FILM REVIEW: Downton Abbey: A New Era - Cineworld, Bolton.

It was a very wet and cold day for the end of May. Stuck inside with nothing better to do, my mother and I decided we would go and see the new Downton Abbey film. A film which apparently came out at the end of April, but no-one would have known as everything had been so silent about it! Long story short, many people and their mothers were in the audience for this screening.

The sequel to the 2019 Downton Abbey film, ‘A New Era’ feels much more like a film rather than an elongated Christmas special television episode. The Crawleys go to France! I don’t know what it is about film versions of TV shows having to go on holiday, ‘Steptoe And Son’ went to Spain, ‘Are You Being Served?’ went abroad to Costa Plonka, ‘Holiday On The Buses’ *shudders*, and no doubt many more. Why must our television shows go on holiday? Is it a thing to show how much budget the show now has? Anyway... thankfully, Lord Grantham doesn’t blow up the toilet, and moreso Downton Abbey has avoided reaching a new low. Julian Fellowes has written an adequate screenplay, which avoids all the negative tropes that come not only with a film version of a television show, but also the dreaded holiday film plot.

Set now in 1928, the film’s main plot is the Dowager Countess (Maggie Smith) who is left a villa in the South of France from an old flame. Nobody knows why, and they are invited by the current residents to view the villa and settle the matter. Meanwhile, Lady Mary (Michelle Dockerty) is left at the helm to deal with a film company that wishes to make a period drama at the house. A leaking roof is what drives the family to accept the company’s offer to make the film. Think ‘Singing In The Rain’ for this secondary plot. There are some dangling threads which could be considered C and D plots but they are more there to try and hold it all together.

The beauty of Downton Abbey, aside from the production value, is that Fellowes treats its viewers as complete numbskulls and you never have to worry about any drama or confrontations lasting longer than a couple of scenes. It makes for incredibly comfortable viewing. ‘A New Era’ feels more like a film only in the sense that these dramas and confrontations last a scene or two longer than they would normally. That’s about it.

Visually, the film looks good. Nothing too out there to shock. Settings and the attention to period-correct detail are as great and keen as can be expected. The dialogue, well, it’s a bit clunky in parts. The secondary plot suffers from this more than the main French villa plot. If I had to hazard a guess I would say that at some boring board room meeting, some guy smoking a cigar was waggling his fat finger at Fellowes (who in this scenario is stood looking like a guilty schoolboy) saying that the B plot needed to be fleshed out more. It is without a doubt that Fellowes and the other writers are massive film buffs, after all Abel Gance’s ‘Napoleon’ was mentioned, as was the whole thing of ‘The Terror’ being the first full sound film shown in the United Kingdom. The problem is, there is no real way to cram these facts into dialogue to educate your audience without it sounding clunky, and just like it’s been crammed in to educate the audience. As a self-proclaimed cinephile, their enthusiasm for film history/facts was appreciated, but it wasn’t really warranted.

The main story concerning the villa on the French Riviera was pure and classic Downton Abbey. It was perfect. Despite the concerns early on, it was refreshing to see the family leave the Downton area. It had the right amount of dramatic twists, humour, and class. This story alone would have made the perfect Christmas special. Which makes me think, why not just make the odd Christmas special now and then? Sorry, I just heard a cash register ring...!

‘A New Era’ isn’t a bad film, by any means. It’s generally good. It stays in the middle of the road, keeping a steady speed. Personally I think the first film was slightly better, I remember being a lot more satisfied overall with the first film. If you’re a big Downton Abbey fan, then you’ll enjoy the film. Sure, you’ll be able to see the plot points a mile off and predict every line of dialogue five lines ahead, but that’s only if you think. I thought and still had a good time. This installation in the Downton Abbey saga brings everything full circle whilst establishing a new direction at the same time. It wouldn’t be too surprising if another film follows in a few years-time, or a new television show that’s set around the time of the Second World War, or even ditch the entire cast for a new one and set it in the 1960s possibly. Although I don’t know how everyone else in the audience would feel about that; it isn’t the safe option and if Downton Abbey is anything, it is safe.

Reviewer - Daryl Griffin 
on - 31.5.22