My love for the aristocratic Crawleys and the faithful servants of Downton Abbey comes entirely from the movies. Still, to this day, I’ve never watched a single episode. And yet, the three films have shown me why people loved the show and continue to flock to the movies in droves. You could make the case that it’s the most successful non-sci-fi series to make the jump to the big screen. After two movies of robust discussion on the topic, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale sets out to finally close the book on these wonderful characters as they face an uncertain future in 1930.
Once again directed by Richard Curtis and penned by series creator Julian Fellowes, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale feels, like the previous films, as if you’re watching a block of episodes in a row. But more than the others, this one feels like it’s for the fans who have been there from the beginning, and I get that. This being the apparent end of the road, there are more references to long-gone characters and key events from the past. Mainly, this is a film where nearly everyone goes through a life-changing event. The times are changing, and country estates like Downton Abbey are antiquated and expensive, with many of them disappearing.
At the end of the previous film, Robert Crawley (Hugh Bonneville) had passed the torch of leadership to his daughter, Mary (Michelle Dockery), but now that the time has come he’s reluctant to move on. Things are made even more complicated by Mary’s divorce, a scandal that threatens her position in high society. The estate faces greater economic turmoil than ever thanks to the mismanagement by Harold Levinson (Paul Giamatti), the brother of Cora Crawley (Elizabeth McGovern). He’s fallen prey to a con man (Alessandro Nivola) whose charms also seduce Mary into doing something unbecoming of a lady.
Fellows knows the Downton Abbey fans better than anybody, and this is a movie that is like spending time with old friends. There’s a ton of drama, and a million subplots to navigate, but no real threats. Most of what we see is an evolution of already-established relationships, unless it’s about Mr. Carson (Jim Carter) who has retired as butler but stubbornly won’t let go of the job. The retirement of longtime head cook Mrs. Patmore (Lesley Nicole) has helped her develop a motherly bond with firebrand assistant Daisy (Sophia McShera) as she prepares to take over. And of course, there’s the beloved maid Anna (Joanne Froggatt) as she and her husband Bates (Brendan Coyle) prepare for their next child and Mary’s ascent to power. The plots keep coming, including a visit from actor Noël Coward (Arty Froushan) and secret lovers Barrow (Robert James-Collier) and Guy Dexter (Dominic West). Former chauffeur and widower Tom (Allen Leech) has become a successful businessman in his own right, but is still close enough to the ground to see things the Crawleys wouldn’t know to look for.
Even with so much going on, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale never gets overwhelming. Fellowes has really mastered the juggling of so many characters, most of whom have large fan bases, and giving each of them moments to shine. The stakes are never very high, and there are tributes aplenty to the late Maggie Smith’s Violet Crawley, Dan Stevens’ Matthew Crawley, and of course, Jessica Brown Findlay’s tragic Lady Sybil. Is this truly the end? Well, I can promise you that nobody was magically transported into the present or anything like that, so if we do visit Downton Abbey again it will be exactly where we left it, still standing strong.
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale is in theaters now via Focus Features.
