Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale review – A moving conclusion that’ll please fans
With a subtitle like The Grand Finale, series creator and writer Julian Fellowes essentially made a promise to Downton Abbey fans that the third and final film would bow out in style, and I’m pleased to report that it is a fitting and emotional farewell to the Crawley family.
Things aren’t going well for the Crawleys as they enter the 1930s. Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) becomes a social pariah after her divorced status is made public, and she is locked in a fight for control of the Downton estate with her father Robert (Hugh Bonneville), who is reluctant to hand it over to the next generation. Also, Harold Levinson (Paul Giamatti), the brother of Cora Crawley (Elizabeth McGovern), comes to visit bearing bad financial news, so the family have to come up with a solution to save the estate.
The previous two films – 2019’s Downton Abbey and 2022’s Downton Abbey: A New Era – revolved around an event (a royal visit and a film production) and made them feel more cinematic. The Grand Finale just feels like an extended TV episode, as it’s simply keeping up with the Joneses, probably because the cast is so big and Fellowes wants everybody to have their moment one final time and tie it all together nicely.
Of course, it still looks absolutely stunning, with gorgeous sets and costumes (Lady Mary’s dresses are beautiful), and there are some small-scale events, such as a county show, a trip to Ascot, a celebrity visit and a season in London, but it still feels like a piece of episodic television. However, I doubt this will bother fans of the original series because they care about the characters and where their stories end up and it delivers on that front. In fact, the conclusion is rather emotional, bringing tears to the eyes of this casual Downton viewer.
The standouts among the gigantic ensemble cast are Dockery, as Lady Mary is the heart of the story, Bonneville as the stubborn Robert, and Sophie McShera as Daisy, who is taking over the kitchen after Mrs. Patmore (Lesley Nicol) retires. With the new additions, there’s Alessandro Nivola as Harold’s mysterious business associate Gus Sambrook, Simon Russell Beale as the snobby county show organiser Sir Hector Moreland, and Arty Froushan as the delightful Noel Coward.
This closing chapter may not feel as grand as the previous two films, but Fellowes really sticks the landing and delivers a pretty perfect finale that wraps everything in a satisfying and moving way.
In cinemas from Friday 12th September