Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale is the final installment in the Downton Abbey franchise and serves as the grand conclusion to all the events before it. Wrapping up a television show and a trilogy of movies may seem like a tall task, but as someone who had not seen any of the previous installments, it was a little bit difficult to understand what was happening initially, however the movie did a great job of making it easy to digest. That, I think, is probably the greatest feat of the movie it is genuinely impressive how coherent it is for how much backstory there is to the movie. The producers did a great job making it an enjoyable movie, even for those who had never seen the show.
Downton Abbey originally started in 2010 as a historical drama show on ITV in the UK, before airing on PBS in the US. The show ran for a total of fifty-two episodes across six seasons before ending in 2015. The show primarily follows the Crawley family as they navigate through the early twentieth century and grapple with historical events like World War 1, and the Irish War of Independence. The show won 15 Emmys over its six year run and was critically acclaimed which eventually led to the show’s expansion into movies.
The first Downton Abbey movie, titled as Downton Abbey the movie, was released in 2019, 4 years after the original end of the show and followed the continued adventures of the family. The movie grossed nearly 200 million dollars on a 15 million dollar budget and was enough of a success that 3 years later they released the second film in the trilogy Downton Abbey: A New Era which itself only grossed roughly 90 million dollars on a 40 million dollar budget. However this was enough for them to continue with one final film that capped off the trilogy with the aforementioned Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale.
Downton Abbey: The Grand FInale features a whole myriad of actors effortlessly slipping into the past and truly making you believe that they are really in the time period. The standout of the film was Paul Giamatti, he was someone that felt unexpected to be in a movie like this. He had done great work in a variety of films like The Holdovers, Black Mirror, and many other roles from live action to animated. Besides Giamatti, there weren’t as many big name actors in the film, however they all contributed to the ensemble that helped carry the movie. The movie lives and dies by the interaction between characters, and without a doubt the chemistry and dialogue is great and helps keep you invested in what is happening.
One thing that stood out in the movie had to do with the set design and costumes. They clearly put lots of effort into the appearance of the movie as cinematographer, Ben Smithard, really brings the whole world to life. While the movie was a bit confusing at times, it always looked good and that helped the movie have more of an impact than expected. It is hard to get across in words how good the movie looked at points. Some films with a cinematographer from TV, while having a higher budget, still end up looking like a tv show. However Smithard knocks it out of the park which contributes immensely to the immersion in the film.
Overall, while definitely being built on what had come before, the movie is still a very enjoyable watch, between the cinematography, the costumes, and the characters. However, like mentioned previously, the movie does enough of the work to still let you be able to follow what’s happening even if you don’t understand every little reference or thing that is happening throughout the film. While not for everyone, I think this movie perfectly executed its goal of being a farewell to such a beloved franchise.
Downton Abbey takes the screen in a new way.
