DOWNTON ABBEY: A NEW ERA
***
Director: Simon Curtis
Screenwriter: Julian Fellowes
Principal cast:
Hugh Bonneville
Elizabeth McGovern
Maggie Smith
Michelle Dockery
Laura Carmichael
Dominic West
Country: UK/USA
Classification: PG
Runtime: 125 mins.
Australian release date: 28 April 2022.
The hugely popular television series Downton Abbey has returned for a second big screen release, a little later than anticipated after 2019’s Downton Abbey but, as the saying goes, ‘some things are worth waiting for.’ This time around the saga is titled Downton Abbey: A New Era and, once again, it is penned by Julian Fellowes, bringing the familiar faces of the upstairs/downstairs cast back together again but, on this occasion, half the family head off to the south of France while the rest remain at Downton Abbey because the house has been hired by a production company for a film shoot.
To jog our memories of where we are in the ongoing family drama, the 7th Earl of Grantham, Robert Crawley (Hugh Bonneville), tells us early on that it is his daughter, Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery), who is now in charge of running the estate when he reminds her that “You’re the captain now”. Thus, we immediately get the feeling that a new era has indeed begun. Lady Mary reluctantly agrees to allow the British Lion film company to use their stately home as a location for a few weeks, acknowledging that they need the money to repair Downton’s leaking roof. Naturally, Violet, the Dowager Countess of Grantham (Maggie Smith) disapproves but ultimately relents, declaring, “We got through the war, we can get through this.” The director, Jack Barber (Hugh Dancy), is a likeable chap who gets on well with Lady Mary and she becomes actively involved in the film when it is decided to make it a ‘talkie’ rather than a silent film (another sign of the beginning of a new era). Meanwhile, the Earl and his wife Cora (Elizabeth McGovern), their other daughter Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael) and her husband Bertie (Harry Hadden-Paton), the newly married Tom Branson (Allen Leech) and his bride Lucy Smith (Tuppence Middleton), daughter of Maud, Lady Bagshaw (Imelda Staunton), plus Carson (Jim Carter) and sundry other staff, travel to the south of France to inspect a villa that has been bequeathed to Violet by the late Marquis de Montmirail under rather mysterious circumstances.
It goes without saying that both the English and French scenarios in Downton Abbey: A New Era are full of pictorial splendour, plot twists and dramatic turns that successfully engage the audience in the twin storylines. There is, as always, much witty repartee as all the characters get their moment in the sun. In fact, Fellowes has tried to be so inclusive that there is almost too much going on and each little vignette relies on your knowledge of the characters’ backstories to get the most out of them. This was a trend that he started in the first film but it’s more pronounced this time. It’s like he forgot that he only had a couple of hours to fill, not a series worth, so he’s tried to cram everything into it. The result borders on satire occasionally because there is just not enough time to flesh out the various parts to make them fully satisfying. The performances by the ensemble cast of regulars are excellent and they’ve been joined by a number of fresh faces, including Dominic West and Laura Haddock as the stars of the movie within the movie. Why oh why, though, does Hugh Bonneville have such a deep tan? It’s thoroughly disconcerting. Did they run out of talcum powder? On a visual level, Anna Robbins and Maja Meschede’s costumes are fabulous, as is Donal Woods’ production design (he worked on the previous Downton Abbey and the television series as well). Andrew Dunn’s cinematography beautifully captures both the British and Mediterranean locations at their best and, once again, John Lunn’s familiar score adds immeasurably to the goings-on.
Downton Abbey: A New Era is something of a guilty pleasure but it provides real escapism - it’s a much-needed tonic at the moment. It even embraced its delays, which were somewhat inevitable due to the pandemic (it was originally planned to be released before Christmas last year). As Violet’s best friend Lady Merton (Penelope Wilton) succinctly puts it in the movie, “Filming is the slowest occupation of all time. It makes a glacier seem impatient”. Watching a film like this, on the other hand, can seem to speed things up, especially when you’re in the company of such familiar characters as these.
Screenwriter: Julian Fellowes
Principal cast:
Hugh Bonneville
Elizabeth McGovern
Maggie Smith
Michelle Dockery
Laura Carmichael
Dominic West
Country: UK/USA
Classification: PG
Runtime: 125 mins.
Australian release date: 28 April 2022.
The hugely popular television series Downton Abbey has returned for a second big screen release, a little later than anticipated after 2019’s Downton Abbey but, as the saying goes, ‘some things are worth waiting for.’ This time around the saga is titled Downton Abbey: A New Era and, once again, it is penned by Julian Fellowes, bringing the familiar faces of the upstairs/downstairs cast back together again but, on this occasion, half the family head off to the south of France while the rest remain at Downton Abbey because the house has been hired by a production company for a film shoot.
To jog our memories of where we are in the ongoing family drama, the 7th Earl of Grantham, Robert Crawley (Hugh Bonneville), tells us early on that it is his daughter, Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery), who is now in charge of running the estate when he reminds her that “You’re the captain now”. Thus, we immediately get the feeling that a new era has indeed begun. Lady Mary reluctantly agrees to allow the British Lion film company to use their stately home as a location for a few weeks, acknowledging that they need the money to repair Downton’s leaking roof. Naturally, Violet, the Dowager Countess of Grantham (Maggie Smith) disapproves but ultimately relents, declaring, “We got through the war, we can get through this.” The director, Jack Barber (Hugh Dancy), is a likeable chap who gets on well with Lady Mary and she becomes actively involved in the film when it is decided to make it a ‘talkie’ rather than a silent film (another sign of the beginning of a new era). Meanwhile, the Earl and his wife Cora (Elizabeth McGovern), their other daughter Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael) and her husband Bertie (Harry Hadden-Paton), the newly married Tom Branson (Allen Leech) and his bride Lucy Smith (Tuppence Middleton), daughter of Maud, Lady Bagshaw (Imelda Staunton), plus Carson (Jim Carter) and sundry other staff, travel to the south of France to inspect a villa that has been bequeathed to Violet by the late Marquis de Montmirail under rather mysterious circumstances.
It goes without saying that both the English and French scenarios in Downton Abbey: A New Era are full of pictorial splendour, plot twists and dramatic turns that successfully engage the audience in the twin storylines. There is, as always, much witty repartee as all the characters get their moment in the sun. In fact, Fellowes has tried to be so inclusive that there is almost too much going on and each little vignette relies on your knowledge of the characters’ backstories to get the most out of them. This was a trend that he started in the first film but it’s more pronounced this time. It’s like he forgot that he only had a couple of hours to fill, not a series worth, so he’s tried to cram everything into it. The result borders on satire occasionally because there is just not enough time to flesh out the various parts to make them fully satisfying. The performances by the ensemble cast of regulars are excellent and they’ve been joined by a number of fresh faces, including Dominic West and Laura Haddock as the stars of the movie within the movie. Why oh why, though, does Hugh Bonneville have such a deep tan? It’s thoroughly disconcerting. Did they run out of talcum powder? On a visual level, Anna Robbins and Maja Meschede’s costumes are fabulous, as is Donal Woods’ production design (he worked on the previous Downton Abbey and the television series as well). Andrew Dunn’s cinematography beautifully captures both the British and Mediterranean locations at their best and, once again, John Lunn’s familiar score adds immeasurably to the goings-on.
Downton Abbey: A New Era is something of a guilty pleasure but it provides real escapism - it’s a much-needed tonic at the moment. It even embraced its delays, which were somewhat inevitable due to the pandemic (it was originally planned to be released before Christmas last year). As Violet’s best friend Lady Merton (Penelope Wilton) succinctly puts it in the movie, “Filming is the slowest occupation of all time. It makes a glacier seem impatient”. Watching a film like this, on the other hand, can seem to speed things up, especially when you’re in the company of such familiar characters as these.
