By Kathryn Boole
FILM REVIEW
DOWNTON ABBEY: The Grand Finale
Rated PG
123 Minutes
Released September 12th
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale is the latest and probably the last installment in the Downton Abbey TV and film odyssey through the world of the upper class in England from 1912 to 1930, the year in which this film takes place. “The Grand Finale” chapter stands on its own as a study of the overly structured and confining social mores of British society, as the increasingly wide reach of communication through all walks of life threatens to shatter the pedestals that lift the upper class above the rest.
The shifting tectonic plates of societal interaction are on display as those who remain dedicated to the lifestyles of the past grate against those who are moving on. The cracks in the wall of social hierarchy are widened even more by the presence of worldly guests from outside the Crawley family’s circle, who upend the structure of proper social etiquette. Noted British avant-garde playwright Noel Coward is woven into the story as a catalyst and is an absolute scene-stealer.
Director Simon Curtis did not helm the first Downton Abbey film (2019) nor the Downton Abbey TV episodes. He did direct the second film, Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022), so he was already part of the “family”. His resume as a film director includes brilliant recent movies: My Week with Marilyn (2011), Woman in Gold (2015), Goodbye Christopher Robin (2017), and The Art of Racing in the Rain (2019). Curtis began his career directing plays at the Royal Court Theatre in London and has worked on numerous projects for BBC TV/ Films. He served as an assistant director to Danny Boyle and to Max Stafford-Clark. Since 1992, Curtis has been married to actress Elizabeth McGovern, who happens to play “Lady Grantham” in the Downton Abbey universe.
Julian Fellowes is the creator and writer of the Downton Abbey 2010-1015 TV series and of all three Downton Abbey films. He also wrote Gosford Park (2001) and created and wrote The Gilded Age (2022-2025). Fellowes began as a novelist in the 1970s, writing romantic novels under the pen name “Rebecca Greville.” He has twice played “Winston Churchill” as an actor and was a member of the Cambridge comedy group, all good training for writing excellent period pieces with characters who work their way into your heart.
The production design by Donal Woods is filled with realism. In Downton Abbey, where every room is cared for by the diligent staff, all is perfect, but in a fleeting, poignant scene, you can see that the stonework on the outside of the stately manor wall is crumbling. Likewise, the costumes by Anna Mary Scott Robbins are true to the period and striking, whether an apron for the kitchen staff or a ball gown for a Lady. You can see that director Curtis is impressed with them as he often pulls the camera in to study the detail on the apparel. The costumes represent the period with a flourish and set the milieu of the age.
For those who follow the Downton Abbey crowd, this is a glorious soap opera whose players become your good friends. This production is dedicated to accuracy in portrayal of the times and environment, even in the precise accents that are changing over time, both in the British characters and the Americans. This is a story that takes you through relationships with pent-up emotions that characters do their best to hide, because in their upper-class British world, display of emotion is improper. Perhaps the only detail that may have been a bit changed is the accents of the household staff. I lived for some time in London in the late 1960s-early 1970s, and the cockney accent at that time sounded to my American ears like a completely different language, vastly distinct from upper-class speak. Now, due to television, there is much less difference in London accents. In this film, the staff’s 1930s working-class accents have most likely been tweaked to be understandable.
The actors assembled for the Downton Abbey world are magnificent. Illinois-born Elizabeth McGovern plays “Lady Grantham.” She dropped out of Juilliard in 1980 to accept her first role, in Robert Redford’s Ordinary People, and she has been a working actor ever since. She also plays electric guitar and has her own band. McGovern has lived in England since 1992. British actress Michelle Dockery, “Lady Mary Crawley,” is the center of the plot of this movie. Dockery is an accomplished jazz singer, a dancer, and plays guitar. Rounding out the stellar ensemble are such notables as Dominic West, Paul Giamatti, Joely Richardson, and Hugh Bonneville. Joanne Froggatt, who plays “Anna Bates,” was pregnant during pre-production, so pregnancy was written in for her character. Arty Froushan plays the notorious playwright, “Noel Coward,” who is invited to dine at Downton Abbey. Froushan does an extraordinary job bringing the eccentric and fascinating Coward to life as he becomes the symbolic spark of transformations to come in the world.
Times are changing rapidly, and those who don’t adapt will be left behind. This becomes clear throughout the story, evidenced by the characters’ storylines. For those who follow the franchise, and for those who follow history, this movie is an invitation to step into the world of British aristocracy of 1930 and witness the intense sea change in the melting pot of power, governing style, philosophical outlook, and worldview in the era between two great wars. Strange that it seems not at all unfamiliar.
The movie is dedicated to Maggie Smith, who played matriarch “Violet Crawley” in the TV series and the first two movies, who passed away at age 89 last year.
Kathryn Whitney Boole has spent most of her life in the entertainment industry, which has been the backdrop for remarkable adventures with extraordinary people. She is a Talent Manager with Studio Talent Group in Santa Monica. kboole@gmail.com
