Well, it’s been 15 years, 52 television episodes, and 3 films, but it’s time to say goodbye to the aristocratic Crawley family and their staff at Downton Abbey. Julian Fellowes’ period drama creation and its popularity have a special place in popular culture. The world he created needs an ending worthy of it. Thankfully, that’s what this film is. Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale has an accurate subtitle– it IS grand. It’s a superb and fittingly emotional send-off.
Starting in 2010, the world met Lord Grantham, Robert Crawley (Hugh Bonneville), his American heiress wife Cora (Elizabeth McGovern), their three daughters, his mother Violet (Maggie Smith), and their many servants. Their journey began in 1912. This latest film ends the story in 1930. Over that time, various romances, heartbreaks, losses, and triumphs have come to all the characters. Class differences are the foundation of the entire narrative but there are many things to love about the world of Downton.
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale highlights every element that makes this period piece work. The story is compelling and well-balanced, the production values are gorgeous, and the performances are wonderful. It’s a satisfying resolution to the story so many fans have invested in for years.
MORE: If you need a refresher on what happened in the previous film, just read our review of Downton Abbey: A New Era!
“No one knows how to behave anymore.”
This finale begins with the revelation that Robert and Cora’s oldest daughter, Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery), is divorcing her husband. This is not surprising. Matthew Goode’s Henry Talbot has hardly appeared in these films. We knew the relationship was deteriorating. As the news hits the papers, Mary’s status in society is in jeopardy. Fellowes’ script does a good job of demonstrating this when Mary is forced to sneak out of a party before royalty arrives to see her scandalous presence. While Mary is wearing a scarlet red dress, no less! Kudos to costume designer Anna Mary Scott Robbins, though, because it is a beautiful dress.
The theme of divorce is a concern for Fellowes lately. His current television show, The Gilded Age, addressed it in its most recent season as well. Fellowes wisely focuses on the unfairness inflicted on women in this situation. Not only does Lady Petersfield (Joely Richardson) ask Mary to leave her ball, but Sir Hector Moreland (Simon Beale) doesn’t want her to present an award at the local festival he organizes. This is rich character development for Mary. Viewers of the Downton series know that Mary has always had her flaws, but she has always been someone who pointed to the future. This storyline is a tangible example of that. Mary’s family rallies around her, and we cheer for their united front.
MORE: If you love Downton Abbey, we have another television recommendation for you: The Gilded Age!
“You never admit when you’ve lost.”
There are many more characters to check in with. It’s a pleasure to see the romances established earlier are still going strong. Mary’s lady’s maid, Anna (Joanne Froggatt), and Robert’s valet, Mr. Bates (Brendan Coyle), are expecting their second child (Yay!), kitchen maid Daisy (Sophie McShera) and head footman Andy (Michael Fox) are celebrating their promotions to head cook and butler, and cook Mrs. Patmore gets to spend more time with her husband now that she’s retiring. Viewers have built up a history with these characters over the years. That means that watching all this positive growth is important to a satisfying ending. Fellowes remembers to give everyone their piece of screen time.
Significantly for this installment, former butler Barrow (Robert James-Collier) visits Downton again with his partner, actor Guy Dexter (Dominic West). Dexter is doing Noel Coward’s latest play in London, so we get the treat of seeing Coward (Arty Froushan) in the spaces of Downton we know so well and interacting with beloved characters. Film lover and screenwriter Mr. Molesley’s (Kevin Doyle) reaction to Coward is particularly funny. Coward’s presence is a really fun detail that helps cement the atmosphere of this final piece of the story. The period of history covered by the Downton series and films features a lot of changes, and grounding the story with a real-life famous character is a good idea.
MORE: We think Downton Abbey and The Gilded Age should cross over, and here’s how!
“Our lives are lived in chapters.”
The image of Highclere Castle as Downton is indelible by now, and the central plot of this finale is the fate of the estate itself. Upper-class British families like the Crawleys are selling their London homes as the effects of America’s stock market crash echo across the world. Making matters worse, Cora’s brother Harold (the always-great Paul Giamatti) was swindled out of most of the money their late mother left behind. Solving this problem means that Robert has to come to terms with moving the estate into the future. Fellowes has explored the conflict of Mary taking over Downton since the first episode of the series. Robert and Cora never had a son, and the issue of inheritance came up more than once over the years. It feels right to see Mary take the reins from her father.
Besides that, it feels like Mary’s stewardship of Downton was the ending that was always supposed to happen. It instills a sense of nostalgia in the audience, and the entire final sequence does the same. Robert and Cora move into the Dower House and the servants wave goodbye to them. Then, Mary looks around Downton’s reception hall and remembers all the important people she’s lost: her first husband Matthew (Dan Stevens), her grandmother Violet, and her sister Sybil (Jessica Brown Findlay). And then, a dedication to the late Maggie Smith flashes on screen. If your tears aren’t flowing at this point, you might need a medical check-up. I was weeping. If you thought Violet’s passing at the end of the previous film was sad, you ain’t seen nothing yet. That’s what Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale gets right: the emotions. Fans have spent a lot of time in this place, with these characters, and this finale honors that.
4 ½ stars out of 5
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale is now playing in theaters.
