DOWNTON ABBEY: THE GRAND FINALE

THREE STARS It's time for another, perhaps final, spin around The Estate with the Crawley family.

PERIOD DRAMA UK English #DOWNTONABBEY Starring Michelle Dockery, Hugh Bonneville

After more than a decade of silver service, romantic entanglements and polite scandal, DOWNTON ABBEY: THE GRAND FINALE arrives like a well-polished silver tray bearing one last cup of tea. Julian Fellowes’ farewell to the Crawley family doesn’t reinvent the wheel - nor does it try to - but it’s a warm, reassuring send-off for fans who’ve followed every bow-tied twist and turn.

The film’s greatest strength remains its cast. Under the watchful gaze of Violet Crawley’s arched eyebrow (the legendary Maggie Smith’s gets her final curtain call, albeit as a glaring portrait in Downton's the main hall) Michelle Dockery’s Lady Mary finally takes the reins from her nervous father (Hugh Bonneville). He huffs and puffs about the way young people do things these days while remaining, in his heart, stedfast in support of his daughter. This is comfort food cinema at its most English: lush stately interiors, rolling green vistas, and a sense of heritage that's been steeped in the finest china.

Director Simon Curtis keeps proceedings classy, if exceedingly safe. There are no shocking revelations here (unless you’re shocked to learn that Lady Mary has divorced her virtually invisible husband from the previous film). Instead, the drama simmers politely as beloved characters wrap up their arcs (or more fairly, the same arc: passing the baton). Fellowes' screenplay leans heavily on nostalgia, and longtime viewers will forgive its predictability in favour of emotional closure.

DOWNTON ABBEY: THE GRAND FINALE is less a film than two episodes (Tonight, Divorce at Downton! then, after the break, Noel Coward!) squashed together as a fond farewell tour, designed to leave audiences smiling through misty eyes. It’s slow, even stodgy in places, but it never forgets why we came to Downton in the first place – to luxuriate in a world of charm, wit, and impeccable manners. It certainly won’t dazzle newcomers but will give devotees exactly what they came for.

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