‘Downtown Abbey’ Shows A New Era And A Satisfying End
Starring Hugh Bonneville, Jim Carter, Michelle Dockery, Elizabeth McGovern, Allen Leech, Tuppence Middleton, Imedla Staunton, Laura Carmichael, Penelope Wilton, Joanne Froggatt, Brendan Coyle, Sophie McShera, Maggie Smith, Hugh Dancy, Dominic West
Rated PG
Drama
Run time: 2 hr, 5 min
Directed by Simon Curtis
In theaters May 20, 2022
After the first movie, I assumed that they’d be lowering the curtain on Downton. Clearly, I was utterly silly to think such a thing in a world where we will have sequels of every single thing that can make money until they wear out their welcome. Thankfully, this story of our beloved Crawley family was an asset rather than a mistake. They manage to combine the right amount of callbacks and comfort with new characters and twists to provide an utterly delightful way to spend two hours in a theater. However, there was a sense of finality that the previous film didn’t have, and as much as I love visiting Downton on the screen, I have to hope that they’ll make the right choice and let this be the send-off this wonderful series deserves.
The story splits into two camps relatively early on. One half of the main family goes to investigate (and enjoy) a French villa that has been seemingly randomly gifted to the dowager countess (Smith) due to a connection from long ago. The other half stay at the estate and manage with another way the world is evolving by hosting a film crew making one of the first talkies. Naturally, drama ensues, but so do heartwarming moments as we witness our favorite couples and family dynamics play out across the screen. We get to see Tom Branson (Leech) finally get his happy ending with Lucy (Middleton). Mary (Dockery) is coming into her own as the de facto head of the house at Downton and we get the added interesting interactions of the two new film stars (Haddock and West) and their director (Dancy). It’s a spin on the Downton we know and love.
Lately, I’ve been having a lot of issues with the dialogue in the new releases I’m seeing in the theaters. They’re overly expositional and seem determined to make sure the audience knows exactly what is happening and how they should feel about it. While Downton’s story arcs can be extremely soap-opera-y, the script is clearly well honed, which makes it all seem more grounded than a lot of overly dramatic pieces of media that are out there. The writing also manages to avoid the Sorkin affect, where a lot of people sound exactly the same and with the same level of wit and references because the writer comes through the script as much as the characters. There is some snark, some sentiment and some strife. It’s all about balance.
Now, for as much as I love spending time in this upper crust British world, I do hope that this is the end of this story. There are some extremely touching moments in this film that I want to be the finale it so richly deserves. I laughed, I cried and I admired the fashion. We get to see characters potentially get their own fairy tale conclusions, or at least we get to imagine that is the case. I’ll admit that I’m not sure we really needed this film, as I thought the first theatrical release felt like the epilogue we all wanted from the show. But after getting to see it, I can’t complain. I just hope we get to leave it as is, while we still love it and this wonderful cast of characters aren’t overstaying their welcome.