Downton Abbey

Take your favorite 10 things about Downton Abbey (the TV series), and then put them onto the big screen for 2 hours. Full throttle without holding back. You'll laugh many times. You'll smile. You'll possibly even cry. Of course, Maggie Smith is wonderful as always. It is one of the few movies I've been to where the audience started clapping at the end of the movie. Julian Fellowes certainly knows how to play to the Downton Abbey crowd. Although this may sound odd, I really recommend seeing this is the theater vs. waiting until it is on your TV. There is something special about seeing your favorite characters on a massive screen.

I adore the TV series, and this film was more of the same, which I loved. It is full of the same beautiful production quality, wit and humour. I can hear the criticisms already 'it was too sentimental', 'there wasn't enough complication' but my answer to that is that many of these characters had intense story arcs in the show, so it's nice to revisit them now and see them living, or finally getting, their happy endings without too much drama. Everyone in the cinema, myself included, laughed the whole way through this film, as is to be expected from Downton Abbey. And then there were other moments that were quite poignant to offset the humour, which blended perfectly. Yes, it's a movie for fans of the show, but why shouldn't it be? After years supporting this show and following these characters, why shouldn't we be rewarded? I had high expectations for this film, and was very satisfied with it, and that doesn't happen often. Well done to Julian Fellowes for staying true to his characters and delivering a film that is a delight to watch!

Downton Abbey (2019) was directed by Michael Engler. We loved Downton Abbey as a TV show. The film is like two more episodes of the show. A few new characters, but mostly everyone that we knew before is back.

Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary is still beautiful, Maggie Smith is still fabulous, and Jim Carter as Mr. Carson is still the world's most perfect butler.

The film assumes that you know the characters, so there's not much backstory. It's fine if you do, indeed, know who everyone is both upstairs and downstairs. Only a few new characters are introduced, so you can sort them out pretty quickly.

We saw the movie at Rochester's excellent Little Theatre. It won't work quite as well on the small screen. However, don't forget that we all originally watched the show on the small screen. Still, director Engler has some great outdoor shots, which make the production values appear even more lush.

Downton Abbey has a very high IMDb rating of 7.9. I gave it a 7.0, because I thought that director Engler could have had more creative, better plots. It's still a must-see if you're a Downton Abbey fan. If you're not familiar with the show, learn some of the basic plot lines before you watch the film.

Then you'll like also the movie! Of course if you see only the movie probably you'll say this is a boring movie without an intense screenplay! And probably you'll be right! But this is not a movie! This is a celebration of downton abbey and the characters we've loved! You will feel nostalgia! So if you want to see an extra long episode of your favorite tv show go to the cinema!

I have to say it's everything I had hoped for as a fan of the series. I'll try to stay spoiler free here, but all the favorite cast members get a new arc or a continuation of where we left them. From Lady Mary to Branson to Mosely, the gang's all here. The new cast additions liven it up, from the Royal staff to Princess Mary to a nice performance from Imelda Staunton, who's playing a role far removed from Umbridge as Grantham cousin Lady Bagshaw, another foil for Maggie Grace.

Go see it, please. If it does well enough we may get another one!