The second film in the series, "The Modern World Comes to Downton", proclaims Lady Cora Crawley, and the next film, "A New Era", will bring the series to a whole new level.
In the early 1930s in England, everyone seems to be living happily ever after. As we attend the wedding of once-chauffeur Tom Branson and Lucy Smith, a well-hatted list of your favorites is ready for their close up.
We start with a wedding... Credit: Ben Blackall
Since the end of the series and the royal visit of the first film, everything has been wrapped up upstairs and down at the house, so there is no place for Simon to go. It was an unexpected inheritance. There was a surprise villa and her "idyllic interlude" with an old flame that took up a lot of space in my house.
The British Lion studio, with its impossibly debonair director Jack Barber (Hugh Dancy), and shining star Myrna Dalgleish (Laura Haddock), arrives in Hollywood, so we can't quite abandon the eponymous estate. The rest of the family are beyond excited by the idea of a moving picture of all things being made in their hallowed halls, even though some of them despise the idea of a moving picture of all things being made in their hallowed halls.
The film plays with the awkwardness of the era of movies transitioning from silent films to talkies, and the looming peril faced by actors whose face might sell a million tickets, but whose vocal talents might not. It's here newcomer Haddock leans into the well-starched frivolity of a decadent period piece like Downton and brings much-needed hilarity to every austere, gilded room she enters. The whole storyline could have fallen flat without her and her monologue from Daisy.
Mutual I'm sure. Credit: Ben Blackall
A New Era gives viewers a fun look at how the talkies were made, with real-time foley and voice over work performed live, and numerous knowing references. The Singing in the Rain storyline is fun enough to watch your favourite Downton faces get into the action.
Not everyone is convinced, however, and that's where the Dowager Countess comes in. If there is one character that the film seems to be made for, it is Violet Crawley. Smith drops one-liners like "I'd rather earn my living down a mine" and "I thought the best thing about films is that I couldn't hear them."
Eventual BFFs: Isobel Merton and Violet Grantham. Credit: Ben Blackall
The rise of Lady Mary Talbot as the new captain of the ship was seen by A New Era. The tension between Lady Mary and Lady Edith that fueled the series has ebbed, Mary, despite her simmering relationship with the handsome director. Lady Mary is looking at a new role running the household, but if we know her, she has this.
A New Era leans into pure fantasy and almost makes it impossible not to have a good time seeing what old friends are up to. The stakes are not as high here as they are in many of the biggest moments of the series, with most characters in a good life situation by now, and the few shocking revelations in the film delivered with.
Lady Mary stans, assemble. Credit: Ben Blackall
Playing it safe is the order of the day, which works for the most part, though will leave viewers frustrated over the role this plays in a storyline involving butler Thomas Barrow and film star Guy Dexter. It seems like a missed opportunity that there isn't much passion between the characters in the first film.
If you are a fan, you will have a great time. The final chapter of a beloved story that felt already reasonably resolved, but nonetheless should delight fans of the series who have been missing these characters in their lives.
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