Downton Abbey: A New Era – Movie Review
125 Minutes, Rated PG
Written by Julian Fellowes
Directed by Simon Curtis
**Not only do you get our discussion of the film, along with my written review, but you also get a bonus talk about upcoming Television projects, so stay till the end for that.**
Synopsis:
Follow-up to the 2019 feature film in which the Crawley family and Downton staff received a royal visit from the King and Queen of Great Britain.
This much-anticipated cinematic return of the global phenomenon reunites the beloved cast as they go on a grand journey to the South of France to uncover the mystery of the Dowager Countess’ newly inherited villa.
Having watched the entirety of the Downton Abbey television series and the first film, I was more than ready to revisit the aristocratic world of Lord Grantham and his family.
And I’m not alone in that.
I’m not sure what it is, exactly, that draws the people of “modern” society, perhaps Americans even more than the English, to want to revisit the world of a century ago, but that world carries an undeniable appeal.
If you’re familiar with the series, you’ll be aware of the Downton universe’s version of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Luis (introduced to the world in Ant-Man): Mr. Molesley. At once earnest, naive, a dreamer, and a pessimist, Molesley has floated through the Downton cast, acting perhaps more than any other character, as the modern audience’s avatar.
Here he provides, prior to the film’s opening, a recap of the family from the beginning in order to refresh our memories while providing a bit of levity before we get into the inevitably heavy family drama to follow.
Downton Abbey: A New Era opens with the wedding that was telegraphed at the end of the first film, before swiftly moving the family into the controversial set-up: the matriarch of the family, Violet Crawley (played by Dame Maggie Smith), has been gifted a villa in the south of France by a man she met years earlier, and his widow is not pleased.
Though she is too ill to travel, she sends Lord and Lady Grantham, along with Tom and Edith, to see to the transfer of ownership from the prior owner’s all-too-accommodating son. She plans to gift the property to Tom’s daughter (her great granddaughter), Sybbie, who would otherwise has nothing substantial to inherit.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch–uh, estate–a film crew has rented Downton to make a film, and the family and staff must navigate the treacherous waters of the entertainment industry.
Look, I’m not going to give a complete breakdown of the plot, because if you’re a fan, then you already know how this is going to turn out.
There is no plot point, however ridiculous or contrived, that isn’t going to resolve itself in the best possible way for those involved. Whatever you think might happen to any particular character, or what you think should happen to/for any particular character, it’s probably going to happen.
And perhaps that’s the secret of Downton’s appeal; no matter how different that social structure is from our own, no matter how much we may or may not like or dislike any one person involved, the world of Downton Abbey is (to crib a bit from one of my favorite movies of the year) a bit like a pair of blue jeans: there’s a very comfortable feeling to sliding back into them; they’re well-worn in all the right places, and have to try very hard to be uncomfortable, lol.
Not that anyone at Downton would dare to wear jeans, especially if Mr. Carson was present. Can you imagine the scandal should Lady Mary demean herself to wearing a pair of jeans?
But I digress.
As the movie opens with a wedding, so it closes with– well, I’m not going to spoil it for you; you’re just going to have to watch for yourself.
If you’re a fan of the show, you should find yourself cheering and crying where appropriate; maybe more than you imagine you would.
Downton Abbey: A New Era hits theaters on May 20 and stars Hugh Bonneville, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Brendan Coyle, Michelle Dockery, Kevin Doyle, Joanne Froggatt, Harry Hadden-Paton, Robert James-Collier, Allen Leech, Phyllis Logan, Elizabeth McGovern, Sophie McShera, Tuppence Middleton, Lesley Nicol, Maggie Smith, Imelda Staunton, Penelope Wilton, and new cast members Hugh Dancy, Laura Haddock, Nathalie Baye, Dominic West, and Jonathan Zaccaï.
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