PLOT: The Crawley family and the staff of Downton Abbey must confront a changing world as a much-anticipated inheritance from Cora (Elizabeth McGovern) is squandered due to risky investments made by her brother (Paul Giamatti) on the eve of Black Thursday and the Great Depression.
REVIEW: I absolutely adore the Downton Abbey franchise. It’s hard to explain the appeal of the show to a non-fan, but there’s a reason why such a diverse global audience regularly binges it and flocks to see every new film in theaters. Outside of Star Trek, it’s arguably the only franchise to have successfully made the leap to the big screen (with its cast intact) and become a bankable theatrical trilogy. Yet, it seems like all involved have decided to call it a day on the Crawley family (even though they could keep playing these characters for decades), so here we are with Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale.
While I have my doubts as to whether this truly is the end, if it is, it comes to an appropriately low-key conclusion. The show was always comfort food (despite a few shockingly dark moments—one particularly involving Joanne Froggatt’s beloved Anna), and this movie does right by fans without putting any of them in harm’s way. It’s uneventful, but it’s entirely pleasant, as going to see one of these films now feels like checking in with old friends.
Given that this installment aims to wrap up the saga, much of the film revolves around changing times and the passing of the torch. As the movies have shown, the balance of power at Downton Abbey has shifted from Robert (Hugh Bonneville), a man increasingly out of step with his times, to his more modern daughter, Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery). However, that transition is jeopardized when she goes through a divorce which, in 1930s England, was considered an unimaginable scandal in high society, threatening their social standing. While that may sound like low stakes, the shadow of the Great Depression hangs over the estate, with the family falling prey to an American investor (Alessandro Nivola) who may not be trustworthy.
That’s about as dark as it gets, though, with us checking in on Anna (Froggatt) and Bates (Brendan Coyle) as they prepare for the birth of their first child, while Mr. Carson (Jim Carter) prepares for retirement as the younger staff members—particularly husband and wife Andy (Michael Fox) and Daisy (Sophie McShera)—begin stepping into bigger roles. One of the sweetest subplots revolves around the growing mother-daughter-like bond between Daisy and the kind-hearted Mrs. Patmore (Lesley Nichol).
Two of the original outsiders, Robert James-Collier’s Barrow (who began as the show’s villain) and Allen Leech’s Branson, continue their growth as the unlikely saviors of the Crawley family. As the last film ended, Barrow finally found happiness as the live-in partner of Dominic West’s Guy Dexter, and his proximity to high society types like Noel Coward helps restore the Crawleys’ social standing. Meanwhile, the ever-crafty Branson is once again the only one who can immediately sniff out a rat among the many leeches attaching themselves to the family.
Of course, Maggie Smith’s absence is keenly felt, but the film pays appropriate tribute to her, adding to the sense that this might indeed be the end of Julian Fellowes’s series. Even still, I can’t help but hope that somewhere down the road we all get another chance to spend a bit more time at the Abbey.
