Downton Abbey: A New Era Review

Downton Abbey: A New Era is the second cinematic film to come from the Downton series. This entry sees the Granthams split into two parties as Downton Abbey gets invaded by a film crew.

The year is 1928. The Crawleys receive news that the Dowager Countess (Maggie Smith) has inherited a villa in the South of France and she plans to give it to Sybbie (Fifi Hart), her great-granddaughter. However, the widow of Marquess (Nathalie Baye) is challenging the will and her son (Jonathan Zaccaï) invites Lord Grantham (Hugh Bonneville) to France to resolve the matter.

This invitation comes at an opportune time because a production company offers to hire Downton as a filming location. Mary (Michelle Dockery) manages the manor as the film suffers issues like the massive changes affecting the film industry and a rude and surly film star, Myrna Dalgleish (Laura Haddock.)

Downton Abbey was a pop culture sensation. It was a massive hit internationally and one of ITV’s biggest ever shows. It was a cosy drama that looked at the lives of the upstairs and downstairs of Downton Abbey. Films based on TV shows are a tradition in the UK, so a cinematic continuation was inevitable. Downton Abbey did have some inbuilt advantages for a film continuity because it has an ensemble cast of big names and the show’s production values were cinematic. Downton Abbey also had a disadvantage because could it come up with a story worthy of the cinema?

Downton Abbey: A New Era played like an extended episode of the series and for fans of the show that’s what they want. The film had a bigger scope whilst staying true to the show’s origins. The obvious way the film had a bigger scope was by showing some of the Granthams going to France. The stock plot for many TV-to-film adaptations is taking the characters aboard like The Inbetweeners films, Mr. Bean films, and the recent People Just Do Nothing movie.

The previous film was focused on the downstairs staff. They were in conflict with the Royal Household and they wanted to prove themselves and show up their snobby attitudes. The second film was more focused on the Granthams, particularly Lord Grantham as he tries to find out why his mother was given a villa. Bonneville did get to show his talent as his character suffers emotional upheaval throughout the film.

Mary had a prominent role in the storyline involving the film shoot. She collaborated closely with Jack Barber (Hugh Dancy), the film’s director and producer. They had to solve problems like the production being shut down because it was a silent film and dealing with Miss Dalgleish’s thick Cockney accent. Because of their working relationship a spark grows between them.

Downton Abbey has an extensive cast of characters and the previous film was filled with subplots. A New Era also had a lot of subplots that aimed to give many of the characters a chance to shine. As stated, Mary and Mr. Barber had a potential romance. Another subplot involved Thomas Barrow (Robert James-Collier) potentially having a romance with the film’s star, Guy Dexter (Dominic West), which felt like a repeat of his subplot in the first film. Other subplots involved Cora Crawley (Elizabeth McGovern) keeping a secret from her family, Daisy (Sophie McShera) fangirling over Miss Dalgleish, and Mr. Molesley (Kevin Doyle) trying to get involved in the film production.

It was a big juggling act and it was amazing that the film made sure they all had oxygen. Few storylines felt underdeveloped. The characters were interconnected so their story could overlap so they were able to mix.

The Marquess’ widow and Miss Dalgleish were the antagonistic roles in the film. But they weren’t evil, just antagonistic to the main characters. The Marquess’ widow was put out that her husband was giving a villa to an English aristocrat, so her position was understandable. Whilst Miss Dalgleish was worried that her acting career was overdue to the growth of talky films which contributed to her bad mood. The characters felt more real because of their issues and rationale and Miss Dalgleish had a character arc during the film.

A New Era did have an air of finality to it. It wanted to give many characters a conclusion of some sort. If A New Era does act as a finale to the franchise, it does the job. However, the first film also seemed to act as a conclusion to the Downton saga so don’t write off the possibility of a third film if A New Era does well at the box office.

A New Era will satisfy fans of the franchise who would get to spend more time with the characters they love. Whilst the story was light, it serves a purpose and fans can enjoy it as frothy entertainment.