Downton Abbey
The beloved Crawleys and their intrepid staff prepare for the most important moment of their lives. A royal visit from the King and Queen of England will unleash scandal, romance and intrigue that will leave the future of Downton hanging in the balance.
- Released: 2019-09-12
- Runtime: 122 minutes
- Genre: Drama, History, Romance
- Stars: Hugh Bonneville, Jim Carter, Michelle Dockery, Elizabeth McGovern, Maggie Smith, Imelda Staunton, Penelope Wilton, Laura Carmichael, Raquel Cassidy, Brendan Coyle, Kevin Doyle, Michael Fox, Joanne Froggatt, Matthew Goode, Harry Hadden-Paton, Stephen Campbell Moore, Lesley Nicol, Robert James-Collier, Allen Leech, Phyllis Logan, Geraldine James, Alex Crisp, Douglas Reith, Charlie Watson, David Haig, Susan Lynch, Max Brown, Fifi Hart, Oliver Barker, Zac Barker, Mark Addy, Eva Samms, Karina Samms, Kate Phillips, Harry Livingstone, Alice McCarthy, James Cartwright, Andrew Havill, Philippe Spall, Richenda Carey, Max Hutchinson, Tom Ashley, Simon Jones, Graeme Smiles, Tuppence Middleton, Darren Strange, John Biggins, Perry Fitzpatrick, Daniel Millar, David Lonsdale, Sophie McShera, Jessica Brown Findlay
- Director: Michael Engler
Comments
- trankimberly - 14 October 2023
Lovely continuation from the series
This movie had subtle drama, humor and brought all of the feelings 6 seasons of the show evoked in the span of 2 hours. It started per usual with the regular daily routine and usual banter between the family and staff. And quickly came the topic of which the movie evolves around. THE KING AND QUEEN ARE COMING. We can see the excitement, stress and drama that circulated when the royal family did their tour. With the royal family, came new characters for the Downton originals to quarrel with. There were people I wanted squashed and people who I was pleasantly surprised with. And despite all that was going on everything was brought to a satisfying close by the end of the movie. I thought it was perfect. - IonicBreezeMachine - 6 November 2022
A welcome follow-up to the TV series
Set in 1927, Downton Abbey will soon be visited by King George V (Simon Jones), Queen Mary (Geraldine James), and the Princess Mary, Viscountess Lascelles (Kate Phillips) during the Royal's tour of Yorkshire. While Robert (Hugh Bonneville) and Cora Crawley (Elizabeth McGovern), the Earl and Countess of Grantham, are eager to welcome the royals into their home, the accompanying royal staff lead by Royal butler Mr. Wilson (David Haig) cause contention with the Downton staff as the Downton staff are forced to acquiesce to the demands of the abrasive and stuck up royal staff. Meanwhile, Robert's mother and Dowager Countess of Grantham Violet Crawley (Maggie Smith) confronts cousin Maud Bagshaw (Imelda Staunton) over grievances with how she plans to leave her estate despite Robert being her nearest living heir.
Running from 2010 until its conclusion in 2015, with Downton Abbey being one of the most successful British costume dramas both in its home country and abroad, discussions were soon held regarding a film based on the titular series. Beginning development in 2016 with Fellowes outlining the story, the film was officially greenlit in 2018 with most of the principal cast returning. The film was a considerable hit upon release and in the United States opened at number 1 at the box office and made just shy of $100 million with a worldwide total of just under $200 million against a budget of $13-20 million. While the TV show itself ended on the pitch perfect note, Downton Abbey the movie makes itself a welcome addition to the series canon respecting the development of its characters on the show and revisiting all the great aspects that lead the show to be as endearing as it is.
From the opening sequence where we follow the journey of a letter from Buckingham Palace all the way to the grand shot of Downton Abbey, it's clear from the first introduction that this will pretty much feel like an episode of the TV series except with a bigger budget, and given the writing was already grand in the show Downton's format adapts well to the demands and expectations of cinema. Most of the principal cast return with their characters left very much intact from how they were left on the show and the movie does a solid job in giving all the cast a moment or two to shine despite the task of needing to balance the returning cast members with new characters. Characters such as Thomas Barrow and Tom Branson are given particularly strong story elements for their characters in here, and Jim Carter's Charlie Carson makes a welcome return overseeing preparations for the Royal visit to Downton even if maybe it's slightly contrived as to how it brings him back, but it's mostly welcome. The downstairs politics with the Downton staff being belittled by the Royal staff makes for the great comic moments and the payoff to their feud is infinitely satisfying. Maggie Smith is also welcome reprising her role as Violet Crawley fitting into the character with effortless ease, and her always entertaining exchanges with Penelope Wilton's Isobel Crawley-Grey haven't lost a step in how we last saw them. The story surrounding Violet and Maud is quite good and rich in drama and it leads to some good character moments that fit nicely within the show's world.
While Downton Abbey may not have needed to exist as the show already did end on a near perfect note (lack of resolution on Mrs. O'Brien notwithstanding), Fellowes and the returning cast do well in doing everything they can to do these characters justice and give us time to catch back up with them. If you're a fan of the show you'll definitely be a fan of the movie.
