After six seasons, five holiday specials, and three feature films, *Downton Abbey* ends as it started: with the pretense of transformation. This isn’t necessarily a drawback for fans of the series that began in 2010. *Downton* has consistently straddled the line between critiquing the early 20th-century British elite while also reveling in it. In its concluding segment — a two-hour theatrical presentation by Simon Curtis, aptly titled *Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale* — it delivers more of the familiar but with sufficient nostalgia and narrative resolution to render this conclusion feel conclusive.
The series has long lingered beyond its prime, continuing after the passing of its most captivating character: the sharp-tongued, irritable Dowager Countess Violet Crawley. *The Grand Finale* is a tribute to Dame Maggie Smith, who passed away last year, and her absence is deeply felt. The film often feels uneven, progressing too darkly for what is intended to be a nostalgic farewell.
Nonetheless, for an audience that has remained loyal to *Downton Abbey*, revisiting familiar themes is straightforward. The result is a film that’s difficult to criticize if you’re already invested, crafted to cater to fans, and scarcely advancing the narrative since the TV series concluded nearly ten years ago. Is this truly the concluding chapter? It might be irrelevant for a series that has been bidding adieu to its viewers (and a bygone way of life) since its inception.
**What is *Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale* about?**
As the Great Depression looms, the 1929 U.S. stock market crash hasn’t yet affected Britain when the film opens (though it eventually will). A Swing rendition of the show’s theme guides us through London’s West End, where a “1930 Revue” sign hangs above. A lengthy shot ushers the audience into a theatre, where a performance enchants the Crawley family: patriarch Robert (Hugh Bonneville); his American spouse, Cora (Elizabeth McGovern); their joyfully married younger daughter, Edith (Laura Carmichael); and their controversy-laden eldest, Mary (Michelle Dockery), who becomes entangled with an American uncle’s (Paul Giamatti) enigmatic financial advisor (Alessandro Nivola).
The Grantham family is accompanied by their footmen and ladies’ maids, who relish sitting in the budget seats, before transitioning backstage to meet the star Guy Dexter (Dominic West) and his “assistant” (lover) Thomas Barrow (Robert James-Collier), a former Downton butler. The film proves both humorous and engaging during this reunion — a brief “previously on” since the last film, *A New Era*, featured Guy utilizing Downton as a filming location — showcasing Robert’s disapproval of scantily dressed actresses and the nature of Guy and Barrow’s relationship. However, this recapitulation is fleeting, and soon the film awkwardly diverges, relegating Barrow (the only character with a happy resolution) to the sidelines.
Much of the drama oscillates between the Crawley’s “London Season” and their country estate — the series’ primary backdrop — but their two residences are so indistinct (including the kitchen and servant quarters) that it is occasionally challenging to discern who is where. Mary, ever the socialite, finds herself in the headlines due to her impending divorce, while her family (along with her maids and butlers) endeavor to protect her reputation. However, when all the characters ultimately converge at the family home, the film settles into a familiar cadence.
**Downton Abbey’s peculiar social dynamics are *The Grand Finale*’s allure.**
Change is approaching Downton. The era of class separation is purportedly coming to an end, or so the series has asserted for 15 years (nearly 20 within the narrative). However, more compelling than the Crawleys lamenting their declining status is the downstairs turmoil of the working class grappling with this shift, as individuals who seem to revere their social standings.
The only instance when *Downton* introduced a radical character was when the Crawley’s driver, the Irish Republican Tom Branson (Allen Leech), married into the family and contentedly accepted his role within the system after his wife’s demise due to actor contract disputes. Thus, rather than unsettling the established order, writer and creator Julian Fellowes portrays the elder household members as being in their professional twilight years.
Diligent head butler Charlie Carson (Jim Carter) has just one day left before retirement. Head cook Mrs. Patmore (Lesley Nicol) is preparing to pass the kitchen duties to Daisy Parker (Sophie McShera), while other maids and footmen are confronted with a reshuffling of roles and a blurring of social lines concerning the town’s fair. But! There is one final significant social occasion at Downton. One last elegant dinner, where the old guard fends off irrelevance — one last endeavor, setting the stage for yet another instance of Downton’s meticulous catering.
A narrative that holds more respect for its working-class characters might have shattered this mold long ago, but any