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The star rating at the top of this review is not for people who don't like "Downton Abbey," have never seen it, or grew tired of watching it long before it finished its six-season run. Those viewers will consider this a two-star or one-star or no star movie. The rating is for die-hards who will comprise the majority of viewers for this big-screen wrap-up of the Julian Fellowes drama about nobles and servants in an early-20th century English manor. The rating is also for fans of a certain sub-genre of film and TV: lavishly produced costume dramas about repressed people who might cut loose with a bitchy remark now and again, but only if they're pushed to decorum's edge—or if, like Violet the Dowager Countess ( Maggie Smith ), they're too old, tough, and set in their ways to care what anybody else thinks of them. 

Finally, the rating is for the kinds of viewers who will, I suspect, turn this movie into an unexpected smash: those who might not feel obligated to leave their homes to watch blockbusters featuring dinosaurs, robots, superheroes, or Jedi knights, but will travel some distance to see a film in which well-dressed, reasonably thoughtful adults do and say grownup things. Said adults inhabit a tale set in something resembling reality, with banquets, dances, familial intrigue, gown fittings, chaste flirtations, declarations of love, and expertly timed reaction shots of characters silently disapproving of other characters. But the movie omits the Method masochism and "eat this bowl of chaff, it's good for you" bombast that has increasingly become synonymous with Hollywood's Oscar bait.

In "Downton Abbey" the movie, roughly four dozen major and minor characters, constituting both nobility and servants, bustle about the screen for two hours, planning and executing grand schemes and dropping juicy bits of gossip, but mostly taking care of the little details: arranging plates, utensils and stemware; fixing a damaged boiler; completely altering a dress in a few hours. In the the middle of the night, they go out in pouring rain to arrange metal chairs for townspeople who are supposed to gather the following morning to watch the arrival of King George V and Queen Mary, who are scheduled to dine at Downton.

This is far from a perfect film—it feels a bit rushed and thin, and a couple of big moments are tossed off. As in the recent "Deadwood" wrap-up feature, there's enough story for another season of the series, most of it articulated in quite brief scenes (some lasting as little as 15 seconds). The approach is reminiscent of a light comedy from old Hollywood. The viewer barely gets to dip a pinky toe into situations that an hour-long drama would soak in. Still, it works. It really works. It's goodhearted and clever, and it knows when to end.

What do you need to know beyond that? Lady Mary ( Michelle Dockery ) is still worried that Downton can't sustain itself in a more frugal time that frowns on grand displays of wealth. (There's a reference to the General Strike of 1926, but only in terms of the inconvenience and crankiness it caused.) A contrivance forces the former butler Carson ( Jim Carter ) out of retirement to take charge of the estate ahead of the royal visit. There's a subplot about the tension between imperial England and the Northern Irish, represented by Allen Leach's Tom Branson, the former chauffeur, current estate manager, and staunch Irish socialist; and another focusing on Thomas Barrow (Robert James-Collier), the repressed gay first footman who later became head valet, under-butler, and finally butler (replacing Carson). 

There's also an inheritance plotline that's mainly an excuse to pit Maggie Smith against another great English character actress, Imelda Staunton . The latter plays Lady Maud Bagshaw, a baroness whose father was the great uncle of Robert Crawley (Hugh Bonneville). Maud inherited the "Granby Estate", once belonging to the Crawleys, and is thinking about leaving it to her servant, Lucy Smith ( Tuppence Middleton ). Scandalous! 

Much has been written about the original TV series—and now its big-screen continuation—asserting that the main appeals are nostalgia for monarchy, rigid class hierarchy, and gross colonial expropriation of resources and wealth. That's correct, insofar as it goes. The Public Broadcasting System made "Downton Abbey" a hit in the United States. That network wouldn't exist without Anglophilia. There is something a tad unsettling (though understandable, in a Freudian way) about the continuing wish to fetishize a onetime mother country that the rebel child rejected 250 years earlier. The entitlement here isn't unexamined, but the storytellers don't exactly turn over rocks to see what bugs might be lurking. Like most stories set among the wealthy in another time, there's a "have it both ways" aspect. The script is thick with criticisms of the rich and the social system that enables them, but if that was what people really wanted to see, they'd be at home watching a film by Mike Leigh or Ken Loach . A movie like this is more about the coaches, the footmen, the waistcoats and bowler hats, and the gleam of silver bells.  

But I'd suggest that there's something else besides wealth porn happening whenever an audience embraces this kind of film in 2019, a year defined by "Avengers: Endgame," "Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker," " Toy Story 4 ," " Joker ," "Fast and the Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw," and their ilk. Movies like "Downton Abbey" are a different kind of franchise product. And they deliver another definition of action cinema, one that is increasingly ill-served by theatrical films: the opportunity to watch people who are very good at ordinary, non-lethal tasks do those things with skill and imagination, even when they don't feel like it. 

The opening credits sequence of this movie—which was written by Fellowes, and unfussily directed by Michael Engler (an American, dear heaven!)—tells you what sort of experience you're in for. It tracks the delivery of a letter announcing the royal couple's visit. The envelope crosses the countryside by train, then mail truck, then motorcycle, eventually finding its way into the hands of the staffer authorized to open and read it. The messenger’s ringing of the bell results in a familiar closeup of the wall of bells in the kitchen that we saw so many times throughout the show. Every element you expect to see, you see. The movie knows what it is and is on top of its game. Everything is just so. 

I'm not persuaded that this kind of film is inherently less populist than any of the others types I've mentioned, or inherently less "authentic" or appealing, or somehow worse for you, or more false in the pleasures it promises and delivers. In fact, I admit that perhaps I'm rating this film a bit too highly because it gave me nostalgic flashbacks to domestic comedy-dramas like " Moonstruck " and " Once Around " and " The Wedding Banquet ," which knew how to get laughs from a brief reaction shot of somebody raising an eyebrow or looking confused; and Merchant-Ivory adaptations like " Howards End " and "A Room with a View," which were thoughtfully written, directed, and performed, but weren't striving to reinvent any wheels. 

The latter became synonymous with posh piffle, and for a long time it was uncool to admit enjoying them. But what they delivered were stories about plausible human beings whose relationships were often marked by the decision  not to say something. This, too, is a valid form of commercial cinema. It might not be the worst thing to remind the entertainment industry that it can be popular, too.

Matt Zoller Seitz

Matt Zoller Seitz is the Editor at Large of RogerEbert.com, TV critic for New York Magazine and Vulture.com, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in criticism.

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Downton Abbey (2019)

Rated PG for thematic elements, some suggestive material, and language.

122 minutes

Hugh Bonneville as Robert Crawley

Maggie Smith as Violet Crawley

Michelle Dockery as Mary Crawley

Jim Carter as Mr. Carson

Laura Carmichael as Edith Crawley

Elizabeth McGovern as Cora Crawley

Phyllis Logan as Mrs. Hughes

Penelope Wilton as Isobel Merton

Brendan Coyle as John Bates

Joanne Froggatt as Anna Bates

Geraldine James as Queen Mary

Simon Jones as King George V

David Haig as Mr. Wilson

Tuppence Middleton as Lucy Smith

Matthew Goode as Henry Talbot

• Michael Engler

Writer (characters)

• Julian Fellowes

Cinematographer

• Ben Smithard

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Downton Abbey: A New Era Review

Tonal chaos front-loaded with charm..

Downton Abbey: A New Era will hit theaters on May 20, 2022.

There’s a charming simplicity to Downton Abbey: A New Era, the sequel to the movie spin-off to the 2010 series. For about an hour and 20 minutes, it functions as a wistful return to familiar sights, sounds, and people, moving between scenes with a sense of lightness and musicality, and providing non-stop laughs until its story wraps up with a neat and comforting bow. It then inexplicably continues for another 40 minutes past that point, pivoting unpredictably into some of the most jaw-dropping tonal whiplash the saga has ever seen. All in all, it’s a Downton Abbey movie; could its seemingly final chapter have gone any other way?

The existence of these cinematic outings rests on ignoring the end of the show, which hints at oncoming changes to early 20th century English society and the dissolution of Downton’s aristocratic structure — essentially, the end of its upstairs-downstairs premise. However, it simply would not be Downton Abbey if that status quo were upset , no matter how much characters like Daisy (Sophie McShera) aspire to be more than kitchen maids to stuck-up earls and countesses (12 years later — 18 in continuity — and she’s still making lateral moves). The previous film, simply titled Downton Abbey, not only has the King and her family visiting the lush estate, but sees the house staff eager to serve them, and it even ends with Tom Branson (Allen Leech) — the once staunch Irish socialist, who eventually married into the Crawley family after years of being mistreated as their chauffeur — saving the King’s life, thus ensuring the continuation of the Royal lineage. That’s as English as it gets, a baton which A New Era carries with enthusiasm.

Like its title, the film hints at nominal transformation on the horizon, but in true Downton fashion, it wouldn’t dare allow any meaningful change. The Abbey functions as it always did, leasing the surrounding farmland to poor workers and hosting a full schedule of meaningless black-tie events attended by the Crawleys alone. But when its sweeping establishing shots arrive, and the first notes of John Lunn’s glorious musical theme fade in, you can’t help but be hit by waves of nostalgia (it’s the same reason the Fantastic Beasts films still find ways to have scenes set at Hogwarts). After a cheery opening at a wedding, replete with ceremony photographs that re-introduce the entire cast, the plot quickly kicks into motion with two unrelated events that soon separate the characters into two distinct parties.

The now nearly-century-old Lady Violet Crawley (played by the incomparable Dame Maggie Smith, witty as ever) comes into possession of a summer villa in the South of France after the death of a mysterious man from her past. In order to sort out the inheritance, she sends her son Robert (Hugh Bonneville), his wife Cora (Elizabeth McGovern), her granddaughter Edith (Laura Carmichael), Edith’s husband Bertie (Harry Hadden-Paton), and Branson, along with his new wife Lucy (Tuppence Middleton) and his mother-in-law Lady Bagshaw (Imelda Staunton), to meet with the grieving family. The group is accompanied by the soft-spoken lady’s maid Mrs. Baxter (Raquel Cassidy), the hilariously reluctant and once again out-of-retirement butler Mr. Carson (Jim Carter), and the ever-charming footman Mr. Bates (Brendan Coyle) who, sadly, has very little screen time despite being a major presence on the show. This half of the story is funny and amicable, with some built-in tensions regarding what might come to light about Lady Violet’s youth (not to mention, how the Frenchman’s family feels about the Crawleys taking over their summer home, a plot point kicked aside in a way that feels unusually cruel). However, the French villa is also where things eventually fly off the rails for completely unrelated reasons — and I do mean completely.

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The other half of the plot unfolds back at the estate, where a silent Hollywood production called The Gambler, led by charming-but-high-strung director Jack Barber (Hugh Dancy), comes to film at Downton, much to the chagrin of older characters like Violet and her uneasy compatriot Isobel (Penelope Wilton); the duo are finally united, it seems, by their uproarious hatred of cinema. Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery), now growing into her role as a more “proper” (see also: boring) member of the family (after her dramatic past during the series) oversees the Abbey’s transformation into a mid-19th century gambling den, while her lady’s maid Anna (Joanne Froggatt) and kitchen maid Daisy fawn over a pair of famous stars: the dashing and mysterious Guy Dexter (Dominic West) and the radiant but short-tempered Myrna Dalgleish (Laura Haddock). It’s the late 1920s and films are only just leaving the silent era, so the staff and family are surprised to learn that Guy and Myrna are English, and that Myrna has a cockney accent that everyone around her seems to find grating (including, oddly enough, the working class staff).

While this sets up a subplot about Myrna’s fears of transitioning to Talkies, it’s the first of several moments where Downton Abbey: A New Era skirts into its usually classist territory, only this time, the result verges on shocking and strange even during its most well-meaning attempts to depict class solidarity (screenwriter Julian Fellowes, who show-ran the entire series, is a Tory MP, and any semblance of centrist pretense he brought to the series finally fades away). However, as has been the mantra during this review: would it truly be Downton Abbey if it approached its premise in any other way?

Where the film lets the series down, however, is in its conception as a sequel. Only a handful of characters get actual follow-ups to their existing stories. For one, the comically anxious Mr. Molesely (Kevin Doyle), who now watches The Gambler’s rolling cameras with the same starry-eyed gaze he had for the Queen (he longs to be part of the movies the way he once longed to serve royalty). For another, the out-of-the-closet-by-1920s-standards head butler Thomas Barrow (Robert James-Collier), whose evolution from scheming villain to sympathetic figure has been moving. Barrow may not have the lion’s share of screentime, but the question of what lies in his future — as someone who once walled himself from other people, but now wants nothing more than a real connection — is one the film makes surprisingly central.

It is, however, the only really concise story in the entire movie, a problem that stems from the fact that while characters make reference to people and events in the show’s past, almost none of them act like any of it actually happened. Some lines of dialogue come off in dreadfully poor taste if you remember the basic events of the series, because the characters, it seems, do not. For instance, Lady Mary’s husband Henry Talbot (Matthew Goode) doesn’t appear, likely due to scheduling conflicts, and his absence is hand-waved away as being rooted in his love for driving fast cars, an explanation Mary delivers without a hint of awareness, concern, or dramatic irony considering the fact that her first husband, Matthew Crawley (Dan Stevens), died in a car accident. Mary isn’t the only one; while the couples are all largely happy, no one but the lonely Barrow behaves like tragedy or ill-fate has ever befallen them in any way, despite us having seen this. They’re all smiles and cheers with no real human weight, which is part of what keeps the film afloat with such a light and personable tone at first, but it’s also what causes it to eventually swerve harder than Matthew on a slippery road, straight into melodrama so sudden and gloomy that it feels immediately uncanny.

When things get dark, the Crawleys and their servants aren’t real people experiencing tragedies — they most certainly were even when the show was at its most broadly melodramatic — but rather, they’re shadows of the characters they once were, reduced now to their plot function as joke-delivery machines and, more importantly in the context of Downton’s refusal to die, as figures who represent a desire return to some phantomic English way of life where things were easier when no one raised their voice. What is equally strange is that once the film’s thematic seams begin to show (it becomes nauseatingly conservative at times, all but holding up a sign saying “Wasn’t the aristocracy better?”), it also begins falling apart aesthetically.

While its first hour or so breathes like one of the series’ Christmas Specials — one-off events and escapades to new locations where arcs were wrapped up —its second hour seems to feature an entire season’s worth of story squished into half a film. The result is entire plot points unfolding and resolving over the course of single scenes, which feel both truncated as they speed through their respective tales, and like they linger far too long before cutting away, holding on reactions shots that seem intended to convey some kind of meaning or hint at some future drama, but they come off more like mistakes in the edit. Before long, the tone thrusts violently back and forth between the kind of dry, stiff-upper-lip humor the show was known for, and the surprisingly grim theatricality it was also known for — but where these contrasting moments had room to breathe during hour-long episodes, here, they step on each other constantly, yielding emotional dissonance in every moment. It’s ghastly to witness, and yet, it’s almost admirable that a series known for peppering bits of everything along the way should (apparently) end with a concentrated overload of everything all at once, to the point that it feels like a death dream about the show.

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Downton Abbey’s nascent ugliness is front and center this time — its tendency to turn moneyed lineage into a virtue becomes less hidden behind its humor — but one has to wonder if this wasn’t always in the cards. It feels like the dying gasp of a series that has had nowhere to go for some time (it ended quite definitely seven years ago!) so its trip down memory lane can’t help but ride the line between a rendezvous through greatest-hits character beats and a navel-gazing return to the Abbey’s ornate halls. Eventually, A New Era obliterates that line altogether, along with all others, plunging an otherwise quaint and amusing story into some of the most bizarre tonal chaos you’ve ever seen. If that’s not worth a ticket purchase, few things are.

Downton Abbey: A New Era starts out as a wistful return to the familiar before shedding its skin and letting the series’ nauseating ugliness come frothing to the surface. It goes from funny and charming to jaw-droppingly grim at the drop of a hat — a wild tonal whiplash that’s absolutely worth a watch. It’s a concentrated dose of Downton Abbey.

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Downton Abbey: A New Era Is Really the Same Old Downton Abbey

The full name of the new Downton Abbey movie, the second to be released in theaters since the popular television series ended its run on PBS in 2016, is Downton Abbey: A New Era . But while the latest entry in the Downton Cinematic Universe does suggest time is marching on — among other developments, a film crew comes to the estate to shoot a movie, complete with newfangled cameras in tow — there isn’t anything particularly “new” about this iteration of Julian Fellowes’s ongoing saga about the Crawley clan and their staff. Like its predecessor, Downton Abbey: The Movie , this is essentially a supersized, extra-long episode of Downton Abbey with all the elements fans have come to expect from the long-running story of a privileged family committed to maintaining (most of) the traditions of aristocratic English society.

It should surprise no one to learn that Downton Abbey: A New Era includes a joyous wedding, an equally joyous marriage proposal, and more than one health scare; news of an unexpected inheritance (the gold standard of Downton Abbey story lines) and the uncovering of a family secret (another Downton fave); opportunities for former butler Charles Carson (Jim Carter) to demonstrate his horror at contemporary life (“A moving picture? At Downton ?”); and even more chances for the Crawley matriarch, Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham (Dame Maggie Smith), to deliver sick, extremely British burns. “How musical you make that sound,” Violet says when actress Myrna Dalgleish (Laura Haddock), star of the production shooting at Downton, speaks in a less than posh Cockney accent. As always, Smith’s delivery is as dry and prickly as a cactus.

In short, a more appropriate title for this movie would have been Downton Abbey 2: Downton’s Gonna Downton because that more or less describes what this film does: continue providing the sort of comfortable entertainment audiences expect of a franchise — I guess it’s a franchise now? — that centers largely around Brits who live very comfortably.

The so-called new era begins in 1928, a few months after the events of the previous film, as the Crawleys receive word that Violet has inherited a villa in the south of France from the Marquis de Montmirail, a man who recently passed away and with whom the Dowager Countess shared a close relationship decades earlier. Violet says she has no idea why the marquis left her the property rather than deeding it to his widow, the Madame de Montmirail (Nathalie Baye), but she does not feel particularly guilty about claiming it either. “Do I look as if I’d turn down a villa in the south of France?” Violet asks. Reader, she does not.

Violet does intend to pass it on to someone else, though: her granddaughter Sybbie, daughter of the late Sybil Crawley — this is not a spoiler, she died in season three — and the former chauffeur and Irish revolutionary Tom Branson (Allen Leech). But before the business can get squared away, the new marquis (Jonathan Zaccaï), the son of Violet’s deceased and mysterious special friend, insists on inviting several members of the family to visit the villa for a few days.

Tom and his new wife, Lucy (Tuppence Middleton), Lord Robert Grantham (Hugh Bonneville, noticeably tanner even before he goes to France), Lady Cora (Elizabeth McGovern), their daughter Edith (Laura Carmichael), Edith’s husband, Bertie (Harry Haden-Patton), and Carson, who is technically retired but always temporarily comes out of retirement just in time for a new Downton Abbey movie, all make the trip, which gives A New Era an excuse to show off a lovely coastal French backdrop while peeling back the layers of the relationship between Violet and the late marquis.

Back at home, faced once again with the ever-present financial burdens of running an estate (even the Crawleys have roofs that leak), Lady Mary Crawley (Michelle Dockery) decides to permit the film crew, overseen by handsome director Jack Barber (Hugh Dancy), to set up shop at Downton, bringing the aforementioned Myrna and her equally glam co-star, Guy Dexter (Dominic West), into the orbit of the starstruck employees. If you’re wondering whether Jack will take an interest in Mary, whose husband, Henry, is conspicuously absent from this entire endeavor (the reason: Matthew Goode, the actor who plays Henry, had scheduling conflicts ), I’ll let you keep wondering. But you probably already know the answer.

The whole movie-making story line is the most fun part of A New Era and gives Fellowes, who wrote the script, and director Simon Curtis an opportunity to do what Downton Abbey has always done best: explore class distinctions and how those boundaries are constantly changing. Initially, some of the Crawleys are concerned about hosting a movie shoot because they perceive actors as crass and of a lower station. “I’d rather earn my living down a mine,” Violet offers. The fact that Myrna, like the housemaids who try to assist her even when she’s being a diva, doesn’t come from money underscores that point.

But the mere presence at Downton of these makers of cinema, who have to switch gears and turn their silent film into a talkie, serves as a reminder that the most revered people in society may no longer be those who hold titles like lord or lady. Some of the most delightfully comedic and slightly meta moments in the movie come from this clash of societal forces; on more than one occasion, a Downton resident or worker unwittingly walks right into a shot while the cameras are rolling, a testament to how accustomed they are to living in an unexamined bubble.

Not surprisingly, some of the issues that afflicted Downton Abbey the series remain issues in Downton Abbey: A New Era . Even though this movie could not exactly be described as action packed, its scenes still unfold with a quickness that can induce breathlessness. Fellowes and Curtis ensure that we never spend too much time observing a single conversation or series of events, which can make even the more momentous, reflective moments — and there are some big ones in the third act — feel a bit rushed. Subtlety is often thrown by the wayside thanks to occasionally clunky dialogue that smacks the audience across the face with subtext. “The modern world comes to Downton,” Cora says as the film’s production crew arrives with all its equipment. Yes, Cora. We can … see that.

A lot of the edges in Downton Abbey have been sanded down over the years; while some of the characters used to engage in vindictive, bad behavior, nearly everyone comes across as nice. While I technically wish the best for butler Thomas Barrow (Rob James-Collier), I genuinely miss the days when he acted like an unrepentant prick.

One may rightfully ask whether the world needs another Downton Abbey movie, to which I would respond in my best Violet Crawley “What is a weekend?” voice: “What is need ?” Certainly it is not needed , but based on the box-office performance of the first film and this second one in the U.K. — it opened at No. 1 there a couple of weeks ago — it would seem the world still wants more. Which raises the question of whether a third movie may soon come. Certain events, which I will not spoil, suggest this could mark the final chapter in the Crawley chronicles. But given how game the actors and Fellowes seem to keep this engine runnin g, Downton Abbey: A New Era could easily be the precursor to an actual new era rather than the period at the end of a previous one.

Personally, I would not be surprised at all if it turns out there are actually three certainties in life instead of just two: death (and the random inheritances that come with it), taxes, and more Downton Abbey .

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‘Downton Abbey’ Review: Back to the Past

From its spectacularly detailed aesthetic to the characters’ march down well-worn personality paths, the movie argues insistently for the status quo.

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‘Downton Abbey’ | Anatomy of a Scene

The director michael engler narrates a sequence from the film..

“I’m Michael Engler, and I directed ‘Downton Abbey.’ At this point in the movie, the king and queen and their retinue have arrived, and they’re staying at Downton. And this is the big banquet dinner that they’re all going to be at together. And the servants at Downton have found out that they won’t be actually serving the king and queen, and the royal staff is going to be serving. And so there’s been this conspiracy to replace them and to restore the glory of Downton by having the staff serve and make dinner for the king and queen.” “Tom, you’re looking pleased with yourself.” “He was just praising Lady Bagshaw’s maid.” “There’s always a certain amount of tension between individual agendas and behavior and then what is expected of one and of the group.” “This is good. I thought something else was planned. But it is excellent. So a well done too old Courbet.” “This wasn’t Monsieur Courbet, Your Majesty. Mrs. Patmore cooked it. In fact, it is the Downton Abbey staff who are serving you this evening.” “That sets it up so that the contrast of when Molesley, who was supposed to be seen and not heard, he speaks up, and all eyes are on him. You know, I wanted these very long, formal, static shots of—” “I do beg your pardon, Your Majesty.” “The people at the table looking at him, try to include as many people as possible so you could see how big a room had been quieted by this and was focused and stilled. But also we played around with, well what shall we do with the score, here? What should it feel like and all that. And then in the end we played the absolute silence except for the light ticking of the clock. Kevin Doyle who plays Molesley is a brilliant actor. And because he is so real and he can play the most dramatic moments, but he is also fearless comically and really, really funny.” “I suppose he’s excited that they’ve had to take over from our people. I wonder what’s happened.” “Whatever may have happened does not excuse his behavior.” “I can assure you, Lady Grantham, we are quite used to people behaving strangely when we are near.” [LAUGHTER]

By Jeannette Catsoulis

“Just like the old days,” Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham (Elizabeth McGovern) says, fondly, as “Downton Abbey” gathers all the familiar faces in bustling preparation for an imminent royal visit. Viewers who have faithfully followed the genteel tribulations of the Crawley clan for six seasons of glittering television will need no encouragement from me to re-immerse themselves in the show’s warm bath of privilege. Those who prefer their ablutions minus the scum of entitlement can safely give this big-screen special a miss.

The old days, of course (the “good” is silent), are what the Downton universe is selling, a magnificently appointed fantasy of benign aristocracy, grateful underlings and noblesse oblige. Picking up in 1927 shortly after the TV show’s finale, the movie finds the household frantically readying for a lavish dinner, a fancy parade and a grand ball in honor of King George V and Queen Mary. Amid the hubbub, Lady Cora dispenses her usual calming looks and soothing advice, still oblivious to her husband’s seeming preference for the company of his dog. Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) continues to fret, but not too much, over the estate’s financial problems. And Violet, the Dowager Countess (the indispensable Maggie Smith) — always the lemon in the soufflé — is scheming to secure a family inheritance.

Below stairs, the Royals’ stuck-up retinue is attempting to supplant the Downton domestics. Daisy (Sophie McShera), the tart kitchen maid, is making eyes at a saucy plumber, and a butler emergency coaxes Carson (Jim Carter), that reliably priggish defender of probity, out of retirement. There’s some petty pilfering, a blink-and-you-miss-it assassination attempt and a bit of bother with a boiler. But it’s all weak tea, with the occasional decorous tilt toward politics (of the Irish-Republican kind) and scandal (of the butler-on-the-down-low kind). This last leads us to a clandestine gay club where a rowdy group of men are deliriously dancing the Black Bottom . It’s easily the movie’s liveliest scene, and the most surprising, not least because the north of England in the 1920s was hardly a gay haven.

With barely enough plot to go around, most characters are served a tiny dollop. Lacking the nutritious story lines of the past, the cross-cultural liaisons and the odd inconvenient corpse in Lady Mary’s bedroom, the movie is mainly empty calories. Yet its screenwriter, Julian Fellowes (who created the TV series), knows his stories have always relied less on words than on the looks — arch and knowing, suspicious and appalled — that ricocheted around every social gathering. Choreographing those is the job of the director, Michael Engler, who stretches each raised eyebrow and pursed lip to big-screen proportions, miraculously without turning every close-up into a cartoon.

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• What Is Cinema?

Try as We Might, We Just Can’t Quit Downton Abbey

By Richard Lawson

Watching the new Downton Abbey film, A New Era (in theaters May 20), I imagined myself as the frequently-memed guy from that old Onion cartoon . You know the one: the creepily-drawn man who’s laughing and saying "Yes!" with his face pressed up against a window, his shirt reading "Sickos."

That’s the experience of watching the second Downton Abbey film—if you’re into this whole thing, anyway. We really shouldn’t like Downton at this point, for plenty of valid reasons: the unnervingly rosy picture that creator Julian Fellowes (who also wrote this new film) has drawn of class differences in early 20th century England; the franchise’s almost perverse primness, its tidy, bustling, polite affect so lustily rendered by Fellowes and his cast. Downton Abbey is downright unseemly, especially now that it’s taken to lurking in alleys, peddling its potent narcotic to only the most helplessly addicted—a sinister act of hardcore fan service.

But as Meryl Streep famously said on the Oscar stage while winning best actress for playing Margaret Thatcher, whatever. I still like Downton Abbey , as do many people the world over. It’s a cozy comfort to return to this airy, nearly consequence-free world. As we arrive at A New Era , the story has already had so many endings that all of the characters seem to be reeling in a kind of loopy afterlife, untethered from pesky things like rules and logic. A New Era really, really should be the end of Downton Abbey , but I’d happily watch these freaks stumbling through the 1930s if they were so inclined to let me.

A New Era finds the Crawley family and their slavishly loyal household staff teetering on the brink of that decade. Kids have been born, folks have coupled off, and the imperious Lady Grantham ( Dame Maggie Smith ) has somehow cheated the death that was said to be imminent in the last movie. There are two parallel narratives in the film. At Downton, the house is abuzz with the news that a silent movie will be filmed at the estate, an opportunity accepted warily by head of house Lady Mary ( Michelle Dockery ), who figures the family could use the money to repair their roof. The maids downstairs are all atwitter at the idea of meeting an honest to goodness movie star, while bumbling former butler (and now schoolteacher) Mr. Molesley ( Kevin Doyle ) is excited to see how the Hollywood sausage is made. The film rewards Molesley for that fandom in the silliest, most implausible way possible.

Meanwhile, Lady Grantham hears word that she has been bequeathed a lavish estate in the South of France by a Frenchman whose social connection to the great doyenne of Downton is the film’s central—and neatly solved—mystery. So, some of the Crawleys and their attendants head down to the Riviera, while Mary hangs back and flirts with the film’s director, played with "eh, sure" commitment by Hugh Dancy . The stars of the silent movie, played by Dominic West and Laura Haddock , are contending with the sudden realization that they may soon be made obsolete by the dawning of the talkie. Especially Haddock’s character, Myrna Dalgleish, who has a thick, unshakeable Cockney accent that just won’t play in the pictures.

This was certainly a problem in real film history. But rather than using his nearly hundred-year hindsight to analyze that bias, Fellowes accepts it readily. A working class accent surely isn’t proper for a film, A New Era quickly decides, and then trots off to fix poor, classless Myrna.

The film takes a slightly more complex approach to matters of estate and inheritance, as there are people living in the French manor already, one of whom doesn’t want to leave. She’s the dead guy’s wife, and figures it unfair that some strangers from wretched old England should get to seize control of her beloved beach house. (Her son, in true Fellowes fashion, nobly accepts his father’s wishes.) Of course this minor tension is pretty easily resolved, because there can be nothing truly difficult standing in the way of our heroes expanding their smug little empire to the Mediterranean.

By Chris Murphy

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By David Canfield

Throughout, Fellowes’s writing is soupy and saccharine. Characters fire off creaky bons mots and express anachronistically modern thoughts meant to assure the audience that these aren’t blinkered old bigots like so many of our ancestors. That is particularly glaring in the handling of closeted gay butler Mr. Barrow ( Robert James-Collier ), whose secret is kindly understood by his colleagues. Perhaps tired of so relentlessly punishing Barrow throughout the series, Fellowes allows the lonely schemer a happy development, one that promises a sexy and hopefully freer life on shores far flung from Downton. Which is appreciated, even if it glumly provides an avid viewer like myself the most concrete evidence that the Downton saga has ended for good.

Well, there’s one other plot point that feels like the franchise’s real goodbye, but I won’t spoil what that is here. When it does arrive, though, it’s remarkably well timed, as if the character involved had some innate sense that, oh yes, they should really get around to ending the story. (There is a red herring involving another character that proves totally useless in its distraction.) As these final moments of the film played out, my eyes brimmed with embarrassing tears, a goofy swell of wistfulness filled my heart.

This dumb movie got me in the end, determined as it is to bring die-hard fans to the climax we so crave. This is probably the last time we’ll get to feel that particular rush, so if you’re jonesing for it, go out and get it. Have a cigarette afterward and then contemplate what to do with the rest of your day after such a lavishly pointless quickie. The answer, of course, from one sicko to another, is to go home and rewatch The Gilded Age.

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Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022) Movie Review – A comfort watch with little substance

Returning to downton.

The opening scenes of Downton Abbey: A New Era offer the comfort fans have come to expect from the English period drama: an anticipated wedding; a shot of the Downton estate in its full glory; the thematic melody of piano and violin. In Julian Fellowes’ newest Downton project, directed by Simon Curtis, the stakes are never too high and the fan service is unrestricted. As such, the film doesn’t stand up on its own, but functions as an enjoyable extension of the Downton Abbey series. A New Era is perfect, then, for the most enthusiastic of the series’ fans–for the movie sequel delivers a sense of fulfillment for the show’s unfinished storylines as well as a comforting familiarity for long-time admirers of Downton Abbey .

It’s 1928 at Downton when Violet Crawley (Maggie Smith) receives some shocking news. The Marquis de Montmirail–an old flame of hers, unsurprisingly–has died and left her a villa in the South of France. Lady Grantham decides to leave the villa to her granddaughter Sybbie, leading Robert, Cora, and several other members of the family to meet the new Marquis in France for a discussion of the will. While the Marquis is compliant with his father’s wishes, his mother won’t give up the villa so easily.

Back at Downton, Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) and the servants prepare to usher in a so-called “new era.” Filmmaker Jack Barber (Hugh Dancy) arrives with actors Guy Dexter (Dominic West) and Myrna Dalgleish (Laura Haddock) to direct his new silent film, The Gambler , right there at Downton. While Jack’s interest in Mary tests her faithfulness to her absent husband, the film’s production experiences several challenges of its own.

Everything ties up beautifully in the end for Downton’s beloved individual characters. It’s the film’s two significant plotlines, however, that fail to compel. In one, the conflict is not even carried through to its natural end. In the other, it’s acceptable to rip off the plot of Singin’ in the Rain . And in both, it’s apparently fine to proudly display derogatory comments regarding cultural differences–about the “inferior” French way of doing things, and “ghastly” American regional accents.

But we’d be kidding ourselves if we held that the hope for Downton Abbey: A New Era was ground-breaking storylines and social commentary. The English period drama has long fulfilled its place in fans’ hearts as a diverting comfort watch, providing an inside look into the more glamorous challenges of the upper class and the drama among the people who serve them–all within a context of contained, quickly-resolved conflict. Fellowes not only seamlessly captures beloved qualities of the franchise; he even makes improvements by tying up loose threads and correcting the series’ old mistakes (i.e. its formerly repeated mistreatment of show’s only gay character).

Ultimately, the new Downton Abbey film doesn’t accomplish anything profound. It hardly ushers in a new era, apart from what such a statement always means at Downton. The upper class meets the modern world (in this case, moving pictures!) and has to adapt.

Still, the movie is idyllic, charming, and fun–in short, nearly everything fans could have hoped for. Downton Abbey: A New Era is the ultimate comfort watch–but a previous affinity for the TV characters and melodramatic plotlines is almost certainly required for that to be the case.

Read More: Downton Abbey: A New Era Ending Explained

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• Verdict - 6.5/10 6.5/10

2 thoughts on “Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022) Movie Review – A comfort watch with little substance”

Hi, Laura. Thanks for commenting. Thinking back, I believe the movie alluded to the fact that Violet was already married to the Earl whenever she visited the Marquis.

Question; Did Violet immediately meet and marry the Earl of Grantham after she left the Marquis? Supposedly it was nine months after she left the Marquis that Robert was born. Was she already pregnant but told the Earl that it was his child. The movie not really explain that detail or the timeline between the affair and the marriage and the birth.

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• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Downton Abbey

1927. The Crawleys prepare to host King George V and Queen Mary at Downton Abbey. 1927. The Crawleys prepare to host King George V and Queen Mary at Downton Abbey. 1927. The Crawleys prepare to host King George V and Queen Mary at Downton Abbey.

• Michael Engler
• Julian Fellowes
• Stephen Campbell Moore
• Michael Fox
• Lesley Nicol
• 506 User reviews
• 192 Critic reviews
• 64 Metascore
• 3 wins & 19 nominations

• Major Chetwode

• Mrs Patmore

• Thomas Barrow

• Robert Crawley

• Tom Branson

• Cora Crawley

• Maud Bagshaw
• Buckingham Palace Footman

• Violet Crawley

• Isobel Merton
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Did you know

• Trivia The royal visit of King George V to Downton Abbey was based on his real-life visit to Wentworth Woodhouse, a mansion in Yorkshire which was used in this movie for the ballroom scenes at Harewood House.
• Goofs While King George V inspects the troops, he is accompanied by a man dressed in lord lieutenant clothing. This is incorrect as Lord Grantham is the lord lieutenant of the local area, yet he is sitting in the 'VIP' area instead of with the king.

Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham : Let's not argue.

Violet Crawley : I never argue, I explain.

• Connections Featured in Good Morning Britain: Episode dated 21 May 2019 (2019)
• Soundtracks On Ilkla Moor Baht 'At Traditional Performed by The Band of the Royal Artillery Arranged by James Causley Windram

User reviews 506

• TheLittleSongbird
• May 20, 2020
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• Shouldn't Penelope Wilton be listed in the credits as Isobel Grey, Lady Merton?
• September 20, 2019 (United States)
• United Kingdom
• United States
• Official Facebook
• Official Site
• Downton Abbey: The Motion Picture
• Highclere Castle, Highclere, Hampshire, England, UK (Downton Abbey)
• Universal Pictures
• Focus Features
• Perfect World Pictures
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $13,000,000 (estimated)
• $96,853,865
• $31,033,665
• Sep 22, 2019
• $194,694,725

Technical specs

• Runtime 2 hours 2 minutes
• Dolby Atmos

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Downton abbey, common sense media reviewers.

Gorgeous drama will thrill longtime fans of the show.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Themes of teamwork, perseverance are clear in how

Characters have flaws, but most are well meaning;

A main character says they have an illness and don

Passionate, clothed kissing leads to implied sex.

One "damn" and a few uses of "God." Police officer

The trappings of wealth are everywhere at Downton,

Characters drink wine and champagne at gatherings

Parents need to know that Downton Abbey continues the story of the popular TV series; it has the same characters, creators, tone, and style as the series. Violence and sex are mild -- about as racy as it gets is a hot same-sex kiss after police raid a vintage underground gay bar, and there are no scenes in…

Positive Messages

Themes of teamwork, perseverance are clear in how staff and family members throw themselves fully into challenge of smooth royal visit (viewers can draw their own conclusions about whether royal characters are worthy of such expense and consideration). Lots of talk about people's "place" and behaviors expected of them at various socioeconomic stations (filmmakers' sympathies are clearly with those who treat each other kindly, whether rich or poor).

Positive Role Models

Characters have flaws, but most are well meaning; most have changed since Downton began and continue to change during movie, mellowing and/or becoming more open-minded. Lord Grantham is a good father, good caretaker of his estate/staff; Lady Mary and Countess Violet are haughty but care deeply about those who depend on them. Most of the servants take pride in their work and the family they work for, except for a few who work hard to cause chaos and pit their employers against each other. Mary and Edith have a tense relationship, but the open cruelty of the show has faded.

Violence & Scariness

A main character says they have an illness and don't have long to live; two characters cry together at the news.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Passionate, clothed kissing leads to implied sex. A couple has a sweet kiss and dances together before agreeing they'll write to each other (implication is that they'll have a long-distance relationship). Men kiss and dance together in a vintage gay bar in a warehouse. Married couples talk about pregnancy and childbirth.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

One "damn" and a few uses of "God." Police officers call a group of men dancing together "dirty perverts."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

The trappings of wealth are everywhere at Downton, from a large staff of servants to custom-fitted couture clothing, elaborate food, and huge parties.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Characters drink wine and champagne at gatherings and parties; no one acts drunk. In one subplot, a character is given a "double dose" of a "sleeping draught" to get him out of the way temporarily; this potentially deadly violation causes no repercussions.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Downton Abbey continues the story of the popular TV series ; it has the same characters, creators, tone, and style as the series. Violence and sex are mild -- about as racy as it gets is a hot same-sex kiss after police raid a vintage underground gay bar, and there are no scenes in which beloved characters die or do battle. But themes are still adult: sex, scandal, social position, etc. Downton's nobles still live in rarefied finery, and the royal family even more so; much drama is mined from the potential for social gaffes during a high-profile event and from characters who act in ways not "suitable" for their "place." Characters drink at dinners and parties; no one acts drunk, but in one subplot, a character is given a double dose of a "sleeping draught," which causes no repercussions. Language is limited to a scene in which police officers call gay men "dirty perverts." Themes of teamwork and perseverance are clear from the way both servants and family members pull together for the royal visit, and characters who were formerly cruel to each other are now merely snippy. Hugh Bonneville , Elizabeth McGovern , Michelle Dockery , Maggie Smith , and all of the other familiar Downton faces return for the film. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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• Parents say (21)
• Kids say (16)

Based on 21 parent reviews

I LOVED the show, and I thought this movie was a bunch of ridiculousness

What's the story.

Set two years after the series wrapped up, DOWNTON ABBEY finds the Crawley family and their servants in fine form. It's almost a decade after the Great War ended and still a generation before World War II will begin. Lord and Lady Grantham ( Hugh Bonneville and Elizabeth McGovern ) are enjoying this peaceful period when a letter throws the estate into high tension: King George V ( Simon Jones ) and Queen Mary ( Geraldine James ) plan to make a one-night visit to Downton. Now the entire Crawley family -- including Lady Mary ( Michelle Dockery ), Lady Edith ( Laura Carmichael ), and Countess Violet ( Maggie Smith ) -- must pull together to make the visit a success. Downstairs, the servants labor mightily under the direction of Anna ( Joanne Froggatt ), Carson ( Jim Carter ), and Thomas Barrow (Robert James-Collier) to do the same.

Is It Any Good?

Sumptuous and lovely, this film is a fitting capper to the hugely popular series; it will positively thrill longtime fans. All the flowers are in the bouquet. There are tiaras, silver patch boxes, Art Deco beaded dresses, and lots of long, loving shots of vintage motorcars tootling down country lanes cut through rolling green lawns. The servants wear the same uniforms; the nobles swan around in silk and fur; about the only change is that more folks have bobbed hair and the kids are a little bigger. In short, Downton Abbey the film feels pretty much exactly like a two-hour episode of Downton Abbey the TV show, and fans won't mind one bit.

The king and queen's arrival throws Downton into a tizzy, and -- as usual -- there are plenty of upstairs-downstairs subplots thrown in: The servants are ticked off about the high-handedness of the king and queen's staff, a strange figure is prowling around asking suspicious questions about the royal visit, the queen's lady-in-waiting ( Imelda Staunton ) has a secret that causes complications with an inheritance. In typical Downton style, the chief fallout is a bunch of concerned conversations in ornate drawing rooms; it all melts away as lightly as a feather on a vintage cloche, while the drama gets back to what it really does best: serving up period eye candy and giving the deliciously tart (as always) Smith all the choicest lines. May Downton ever reign.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about how similar Downton Abbey the movie is to Downton Abbey the TV series. How is the film's universe expanded? Movies tend to be more expensively made than TV shows. What scenes did you notice that were likely costly to film? How were they more elaborate than scenes from the TV show?

Compare the number of servants in this film to the number of nobles and royals. How many people had to labor for noble/royal characters to live lives of ease? What things did the upper-crust characters have done for them that average people do for themselves?

Talk about Downton Abbey 's time period. How were things changing for England and the world when the show first began? How did technology change life for both the upper and servant classes? How did the times change as the show went on, and then during the time period when the movie is set?

How do the characters in Downton Abbey show perseverance and teamwork ? Why are these important character strengths ?

How could you find out more about the historical events that Downton refers to or takes part in? How accurate do you think the movie is, from a historical perspective?

Movie Details

• In theaters : September 20, 2019
• On DVD or streaming : December 17, 2019
• Cast : Matthew Goode , Elizabeth McGovern , Michelle Dockery , Maggie Smith
• Director : Michael Engler
• Inclusion Information : Female actors
• Studio : Focus Features
• Genre : Drama
• Topics : History
• Character Strengths : Perseverance , Teamwork
• Run time : 122 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG
• MPAA explanation : thematic elements, some suggestive material, and language
• Award : Common Sense Selection
• Last updated : May 9, 2024

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I remain amazed that Downton Abbey became such a massive hit at a time when income inequality became a major issue. Perhaps it’s because Downton Abbey is, and has always been, a comforting fairy tale of a benevolent aristocracy that cares about the lives of their servants and the servants who are happy to serve the aristocracy. In place of nuance and critique, creator and writer Julian Fellowes approached his characters and story with slight melodrama and a large dose of kindness. Downton Abbey succeeds because it’s largely about good people trying to help each other within the confines of a social system that seems to work well enough for all involved (a far more cutting critique of the intersection between the “upstairs” and “downstairs” was explored in the masterful Gosford Park , which Fellowes also wrote). Now, four years after wrapping its sixth and final season, Downton Abbey returns as a motion picture that’s just as charming as its small-screen iteration. While the film has a bit of a tough time servicing its large ensemble, Fellowes plays to the strengths of his world and cast while director Michael Engler takes advantage of the higher production values afforded him. Fans of the series should feel right at home, and newcomers will probably be spurred to finally check out the series.

Picking up in 1927, two years after the events of the series concluded, Lord Grantham ( Hugh Bonneville ) receives the news that the King and Queen of England are coming to visit Downton during their tour of the country. Although everyone is initially excited at the prospect, the royal staff presumes to relegate the Downton staff to doing next to nothing, much to their consternation. Meanwhile, a controversy is brewing upstairs with the return of Lord Grantham’s estranged cousin Maud Bagshaw ( Imelda Staunton ), who is threatening to give her inheritance to her servant, which upsets her aunt Lady Violet ( Maggie Smith ). Additionally, Lady Mary ( Michelle Dockery ) is worried that her brother-in-law Tom ( Allen Leech ) will revert to his anti-imperialist ways when faced with the King and Queen.

These are some of the biggest storylines in the movie, and if they don’t seem like much, you’re right. Fellowes has opted not to blow up Downton Abbey but instead simply broaden its scope a bit. The kind of melodrama the show could really sink its teeth into like an illicit affair or a secret pregnancy doesn’t work within the confines of a two-hour movie, so instead Fellowes opts for a kind of cursory overview of what we enjoy about the series. There’s sweeping views of the English countryside, loving panoramas of Highclere Castle (which continues to serve as the filming location), Violet and Isobel ( Penelope Wilton ) trading zingers, fancy costumes, and people being nice to each other.

The downside to this cursory approach is that no story or character feels like it’s getting enough attention. For example, Mary’s “arc” in the film is whether or not she can continue to run Downton. It’s an arc that consists of two scenes—one where Mary wonders about if she can run Downton, and a second scene where she resolves to run Downton. And that’s more than some characters get with Lord Grantham and Lady Grantham ( Elizabeth McGovern ) relegated to background players. Mr. Bates ( Brendan Coyle ) and Anna ( Joanne Froggart ), who spend the series having the world’s worst luck, have almost nothing to do, which I suppose is a nice change of pace from being constantly implicated in murders (although I kept waiting for Sergeant Willis to show up to ask a few more questions).

And yet Engler and Fellowes keep the film feeling light, airy, and cozy. It’s not the series and it’s not really intended to be. Instead, Downton Abbey is more of a way to reconnect with characters you love in a setting you enjoy. No one here is interested in challenging the premise of the series or why it worked so well. Instead, they choose to lean into those pleasantries in the time they’ve allotted, and thanks to Engler’s skilled direction and Ben Smithard ’s lush cinematography, the movie feels like a movie rather than a two-hour episode they shoved into theaters. Downton Abbey was always a handsome show, but like the fancy silver being polished for the royal family’s arrival, the movie provides an extra buffing to make everything sparkle.

Downton Abbey is perfectly pleasant for what it is—a chance to reconnect with some favorite characters in a world benefitting from slightly higher production values. Although part of me wonders what would this movie would like if Fellowes turned the story inward rather than having the characters face a bunch of external forces (for example, what does this movie look like if it’s about everyone dealing with the death of Lord Grantham instead of squaring off against Buckingham Palace’s servants), perhaps such a dramatic turn would be against the comforting ethos of the show. Downton Abbey was always able to handle its dramatic turns with a light touch, and the movie is no different. For fans like myself, it makes for an immensely satisfying reunion with the Crawley family and their staff.

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Movie Reviews

Review: is 'downton abbey,' the movie, worth the wait.

NPR's David Greene talks to Kenneth Turan, film critic for Morning Edition and the Los Angeles Times , about the new movie based on the popular TV series: Downton Abbey . The film opens Friday.

Copyright © 2019 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

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Downton Abbey Reviews

From familial tensions and torrid love affairs to untimely deaths and societal shifts, the Crawleys provide a compelling look at the final days of aristocracy...

Full Review | May 20, 2024

The Downton Abbey movie is just a longer episode of the tv series. As a longtime Downton fan myself, I left the theater entertained, but disappointed.

Full Review | Original Score: 6.5/10 | Jan 17, 2023

Creator Julian Fellowes seamlessly moved his elegant television serial to the big screen without missing a beat.

Full Review | Dec 7, 2022

Loved visiting this world of Downton Abbey as they face a royal visit. A must watch.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Jul 2, 2022

...a well-upholstered, well-cast and reasonably mild way to spend an afternoon in the cinema with elderly relatives...

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 20, 2022

Downton Abbey is cinematic confectionery: sweet and satisfying in the moment but with no long-term benefit. Made not for awards but for sentiment, the millions who tuned in on Sunday nights for a bit of interwar glamour will leave satisfied.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 21, 2022

As with the TV series, the two Toms are the most interesting characters and get the best storylines. Probably the film's most moving subplot is in giving the necessarily-closeted gay butler, Thomas, a first requited moment of affection with another man.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 19, 2022

More of a historical wink than a true political position. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 5/10 | Jan 20, 2022

Fans who have watched and rewatched the series will be delighted to see all these characters yet again, while non-fans and newcomers will be baffled, bored or both.

Full Review | Original Score: C | Aug 12, 2021

I honestly didn't see the reason for a movie of Downton Abbey to exist, but now I get it.

Full Review | Feb 6, 2021

While it doesn't offer much for those not familiar with the show, seeing the characters again feels like greeting old friends for those who watched all six seasons.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Feb 1, 2021

Revelations are made, storylines from the TV show are closed and, as always, life goes on at Downton. It all feels very familiar but like a comforting cup of tea, very welcome.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 31, 2021

Requiring a great deal of foreknowledge of the Downton Abbey history, this cinematic continuation of the superb British television series will please only its greatest fans.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Dec 17, 2020

Even if you don't know anything about Downton Abbey (I didn't) it's an enjoyable little film.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Sep 16, 2020

For all but the most devout royalists, this is more than a little too much. It's 50% movie, 50% commemorative tea towel.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 16, 2020

A reunion in the best sense: Nearly two dozen characters...each get a welcome moment in the spotlight; some to say apparent goodbyes, others to leave tantalizing hints of yet another return as the clouds of...War gather on the Hampshire horizon.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 25, 2020

Established fans will have their joy solidified even further, and first-time viewers may be persuaded to go back and watch the show from the beginning. That's a win for everyone.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Jul 8, 2020

Downton Abbey is an utter delight.

Full Review | Jun 27, 2020

It's a pleasure to watch. It's just lovely.

Full Review | May 28, 2020

Director Michael Engler (with screenwriter Julian Fellowes) smooths the way with a stellar Anglo-American cast.

Full Review | May 27, 2020

• Entertainment
• The <i>Downton Abbey</i> Movie Is Exactly What It Should Be

The Downton Abbey Movie Is Exactly What It Should Be

A s a person who has seen barely a flicker of Downton Abbey on television, I can’t predict whether the movie spin-off–directed by Michael Engler and written by the show’s creator, Julian Fellowes–will be everything longtime fans have hoped for. But as a one-off, it’s a featherweight delight, like the prettiest pink-and-white cake on the tea tray.

It’s 1927, and the denizens of Downton are in a tizzy: King George and Queen Mary are planning a trip through Yorkshire, and they’ll be stopping off for one night at the estate. They’re bringing all their own servants, which upsets the Downton staff, presided over by the ever-sensible Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hughes (Jim Carter and Phyllis Logan). But the impending visit sets off china-rattling reverberations throughout the rest of the household, too: Lady Mary Talbot (Michelle Dockery), now in charge of managing the house, worries that everything will go wrong, and Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael), now happily married, has her own unexpected development to contend with. Meanwhile, peppery Dowager Countess Violet Crawley ( Maggie Smith ) squares off against a long-lost and equally stubborn relative, Lady Bagshaw (Imelda Staunton); sweet, dithery Isobel Grey (Penelope Wilton) ends up running interference.

Intrigue, romantic travails and plain old stress rule the day, both upstairs and downstairs, and Fellowes and Engler keep all the gears running smoothly. But come now–you really came here to find out about the gowns and the jewels, didn’t you? Liquid-velvet day dresses in period-perfect shades of burnt coral and tobacco, ropes of Venetian glass beads in undersea-fantasia colors, a faintworthy deep-blue Fortuny pleated evening gown: the costumes, by Anna Robbins, are spectacular. You wouldn’t really want to be a member of the aristocracy–it’s a lot of bother. But gazing at these lives from afar is a gentle pleasure, and one you shouldn’t feel guilty about.

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Downton Abbey delivers warm-crumpet comfort on the big screen

Life is hard; Downton Abbey is easy. Nearly four years after ending its six-season run, the show already feels like a relic of some kinder, gentler era of television; a warm PBS crumpet in a cold-donut world. The screen may be bigger, but the decorous upstairs-downstairs melodrama still revels in small moments: the candy-apple red of a mail truck; the rolling green of a manor lawn; the waft of lavender in the air as various soapy subplots work themselves into a gentle, easily resolvable lather.

Here, the plot impetus is a royal visit (Queen Elizabeth’s grandparents, actually, so think of it as a sort of Jazz-age prequel to The Crown ). Word that the monarchy will be making an overnight stop at Downton sends the manor into a frenzy of silver-polishing and social anxiety, but most things otherwise remain the same: Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) keeps her internal temperature set to cucumber; once-working-class widower Tom (Allen Leech) pressure-tests his political loyalties; the Earl and Countess (Hugh Bonneville and Elizabeth McGovern) waft serenely through drawing-rooms; and the Dowager Countess (Dame Maggie Smith) maintains her status as the verbal ninja of landed British gentry. (“I don’t argue,” she tells one naysayer with withering calmness. “I explain.”)

There are various bits about the imperious royal household staff clashing with the locals; secret pregnancies and love affairs and assassination attempts — even a sensitively explored gay-awakening subplot for closeted butler Thomas (Robert James-Collier). But nothing in creator Julian Fellowes’ script ever strays too far from its genteel comfort zone; solving problems in Downton -world is like unknotting a tangled necklace: There may be difficulties, but rest assured that by the 122-minute mark, as above, so below; all will be right and dreamy with the Abbey. B

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“Harry Potter ”Actress Imelda Staunton Reveals Secret to Her 40-Year Marriage with “Downton Abbey” Costar Jim Carter

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The actress shares how they've "made our lives work as a marriage within this business"

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Imelda Staunton puts family ahead of career.

The Harry Potter alum, 68, and her longtime husband, Downton Abbey costar Jim Carter , prioritize their life together ahead of their work, Staunton said in a new interview with British Vogue .

"Success means working. Success is a really tricky word, and it should be spelled with a very small S. I think it poisons people," said Staunton. "I feel Jim and I have made our lives work as a marriage within this business, and we take our life more seriously than our jobs."

"Of course, we both take [the job] very seriously," she continues. "But you go, 'What’s the most important thing here? That I play another part? Or that we go on a very nice holiday, or that we have that time in the garden, that we have our life?' "

"But we can afford to say that — I don’t mean financially, but with the work we’ve done and are lucky enough to still be doing. I think we know how fortunate we are," said Staunton.

Related: The Best Celebrity Marriage Advice

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The couple, who married in 1983, share daughter Bessie, 29. Staunton, who played Queen Elizabeth on The Crown , also told British Vogue the ways she and Carter, 75, have coordinated their busy schedules around their family life.

“I think when we got married, we did say, 'Look, there’s no point if we’re going to be apart,' " she said.

"Early on, Jim did a lot more telly and films than I was doing in the ’80s. If he was going to go to an exotic location, we’d go, ‘Right, well, I can come out that weekend.’ So we made that work. Or there’s two jobs: 'I can go and do that. Do you need to do that? Okay? Lovely.' ”

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Read the original article on People .

Downton Abbey's Imelda Staunton reveals secret to 40-year-marriage with Jim Carter

The lady maud bagshaw actress tied the knot with jim carter in 1983 .

Acting royalty Imelda Staunton and Jim Carter have been the picture of marital bliss for 41 years, after tying the knot in 1983. 

Opening up in a new interview with British Vogue , Imelda, 68, revealed the secret to their happy marriage, explaining that it's their commitment to spending time together that really counts. 

"Success is a really tricky word," she told the publication. "And it should be spelled with a very small S. I think it poisons people. I feel Jim [Carter, her husband] and I have made our lives work as a marriage within this business, and we take our life more seriously than our jobs. 

"Of course, we both take [the job] very seriously," she continued. "But you go, what's the most important thing here? That I play another part? Or that we go on a very nice holiday, or that we have that time in the garden, that we have our life? But we can afford to say that – I don't mean financially, but with the work we've done and are lucky enough to still be doing. I think we know how fortunate we are."

Reflecting on the early days of their marriage, Imelda added that she and Jim would take special care when choosing acting projects. "If he was going to go to an exotic location, we'd go, 'Right, well, I can come out that weekend.' So we made that work. Or there's two jobs. 'I can go and do that. Do you need to do that? OK? Lovely.'"

Following their marriage, Imelda and Jim – who met after co-starring in a 1982 production of  Guys and Dolls  – went on to welcome their daughter, Bessie Carter, who currently stars as Prudence Featherington in Bridgerton . 

They've also shared the screen on several occasions, most notably in the films, Downton Abbey (2018) and Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022). Imelda was introduced as Lady Maud Bagshaw, while Jim reprised his role as Mr. Carson, after appearing in the TV series. 

While Imelda and Jim had few scenes together in the first movie, they relished the opportunity to star in the same project. After joining the film's cast in 2019, Imelda spoke to HELLO! about what it was like to work with her husband. She revealed: "Downton was just luxury, like a nice box of chocolates.

"Jim and I only worked together for about two days. It was so nice, so exciting. But of course I have been living with Downton for six or seven years… I tried to get the dog in it, no they weren't having [it]."

Jim and Imelda were given a brief scene together in the sequel, Downton Abbey: A New Era, which Jim was particularly grateful for. "It was just a short, cheeky little scene with the French hat seller. It was nice, but very quick," he told Town & Country , before describing his actress wife as "the best in the business."

See the full feature in the July issue of British Vogue, available via digital download and on newsstands from Tuesday 18 June

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