Downton Abbey

The new, big screen version of Downton Abbey pays so much service to its fans, the whole thing is like an ornately decorated, Roaring 20s valentine that says, “Do you still like me? If yes, check box.” This theatrical follow-up to the BBC/PBS juggernaut that lasted for six season is intended to accomplish two things: to give the fans more of what they already loved about the tv show in the first place and to create a sense of all’s-well-that-ends-well closure for a host of different characters.

When the television show debuted in the United States in 2010, the first two seasons were as good as high-end television gets. The writing was sharp, the performances energetic, and the show was immensely entertaining as it explored a world most contemporary Americans don’t know.  It was fascinating and revelatory to follow the friction, cooperation, and collaboration between English aristocracy and the elaborate network of servants and commoners that supported them and were supported by them. Seasons three through six unfortunately tested the limits of creator Julian Fellowes’ creativity, and the show fell into a rut of repeating some storylines and dragging others out.  

In this theatrical iteration, we return to the ancestral home of the Earl of Grantham to catch up with Robert and Cora Crawley, their family and servants two years after the end of the tv show’s sixth and final season. Set in 1927, the central conflict of the film involves a Royal visit. As part of a tour, King George and Queen Mary plan to stay for a night at Downton Abbey and naturally it sends both aristocrats and servants into a tizzy.

All the familiar themes of the television show are present: the question of whether the aristocratic life can and should go on, the struggle of lower class people to rise up in the social ranks, and modernity versus tradition. There are secret relationships, arched eyebrows and barbed quips from Granny Violet, Carson the butler looking like an indignant owl, Anna the maid being resourceful and good, cooks bickering downstairs while the people in the dining room gamely discuss politics and shooting, the whole Downton shebang.

The film clearly had a higher production budget and so the camera is much more mobile and fluid than it ever was on tv, and there are numerous, sweeping drone shots of Highclere Castle, the location that serves as the grand house of the title. It’s all lovely and brings a little more glamour to an already glamorous world.

As I said, the film is primarily for fans rather than newcomers. I’m sure outsiders to Downton would think it a pleasant film, but it’s unlikely they would cackle and hoot every time the Dowager said something sarcastic like the die-hard audience did in my theater.

There’s nothing particularly new about the Downton Abbey film except that, instead of keeping viewers on the hook for the next season, it provides closure and a tremendous amount of reconciliation and love for characters by its end. Tom Branson, the Irish chauffer turned surprising son-in-law to the Crawleys, has long served as the voice of reason to his lofty in-laws and after losing his beloved Sybil seven years earlier, he finally gets another chance at love. Thomas, the footman-turned-butler of Downton was often portrayed as villainous and scheming, but here he is given much more humane treatment and even gets his own shot at love, even though he is a closeted gay man in a time when his behavior was a crime. Granny Violet, as is befitting her character, gets her final, grand say in things as she closes the film with a tear-jerking goodbye monologue.

There are no loose ends left, and the cast is sent off happy, reconciled, and at peace. All is well. For a newcomer, Downton Abbey won’t offer much, but for fans from the last nine years, the film is a truly pleasurable conclusion and appreciated love letter.