Movie Review: ‘Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale’

NEW YORK (OSV News) – Both the upstairs and downstairs inhabitants of the titular stately home get a splendid send-off in “Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale” (Focus). A couple of subplots interwoven into this third big-screen iteration of the franchise, however, suggest the abundant elegance it offers is best reserved for grown-ups.

Aptly, in light of the gently elegiac mood that will prevail throughout, the film opens with an excerpt from Noel Coward’s 1929 operetta “Bitter Sweet.” This marks the start of screenwriter Julian Fellowes’ deft deployment of the music of that theatrical master of all trades as a highly effective era-evoking and tone-setting motif.

This time out, the proprietors of Downton, Lord (Hugh Bonneville) and Lady (Elizabeth McGovern) Grantham, face two principal problems. The first involves financial worries, the second results from the social shunning of their recently divorced daughter, Lady Mary Talbot (Michelle Dockery).

Having entrusted her U.S.-based brother Harold (Paul Giamatti) with the management of her inherited wealth, American-born Lady Grantham discovers belatedly that he’s made a mess of things. Arriving in England with his mysterious — and possibly shady — investment advisor Gus Sambrook (Alessandro Nivola) in tow, Harold reports the woeful results.

As Lady Grantham tries to decide whether to give Harold the chance to recoup his losses by selling the family estate in Newport, Rhode Island, and placing the proceeds in Gus’ hands, Lady Mary chafes under her newfound status as a pariah. The fact that she is the innocent party in the split with her unfaithful and manipulative husband makes no difference to the aristocracy.

The primary emotional tension in this early 20th-century family saga — first chronicled in Fellowes’ popular ITV and PBS television series — has always derived from the complex relationship between Lady Mary and her sister, Lady Edith Hexham (Laura Carmichael). Enduring temperamental differences notwithstanding, Lady Edith now comes to the rescue.

Her scheme for reclaiming her sibling’s role in high society involves the widespread popularity of Coward (Arty Froushan) whom the Granthams have gotten to know through their friendship with stage and screen actor Guy Dexter (Dominic West). Like King George V and Queen Mary before him, Coward pays a visit to Downton and — like them — causes quite a splash.

Among the servants, meanwhile, major developments are afoot. Both Mr Carson (Jim Carter), the butler, and head cook Mrs Patmore (Lesley Nicol) are preparing for retirement and both are experiencing mixed feelings about the impending change.

Amid her woes, Lady Mary commits a sexual indiscretion that the script implicitly condemns and about which she herself has instant regrets. The ongoing relationship between Dexter and former Downton footman Thomas Barrow (Robert James-Collier), by contrast — although only touched on lightly — is treated sympathetically as a source of happiness for both.

More broadly, director Simon Curtis’ generally enchanting wrap-up salutes family solidarity, kindness and mutual respect across classes — even as the formerly strict divisions among them are being progressively flouted as the 1930s arrive. In light of those congenial values, at least some parents may consider this concluding chapter acceptable fare for older teens.

The film contains a benign view of homosexual acts, an offscreen casual sexual encounter, a bedroom scene with partial nudity, at least one slightly crass term and some mature references. The OSV News classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG — parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

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