At The Movies: Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale a fitting farewell for franchise’s fans
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale closes the chapter on the beloved franchise that began in 2010.
PHOTO: UIP
Follow topic:
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale (PG13)
124 minutes, opens on Sept 11
★★★☆☆
The story: Once a society darling, Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) finds herself shown out the door at the Petersfield Ball – the highlight of the English aristocratic social calendar – when news of her recent divorce surfaces. Now a shamed outcast, she finds solace in Downton Abbey. But the fate of the beloved Yorkshire estate is also at stake when the Crawley family faces financial troubles.
After 15 years and 52 episodes over six seasons of the popular British show, plus two other big-screen spin-offs, it is time to draw the lavish curtains on Downton Abbey with this last hurrah.
Fans have lapped up the slice-of-life period comedy-drama about the aristocratic Crawleys and their servants living in the titular opulent 18th-century estate.
The TV series (2010 to 2015), set between 1912 and 1925, wove in key historic events such as the Titanic disaster, World War I and the Spanish Flu pandemic, while the films – Downton Abbey (2019) and Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022) – focused on societal changes in 1927 and the evolution of “talkie” films in 1928.
More developments are afoot in The Grand Finale and the family, now living in 1930s England, has to come to terms with succession planning and downsizing of staff.
Patriarch Lord Robert (Hugh Bonneville) has second thoughts about relinquishing control of the estate to his daughter Lady Mary. Then Lady Cora (Elizabeth McGovern) learns her brother Harold (Paul Giamatti) has lost most of their fortune, an inheritance needed to help upkeep Downton, to a bad investment.
Hugh Bonneville plays Lord Robert, heir to the Downton Abbey estate.
PHOTO: UIP
Changes below stairs involve new butler Andy (Michael Fox), who has his own ways of running the house efficiently. Retiring butler Mr Carson (Jim Carter) struggles to accept this after a lifetime of serving the Crawleys. The changing of the guard also involves spunky Daisy (Sophie McShera), who takes over as chief cook.
Lady Mary’s divorce scandal overshadows both her credibility and ability to run the estate, and the family comes together to restore her position in high society. But there is no real plot.
There are hardly any highs or lows in the story, making it feel like an extended TV episode. Instances of English snobbery offer the laughs in this otherwise flat sequel.
Michelle Dockery (right) as Lady Mary and Laura Carmichael as Lady Edith in Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale.
PHOTO: UIP
The saving grace is the solid acting from the beloved ensemble cast. The chemistry, developed after more than a decade of working together, is impeccable.
The “above and below stairs” hierarchy still holds, but it is moving to see that the relationship between the Crawleys and their faithful servants is more familial than ever.
The closing scene is practically a roll call of who’s who from the entire saga, with an emotional dedication to the late British actress, Dame Maggie Smith. The caustic wit of her scene-stealing Dowager Countess is dearly missed.
Hot take: Downton Abbey fans will find this a fitting farewell to one of Britain’s most endearing period drama franchises.
