipped that he felt remarkable to have stayed on US funded feature as the ONLY writer from start to finish. Robert Altman described how he never allows the camera to be static and that he just lets the cast react to each other without interfering. He says he never gives precise direction, but will ask a question about a take which may (or may not) provoke a slightly different performance. If an actor asks how he or she did in that take, he will change the subject by asking for a change of scarf or shoes. The atmosphere on set must be amazing - as Stephen Fry stood testament. The credits are the most incredulous A list, which he said would never have been possible in the US, since nobody would have had the patience to stick around for so long, without being directly featured. For instance, Alan Bates spend 6 weeks being out of focus in the background, and it was only towards the end of shooting that he had a couple of 'featured' scenes.