“Downton Abbey: a new era”: a movie made to the taste of fans of the series

Downton Abbey (2010-2015) was a series of six seasons and fifty episodes that created a true fan club around it, becoming not only a cult series, but also one of the most prestigious and recognized in recent decades. Its creator, Julian Fellowes, is a British screenwriter, actor, director, writer and presenter born in Cairo, Egypt, in 1949. Fellowes knows what he writes about because he is a Baron himself and has seen the cultural changes throughout of the decades. He is also a member of the Conservative party and sits in the upper house of the British Parliament.

Fellowes created this series about an aristocratic family facing the great changes that have occurred in the world since the second decade of the 20th century. It showed the Crawley family as well as the lives of their servants, with the individual stories of each character and those of the whole ensemble. It featured historical events such as the sinking of the Titanic, the Spanish flu, and World War I. With great talent, the series could move from humor to drama and create moments of great emotion, all within the framework of a fascinating period reconstruction.

After the series closed, fans wanted to follow the story and popularity of Downton Abbey it did not turn off. For this reason, a feature film was made in 2019 and a second film was made that was released in theaters in 2022 and is now coming to HBO Max. If the first was a kind continuation of the television phenomenon, it must be said that the second is directly an irresistible gift for all fans. Once again, the family, social differences are shown, and a group of issues related to cultural and technological changes are also incorporated. The action takes place in 1928.

Two main lines are developed in this film, always accompanied by many other little stories, because Downton Abbey it is, above all, a choral story. The main plot involves Lady Grantham, who discovers that a man from her past bequeathed her a luxurious villa in the south of France. And on the other, Downton Abbey is preparing to be the filming set of a Hollywood movie right at the end of the silent film era. Both stories take place in parallel, with different tones, but always strictly respecting the spirit of the series.

Making movies after the closure of a series is a custom that has been going on for decades and although not everyone remembers it, it was something very common with great television hits from different eras. The difference is that these two feature films Downton Abbey they are not made for television, but directly for cinema, with all the cost and visual ideas that this implies. This series always needed, perhaps more than others, to look luxurious, or it just wouldn’t work. In this case, the love for cinema is expressed in the entire story linked to the shooting and all the dramatic and humorous possibilities that this allows. Without disguising it, the plot owes a lot to Singing under the rain (1952) the musical classic that takes place precisely at the birth of talkies.

The film has everything one expects, such as the aforementioned sense of humor, drama, genuine emotion, and the elements of suspense and tension that characterized the human relationships inside the mansion. Without anticipating anything, the story has important elements that justify the making of a film and a mandatory return for all fans of Downton Abbey. It can be said that it is a feature film at the request of the public that always wants to see their favorite characters again.

Downton Abbey: A New Age can be seen exclusively on HBO Max.

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