Tonight's Movie: Downton Abbey: A New Era (2022)

It's hard to believe it's been almost exactly six years since the first DOWNTON ABBEY (2019) film was released.

I absolutely loved it, and I felt likewise about the sequel, DOWNTON ABBEY: A NEW ERA (2022).

I never managed to review A NEW ERA at the time it came out, so watching the Blu-ray and posting this review seemed like the perfect preparation to see the final film of the series this week: DOWNTON ABBEY: THE GRAND FINALE (2025).

A NEW ERA picks up shortly after the conclusion of the previous film, opening with the wedding of Tom Branson (Allen Leech) and Lucy Smith (Tuppence Middleton).

Happily married Edith (Laura Carmichael) and Bertie (Harry Hadden-Paton) are now the parents of a son, Peter; meanwhile, Lady Mary's husband Henry (an unseen Matthew Goode) is perpetually away on business.

I'll insert here that anyone wishing to have more extended character introductions is invited to read my review of the previous film, which gives more details; for the most part I assume those reading this are likely to already be DOWNTON ABBEY fans.

It's openly acknowledged that Lady Violet (Maggie Smith) is slowly fading away, in her final weeks or months. Otherwise, all is rolling gently along at Downton Abbey when a pair of unlikely events occur.

Lady Violet announces that a long-ago beau has bequeathed her a villa in the south of France and that she intends to leave it to Sybbie (Fifi Hart), the young daughter of Tom and his late first wife Sybil, so that she'll be financially well situated on a level more comparable to her well-off cousins.

At the same time a film production company wants to rent Downton Abbey as a movie location, and Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) tells her father (Hugh Bonneville) they can't afford to turn down the significant fee involved, which will allow much-needed repairs to Downton.

Several family members travel to France to visit the mysterious villa, while Lady Mary remains at Downton Abbey to manage the goings-on surrounding the movie shoot, which coincidentally is taking place at the dawn of the sound era.

But -- shades of SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952) -- the leading lady (Laura Haddock), who was cast when the film was planned to be silent, has a strong lower class accent. What to do? Anyone who's seen SINGIN' IN THE RAIN can probably guess how the actress is provided with a posh British accent.

There are a couple of aspects I particularly love about these films. One is that they allow us the pleasure of spending time with the huge cast, and each of the many characters has their moments to shine. That's been part of the appeal of "series" movies from the early days of moviedom, and this simply does it on a grand scale, with great costumes in glorious settings. It's a complete pleasure.

There's no particular need to comment on individual performances in this case; the actors had been portraying these characters for over a decade at the time this movie was made, and they simply are the upstairs and downstairs members of the Downton Abbey household, with all their admirable traits and foibles.

I also love that after the many traumas some of the characters endured in the original TV series, which aired in the U.S. 2011-2016, everyone is now, for the most part, enjoying prolonged "happily ever afters" in the movies, and we get to enjoy that with them.

Lady Mary alone may not be so fortunate in her personal life, but everyone else is happily paired up and planning their futures, making these the ultimate in "feel good" movies. I thus happily anticipate seeing DOWNTON ABBEY: THE GRAND FINALE in the near future.

DOWNTON ABBEY: A NEW ERA was written by Julia Fellowes and directed by Simon Curtis. It was filmed by Andrew Dunn.

A trailer may be watched here. The movie is rated PG.

DOWNTON ABBEY: A NEW ERA is available in a Blu-ray/DVD set.

Related post: Musings on Downton Abbey (2011).

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