- Release year: 2022
- Director: Simon Curtis.
- Producers: Julian Fellowes, Gareth Neame and Liz Trubridge.
- Screenplay by: Julian Fellowes.
- Cinematographer: Andrew Dunn.
- Music by: John Lunn.
Synopsis: the Crawley family discovers a new fact from its matriarch’s past and half of the clan travels to France to investigate it while the other half stays behind to host the filming of a movie in Downton Abbey.
Shotgun commentary: this beautiful film provides a fair ending to a years long story. Fans of the show will be very satisfied, however, people who know nothing of the previous story aren’t likely to enjoy themselves very much.
Source: Downton Abbey: A New Era (Simon Curtis, 2022).
Review
This movie creates the perfect closure for a fan of the show by showcasing Mary (Michelle Dockery) and Violet (Maggie Smith) going through different stages of essentially the same psychological journey. Apart from the sociohistorical differences, Mary’s sentimental situation is quite similar to Violet’s when she was young. This fact reaffirms Mary as the next Violet, not only in power but in mindset too.
Source: Downton Abbey: A New Era (Simon Curtis, 2022).
The “talkies”
One half of the movie is fascinating if you are into cinema since it shows a very confusing and exciting time in its history: the evolution of silent cinema into “talkies” or movies with actual spoken dialogue. This opinion might be really controversial, but I think the struggle of classic silent cinema stars to adapt to the new era of this art is way better represented here than it is in The Artist. And it is certainly much more entertaining.
High-class inheritances
The other part of the movie, set in a French villa that has been bestowed upon Violet by a French marquis, is all about the family trying to find out what happened in Violet’s life during the time she met him and why he chose to bequeath such a property to her. That is, gossip spread through a delightfully rich vocabulary, you know, as Downton Abbey does.
Past, present and future
So you have the coming of the thirties on the one hand and the gossip from the past on the other, virtually everything a Downton Abbey fan could ever dream of. All of it, of course, sprinkled with breathtaking locations and splendid outfits, as it is customary in the saga.
Source: Downton Abbey: A New Era (Simon Curtis, 2022).
Nonetheless, the film does not completely rely on past characters. In this instalment, there are some very charming new additions who bring a breath of fresh air to the plot, stirring things up in the best of ways. They mix with the old characters beautifully and catalyse their development, preparing them for the ethos of the new era. There is only one possible cast complaint. Where the hell is Mary’s husband?! They mention him ALL THE TIME. Sure, the actor’s name is not in the initial credits, but it’s quite frustrating that he is more present in the story when he is not present than when he was. At least give us a five-second appearance like the previous movie did…
What’s your take on Downton Abbey: A New Era?
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