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Downton Abbey: A New Era - Review (No Spoilers)

A feelgood return to Downton will have fans laughing and crying in equal measure

★★★★★


Within the first 5 minutes of the film I was already crying tears of joy at seeing the Crawleys and their staff again. This tells you all you need to know about a.) my bias towards the film and b.) the audience it's aimed at: if you've never seen Downton Abbey before then this probably isn't for you. The film assumes a level of familiarity with the main characters, and the sheer volume of them will probably leave the Downton novice perplexed. But if you're a Downton aficionado, you will love this film.


The film takes place in England and the South of France. Violet, the Dowager Countess of Grantham (Maggie Smith) has inherited a villa due to a short liason she had with a French Marquis in the 1860s. ("I hope you didn't think it was anything improper!" she reproaches her friend Isobel). So Robert, Cora and a few others jolly off to France to have a look and meet the Marquis' family, some of whom are not at all pleased at this turn of events. Meanwhile at Downton, the house is being used to shoot a moving picture, or "kinematograph" as Robert calls them. The house is turned upside down by the news, and many of the servants are excited about catching a glimpse of the stars of the silver screen. A sudden catastrophe means that lots of people, both upstairs and down, end up being more involved than they would have ever anticipated!


In both this film and the previous one, the plot is much more dramatic and unrealistic than it was in the early days of the series. This makes sense, as they only have a couple of hours, so there can't be the same level of slow-burn plot development as there used to be in a full series, and the filmmakers will want something spectacular to draw in audiences. At first I was slightly sceptical, concerned that the implausible events would overshadow the well-drawn, grounded characters we have come to know and love. But after the initial set-up, the relationships are given more space to breathe and the film settles down into the more familiar Downton rhythm.


Mary (Michelle Dockery) leads the filming storyline, and is still very Mary-ish, though much more mellow than she used to be. Another character who has mellowed considerably is Tom (Allen Leech), who is firmly part of the landed gentry through his marriage to Lucy (Tuppence Middleton) but still vaguely maintains some of his socialist views. It could have been interesting if that strand of the story was developed, but it was only given a few lines here and there. Given there are so many characters to follow, choices had to me made about what to focus on, but I can't help thinking it would have been an interesting angle to explore a bit further. Edith (Laura Carmichael) and Bertie (Harry Haddon-Patton) pop in and out; it's nice to see Edith picking up her writing again but apart from that, she and Bertie aren't around much. Most characters get a moment or part of a plotline, which is fairly impressive as the main cast now consists of over 20 characters. However, Matthew Goode (who plays Mary's husband Henry Talbot) is notably absent, presumably due to his filming schedule. Below-stairs characters get a bit less of a look-in this time round, with most of the focus being on the Crawley family, but there are some heart-warming moments between Baxter (Raquel Cassidy) and Molesley (Kevin Doyle), and of course Mrs Hughes (Phyllis Logan) and Mr Carson (Jim Carter) are on fine form as usual.


Anna and Bates (Joanne Froggatt and Brendan Coyle) don't feature as much in this film; still happily married and with a young son, Johnny, Julian Fellowes appears to have exhausted his stock of awful situations to throw at them. Anna is mainly on hand to give sound advice to other characters, and teams up with Daisy (Sophie McShera) to wait on one of the film stars, Myrna Dalgleish (Laura Haddock). The character of Myrna is more or less directly lifted from Singin' in the Rain (not very original from Fellowes), but a bit of extra backstory gives her a Downton twist. Dominic West is Myrna's charming co-star Guy Dexter, who forms a close bond with Thomas (Robert James-Collier), still capably leading the staff as Downton's butler.


Violet (Maggie Smith) is very important to this film; Maggie Smith does a wonderful job with Violet's biting one-liners, as well as with her more sincere, emotional side. We really see the importance of her friendship with Isobel (Penelope Wilton), and a scene between them towards the end of the film is very touching and beautifully done. Robert (Hugh Bonneville) and Cora (Elizabeth McGovern) are as brilliant a team as ever; the strength of their marriage particularly coming through towards the end of the film. These four, plus Michelle Dockery, were really the standout performances for me.


The costumes are absolutely stunning, as per usual, with lovely 1920s dresses and hairstyles. Mary and Edith wear some particularly stunning outfits, and the film stars wear a variety of spectacular looks. The colour palettes are rich and sumptuous, especially in the French locations, and the wonderful weather throughout makes it feel like an idyllic summer holiday with old friends.


Overall, I really enjoyed this film. It was lovely to see all the characters on the big screen, and the plot tied up all the loose ends well. (Perhaps a bit too well if they're aiming for another film, but if it's the end of the franchise then was very nicely done.) The plot was definitely somewhat implausible, but I can forgive that, as the characters and relationships still felt as grounded and real as they always have. In particular, the last 30 minutes were full of heartwarming and sad moments that really showed me how important these characters are to me, as a Downton fan, and made me appreciate how well Julian Fellowes and the production team have created this wonderful world that we can all escape to.

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