Downton Abbey: La Grande Finale

The Grand Finale was more of a fond farewell than a story telling 'episode' in it's own right. A final homage to the characters that made up Downton Abbey for so many years and so many seasons and episodes.

The Grand Finale started a bit slow, but slowly built up pace, to deliver a satisfactory ending and goodbye.

I didn't think it was as good as Downton Abbey, A New Era. It certainly won't win any Oscars, but, for the fans, it did deliver a nostalgic last 'hurrah' .

Wow this is how you end both a TV show and a movie franchise. It feels like 2 ending with the TV show and eventual movies that came out.

I don't really know what to say without spoiling. The characters are written off soo well, they do justice to the late Maggie Smith and her character in the show. Everything is tied soo well together. Kind of like a guard of honour.

This show means more to me than people would imagine. It started off as a joke to see the 2nd film when it came out in cinemas a few years ago. But it has evolved since then.

I would totally recommend anyone watch Downton Abbey and it's 3 films. It's a great and drama filled time. You won't regret it.

And to quickly end it. I'll miss the franchise.

10/10 I cried. A lot.

I liked the movie, however, it's cut together like a music video. Just when you're enjoying the splendor of the fair or the production value of the racetrack, it cuts away to another shot. The viewer doesn't have time to take it all in. It feels like the editor and director are fearful of the film becoming boring. The hurried pace of editing allows no time for the viewer to enjoy the scene. The blocking and eye-lines of some of the scenes were off. Several of the cut-aways and inserts were stilted or not necessary. This movie is not as good as it could have been, but it was worth seeing in the theater and enjoying the characters once more.

I'm glad I went to see it. Understandably, the film is constructed to please long time Downton fans. There is a rather self-conscious effort to give some characters enough screen time to bid us farewell, so that we see Anna and Mr Bates or Mrs Patmore and Daisy in brief scenes not at all relevant to the story at hand. That's fine, but I can almost imagine a producer standing behind the camera with a stopwatch to check off a box (okay Mrs Crawley, we've reached your quota).

Even the gone and departed appear briefly-Maggie Smith, Matthew, and one delicious shot of Sybil. Gee I wish she hadn't left the show. The storyline itself, emphasized in the trailer as a big scandal involving Mary, doesn't have a lot of punch to be honest, but I guess that's not why Downton fans are here anyway. For my money the worthwhile themes are a softening of class structure (Robert asking Carson for advice) and the virtual end of a centuries-long servant culture in Britain.

What a gift Julian Fellowes has been. Creating a world that so many can relate to and genuinely feel as if they are part of it, though only observers. Having watched from the beginning 14 years ago, waiting patiently for the next episode then movie, it astounds me how emotionally invested I've been. Many viewings have touched me, connected with me. The writing here has delivered an "ending" that completes the story, wraps up the story, ends the story competently and efficiently. But even in its efficient spareness, if you have been a follower or not, it will still deeply affect you. Succumb to it, and hope that other writers learn from it, because this is how films are meant to be written. Thank you Mr Fellowes.