When Downton Abbey premiered in 2010, it quickly became one of the most popular television dramas. The BBC series ran for six seasons and earned critical acclaim from audiences. Following its conclusion, creator Julian Fellowes was inspired to launch a movie franchise with the first two installments in 2018 and 2022. Now, the story is set to finish with Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale. Directed by Simon Curtis and written by Fellowes, it features the majority of the series’ main cast returning to their respective roles. The big question is as follows: does the movie bring a satisfying conclusion to the story?

Carnival Films and Focus Features

Set in 1931, the film concerns the Crawley family coming to terms with their new status quo. The Great Depression is in full swing, but financial hardship has not come to their door — at least not yet. Robert (Hugh Bonneville), the seventh Earl of Grantham, and wife Cora (Elizabeth McGovern) visit London and attend a West End theatre production. Both are preparing for the inevitability of retiring and leaving the Downton Abbey estate to the next generation. They also have to deal with eldest daughter Mary (Michelle Cockery) ending her former marriage. Since divorce is not considered proper by high society, this makes her a social outcast among the majority of London’s upper class, including members of royalty.

Upon returning to Downton Abbey, the family learns that Cora’s brother Harold Levinson (Paul Giamatti) has been saved by a financial adviser Gus Sambrook (Dominic West) after the Stock Market Crash of 1929. Mary finds herself attracted to Sambrook, and the two engage in an affair. However, it soon emerges that Harold wasted the majority of their family fortune on bad investments, leaving him deeply in debt to Sambrook. One possible approach to his getting out of financial ruin is by selling off Downton and all of its related assets, which is something that Robert does not want to consider. While Cora and Harold’s relationship suffers, new information comes to light about Sambrook’s true nature and past activities, but whether anything can be done to stop him is unknown. Meanwhile, Robert is faced with the tough question of who will take over Downton Abbey when he steps down, but he’s not sure if Mary would be up to the task.

In order to rehabilitate Mary’s image, Robert decides they need to improve his daughter’s social standing. The decision to host a visit by playwright Noel Coward (Arty Froushan) is well-received among the family and staff, which could boost the Crawley’s profile among high society. Servants Anna Bates (Joanne Froggatt) and Phyllis Baxter (Raquel Cassidy) are among the staff preparing for the visit. Further complicating things, Anna is pregnant with her second child from her husband, valet John (Brendan Coyle). Phyllis’ husband Joseph Molesley (Kevin Doyle) returns from his screenwriting career in London to help out with the event, and he’s hopeful of the prospect of meeting Coward. During this time, Lady Isobel Grey (Penelope Wilson) has to prepare for the county fair, but her modern ideas cause conflict with chairman Sir Hector (Simon Russell Beale), who is a staunch traditionalist by nature and doesn’t like change. It remains to be seen whether the event will be a success, or if the Crawley’s will succeed in rehabilitating Mary’s image.

Carnival Films and Focus Features

The cast does a great job with the material they’re given, and it is quite sad to remember that this will be the last time viewers will see them. Hugh Bonneville is in fine form as Robert, and one cannot help but empathize with him about growing older. Elizabeth McGovern brings a steely resolve to Cora. Her determination to save Downton Abbey from being sold is a big portion of what drives the story. Raquel Cassidy provides some of the more gentle, tender moments in the film as she and Kevin Doyle offer a nice counter-foil of Bonneville and McGovern. Dockery gives a headstrong, assertive performance as Mary, and she manages to hold her own opposite the rest of her costars. Tough, steel-willed yet vulnerable, the actress makes Mary a modern-thinking woman who’s unfortunate to be living in Interwar Britain. Paul Giamatti offers a welcome performance as Harold, and it is a delight to see him on-screen with Bonneville and McGovern again. Having shot to fame playing jerks, smarmy, and irritable types, Giamatti has proven himself to be a formidable character actor, and his presence is most welcome here.

Not everyone of the Downton Abbey alumni features in the film, though. Matthew Goode’s Henry Talbot is not involved this time around, his character being divorced from Mary. Due to Countess Violet’s death in Downton Abbey: A New Era, the late Maggie Smith does not feature in this film, but an oil painting depicting her likeness is included and the end credits feature a dedication to the actress. Fans will be delighted to see some archival footage of Smith, Dan Stevens, and Jessica Brown Findlay as their television characters of Violet, Matthew, and Lady Sybil. Although their characters are deceased and unable to be in the film, it is a nice touch by director Curtis and screenwriter Fellowes to include a tribute to them.

Carnival Films and Focus Features

In terms of production value, Carnival Films has done an excellent job in bringing the Crawleys’ world to life. As in the BBC series, the familiar locations of Highclere Castle, Byfleet Manor, the town of Bampton, and St Mary’s Church are used for the film. On a budget of $55 million, it is not hard to see where the money was spent. Editor Adam Recht keeps the narrative of the film running smoothly at a brisk 124 minutes, and the final product does not feel too long or short. Ben Smithard uses a natural feel in the use of his cinematography, which makes the look of the movie stunning in scope. John Lunn returns to compose the film’s lush score, and the result is a vast, interconnected cacophony of sounds.

Overall, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale works as a nice way to bring the Crawley family’s story to an end. That being said, it does set up a possible direction in which these characters could go. Of course, such idea of a further continuation would be up to the show creators and the BCC. Four out of four stars.

Carnival Films and Focus Features