Downton Abbey: Review by @Kush_Hayes
I know nothing about Downton Abbey. So little that when I made my normal social media post announcing that I would be viewing the movie adapted and continued from its UK TV Series and identifying the titular property as a hotel, I would receive several replies including one from Little Sister Hayes stating that “Its not a hotel!”. And perhaps it still isnt, however as the trailer indicates, The King and Queen of England will be stopping for the night on one of their tours. And oh boy is the land aflutter at the news.
Its become such a big deal that the head butler, despite being instructed to ‘clean everything’ has been stopped at the room with the silverware because he doesnt know which set The Kings staff will insist on using. I agree with the folks he reports too, this shouldnt be an issue and they go back the man he succeeded bringing him out of retirement. Again, not knowing who this man is from the show, its definitely a big deal when he walks onto the property and the filmmakers detail that clearly.
Time moves pretty quick in this story. Although we are only talking about a time span of maybe five days maximum whereas a quick wikipedia search shows each season (or series) will take up to maybe three years in its timeline. This still feels like its trying to squeeze a full season into a two hour package. Conflicts are identified and then delt with as quickly as they are identified. I suppose its efficient storytelling, but I felt this movie lacked any drama, especially with some of the avenues they went down. Espionage, questioning identity (this is big for a few characters), several re-positionings of power, a love triangle, class-ism, trust issues, loss prevention these are just some of the themes in play, but never focused on. Something will be implied. Then it will be executed. Then it will be resolved. As stated above I guess its efficient, especially with 21 characters but several times I uttered “Oh, is that it?”
I would say the biggest storyline that runs the course of the film is how the support staff of Downton deals with the idea of being given a day off from work when The Royals arrive. Oh, spoiler alert, they are not happy about having the day off to enjoy a parade. I appreciate that this staff, this team, this family is not only united, but carry a pride with them that is again not built up like I might think it would be. In fact our resolution to this is almost equal to something out of a National Lampoons movie - but maybe funnier. And maybe this is how the standard 58-94 minute episode is as well.
Based on my favorite reference site, IMDB says Julian Fellowes is responsible for writing this, so fans of the show should appreciate that as well. Because I dont follow the show, and because of the paragraph above, maybe the nicest thing I can say is I had no problem following his story. I may get a few characters and their roles and positions mixed up, but I was also able to identify who was doing what after the first 30 minutes.
Director Michael Engler, who is a Downton Abbey vet, has been given a huge platform to display his talent. Im unsure how many sweeping shots of the property are in the over all series, but Engler takes full advantage of his shots. I dont know how many Royal Balls we the audience are allowed to attend, but its a sweeping display of elegance in this feature film.
As someone who again, knows nothing about this series, it was nice of the producers to make the ten minute crash course of ALL THINGS Downton. I thought it was a good idea, and maybe it shouldnt be just exclusive to the one Fan Screening held in theaters Nationwide this past Thursday night a week before its release. As I do, I get to most of my events early and in this case I was not the first one there. Fans were taking photos together as well as doing video posts of the entrance of the Dolby Theaters Digital Hallway. Its an interesting fandom built around this little show set nearly 100 years in the past. And it has captured the attention of people around the world. My theaters hardcore fanbase consisted of men and women, and children of all ages and races. It reminds me a bit of the way Star Trek and Star Wars fans were before those favorite IPs went all the way mainstream and completely corporate.
I think the comparison to Star Trek is much more appropriate as 40 years ago it would be making its jump from small to big screen with the draw or appeal of it just being “that scifi show from the 60s with a bigger budget. For instance, when Foxs The X-Files did this as they were still a series on the air, its big draw was “after five years, we’re going to finally show you an alien”. Fox would also throw in The Simpsons and “after 18 years we’re going to let Marge swear, and bart gets naked” these are things we wouldnt see in the TV series ever.
But I guess the fact is, this is a film event for the fans. In my screening, the audience couldnt be happier to clap and cheer on their favorite Lord or Lady. Maggie Smith getting the biggest reactions. It was just like being in the audience of an Avengers movie opening night. I feel confident this niche audience would see a new Downton Abbey movie every month if it was ever available and Im sure preparations are being made for the next Downton Abbey Theatrical Event.
As a fresh visitor to Downton Abbey, I can say its two hour run time goes by smooth, the storys are easy to follow, only two sets characters would I keep getting mixed up. But if I was a fan of this, I think this would get all six blueberries. Since Im not, Im going to have to lower the score just a bit, but I would definitely recommend to anyone who is a fan to see this. Those that arent fans, well, if you know a fan, take them to see it and theyll love you for it.
Four out of Six Blueberries
Rated PG for thematic elements, some suggestive material, and language
...In addition to thinking this was a hotel, I also used to call it Downtown Abbey.
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