The tales of the Crawley family lasted 6 seasons and became a weekly obsession for British and American audiences. The show became so huge that it spawned two theatrically released films, Downton Abbey and Downton Abbey: A New Era and now the third and final film is about to hit theaters, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale. It is truly the final film in the trilogy and has ended a great journey for this family on television and in films. I was very pleased by how this film ended. It gave me the best conclusion I could possibly have wanted for this family.

The Crawley family, Robert (Hugh Bonneville) Lady Mary Talbot (Michelle Dockery) Cora Crawley (Elizabeth McGovern) Edith Pelham (Laura Carmichael) Tom Benson (Allen Leach) are struggling with the progress that is happening in a fast paced growing world of England. After they go to London to watch a play from Noel Coward, a famous stage actor, director, and playwright, they are hit with a scandal as a recent divorce by Mary Crawley affects their standing in England and their town of Yorkshire where they live predominantly. They all have to live with this supposed disgrace. Today, it would be accepted, but like the strong family that they are, they try to put their chins up and get over it.

As always, the downstairs servants have their own things going on like a couple intending retirements of Mr. Carson (Jim Carter) and Mrs. Patmore (Leslie Nicol) and the younger servants, Daisy Parker (Sophie McShera) and Anddrew “Andy” Parker Michael Fox, taking over for the older retiring servants. Also, there is an expected child birth from mother Anna Smith (Joanne Froggatt) and father John Bates (Brendan Coyle). There is always something going on with the downstairs servants as well as the upstairs family. Sometimes, the downstairs drama outweighs the upstairs drama, but like in the highly successful show, the stories are balanced out very nicely. 

The series, as well as the films, have always had a few key set pieces like in action films or what you’d call turning points in the episodes. This film has three that I can talk about. Those are the play at the beginning of the film bringing back Thomas Barrow (Rob James-Collier), who works for Guy Dexter (Dominic West). They were all working on the stage production in London’s West End. These characters play a big part in the third act of the film. The other two key moments are a horse racing scene involving the royals and that focus on a new character Gus Sambrook (Alessandro Nivola), a bit of a financial guru or swindler however you choose to say it. He pulls the wool over the eyes of the returning Harold Levinson (Paul Giamatti), the brother of Cora.This causes a bit of a stir within the family. The third set piece is a county fair that gets the feathers ruffled by a few of the people in the area, but like always, the family figures a way to get their way in the matter. These three sequences in the film combine for a great narrative that divine what the series was all about. These worked perfectly for the film as well.

As a long-time fan of Downton Abbey, I’ve seen this family grow before my eyes. Literally, they’ve experienced life in the form of children being born, death with some tragedies that have befallen members of the family, and connections in the form of marriages and relationships.  They have gone through everything you could think of in five seasons and three films. The biggest thing this family and their servants have gone through is change in many different forms. The high society that they have come to be a big part of is ever changing. Technology like cars and phones have entered the zeitgeist of their everyday lives. War has come and gone, and financial instability is always an issue in such a changing world as theirs. I felt like I was a part of this family as I watched them go through their lives in such a changing society as they lived in.

A few key technical aspects of this film I absolutely loved were, first, the costumes. All the dresses and downs are key elements of the show, but they seem even more glamorous and extravagant in this the third film in the trilogy. Especially the dresses that Lady Mary wore. They were gorgeous. The cinematography in the show was always good, but it seemed that the cinematography in the films had gotten even better. A tracking shot at the beginning of this film was masterfully created. I loved how it moved through the street, showing all the Neon signs in the background while cars and people moved in the foreground. It ended in the theater as a woman was singing. This gave me vibes of Goodfellas during the copacabana scene.The music is always good in these films as well. I loved the score, mirroring the ups and down emotions the film was taking. It’s a beautiful score. All these technical aspects can get lost in the shuffle because of the great story and acting from the cast, but they didn’t in my eyes.

As a massive fan of this series, I am saddened that this is the last film in the trilogy. And wraps up the story of the Crawley family and their servants. I fell in love with this grand home set in Yorkshire, England. These people will always have a place in my heart. I won’t lie, I had a tear in my eye at the ending credits as photos of the various family members and their servants scrolled down the screen. Like all of us, we have to, as they say, move onward and upward. That’s what this family is doing. I absolutely loved this third film in the Downton Abbey Trilogy, and it was the perfect conclusion to a fantastic series. The upstairs and downstairs lives of these men and women will forever be etched in my mind forever. They will sadly be missed by me, and I’m sure many others that’s  for sure.

4 ½ stars

Dan Skip Allen