Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale
When Lady Mary's (Michelle Dockery) divorce is made public just as the ball that is the height of the season is about to begin, Lady Petersfield (Joely Richardson) is forced to ask her to leave in order not to offend the royals who will be attending. It is the 1930's and everything is changing in "Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale."
Laura's Review: B+
The first "Downton Abbey" movie was directed by Michael Engler, who'd directed episodes of the series, and to me it felt just like another episode, albeit a longer one. When I couldn't make the screening for the second entry, "Downton Abbey: A New Era," I wasn't particularly bothered, but knowing the third would be the final one, I went back and did my homework and since Simon Curtis took the helm with "A New Era" and now this one, the movie versions have felt more deserving of the big screen. Creator Julian Fellowes shepherds his ever expanding cast of characters through times which are changing dramatically with a generational handoff that leaves everyone in a good place and may just leave the audience with a lump in their throat.
The film opens with Lord and Lady Grantham (Hugh Bonneville and Elizabeth McGovern), Lady Edith and Lord Hexham (Laura Carmichael and Harry Hadden-Paton) and Lady Mary enjoying Noel Coward's (Arty Froushan, a delightful addition) 'Bitter Sweet' in the West End, having been invited by Guy Dexter (Dominic West), the Hollywood actor they met in the last outing. Cinematographer Ben Smithard ("Downton Abbey") pans his camera up from their prestigious balcony seats to reveal members of the household staff sitting in an upper balcony, upstairs if not as upper class. But it is the Crawley family who go backstage and meet the famous playwright as well as greeting Dexter and their old butler Barrow (Robert James-Collier). Lady Grantham is perplexed by the overt friendliness Dexter exhibits towards Barrow. Lady Edith casts a knowing glance at her husband.
But the Crawley's London season will end abruptly after their humiliation at the hands of Lady Petersfield and happily ensconced back at Downton, Ladies Grantham and Hexham conspire to get Mary the support of their neighbors. When their dinner invitation is turned down by all, Lady Edith has the great idea to invite Dexter and Coward up from London, pulling in Anna (Joanne Froggatt) to surreptitiously spread the word through area servants. But Lady Grantham has other worries, her brother Harold (Paul Giamatti) having arrived with an unexpected guest, his financial advisor Gus Sambrook (Alessandro Nivola), the former with bad news about their mother's fortune, the latter an additional problem for Lady Mary, especially when Anna sees him leaving her room in the morning, who will also learn she has been restoring Downton farmers' cottages with expected monies they no longer have.
Meanwhile Isobel (Penelope Wilton) has taken over for the Violet as the President of the Country Fair where she quickly ruffles the feathers of insufferable snob Sir Hector Moreland (Simon Russell Beale) by appointing Mr. Carson (Jim Carter) and Daisy (Sophie McShera), now Mrs. Parker, to the board. Miss Baxter (Raquel Cassidy) is concerned about Mr. Molesley's (Kevin Doyle) newfound delusions of grandeur as a Hollywood screenwriter. And while Mrs. Patmore (Lesley Nicol) seems content handing over her kitchen to Daisy to settle with Mr. Mason (Paul Copley), Carson can't stay away from Downton and Lord Grantham gets testier with his daughter Mary by the day about the running of the estate (a scene where Mary takes her father to tour a London flat is priceless). Tom Branson (Allen Leech) steps in, not only to champion his sister-in-law but to offer his father-in-law cash to ride out their deficit.
The cast, is, as always, excellent, Carmichael making waves in support of the sister she's sparred with in the past while Dockery deals with society's shunning. Fellowes and Curtis take the opportunity for sweeping changes of scenery, from London's Grantham House to Downton Abbey, the Royal Ascot to the country fair, with shopping expeditions, cocktails, dinners and balls marking time in between. Costume designer Anna Robbins excels, especially with Mary's stunningly draped bias cut satins (she wears scarlet red just as her divorce becomes public).
If it must go, "Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale" fades out with a twofold punch - Noel Coward singing 'Poor Little Rich Girl' at a Downton dinner, and Mary, left mistress of the estate, flooded with memories of the past as she looks to the future.
Focus Features releases "Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale" in theaters on 9/12/25.
