Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale Review
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale (2025) Film Review, a movie directed by Simon Curtis, written by Julian Fellowes and starring Michelle Dockery, Joanne Froggatt, Elizabeth McGovern, Paul Giamatti, Dominic West, Hugh Bonneville, Joely Richardson, Laura Carmichael, Phyllis Logan, Allen Leech, Robert James-Collier, Alessandro Nivola, Sophie McShera, Raquel Cassidy, Brendan Coyle, Penelope Wilton, Jim Carter and Kevin Doyle.
Director Simon Curtis brings many of the characters from the one-time successful Downton Abbey franchise together in the supposed last entry in the film series, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, but the film is mostly a slow-moving mess minus Maggie Smith who made the last picture shine so bright. We get a glimpse of Smith at the end, but it doesn’t save the new film from a severe case of being a picture in search of a suitable plot to make the characters feel like they all have a sense of purpose for being together. This picture plays like the filmmakers just threw in elements willy-nilly to make a two-hour movie coalesce as a whole.
Though the new movie’s predecessor was hugely entertaining and full of charisma, some of the characters seem to be going through the motions this time out. Elizabeth McGovern demonstrates this more than any other character in the film with her characterization of Lady Grantham. McGovern smiles and stares a lot, but the performance is lacking the depth that Lady Grantham needs to have to make the story line work as something other than an unnecessarily simplistic sequel. While Hugh Bonneville is certainly earnest in his performance as Lord Grantham and doesn’t do anything necessarily wrong, the stakes don’t feel high this time even though they’re actually much higher than they were in the last entry in the series. That’s certainly a fault of the filmmakers and a problem with the writing.
Michelle Dockery stars, of course, as Lady Mary Talbot who is taken out of her element as she faces a frustrating divorce. Dockery is good, I suppose, but the character isn’t given strong scenes to show the determination the character has had previously, especially in the second movie in the series. Paul Giamatti pops up as an American, Harold Levinson, and despite some good dialogue, he never really gels in this role and appears as if he wishes he had won the Best Actor Oscar for The Holdovers so he wouldn’t have to take supporting parts like this which really don’t do the actor justice.
Some things are really interesting here in this new movie, however. Jim Carter’s Mr. Carson is, as expected, sincere and the presence of the perfectly fine Arty Froushan as Noel Coward gives the movie a humorous touch as Coward is working on a story about the Titanic and becomes inspired by the divorce of Lady Mary. More scenes of Coward would have definitely helped keep the movie interesting, but they still wouldn’t have made this new film feel like it has a compelling plot. It doesn’t. It has the high stakes and a genuine sense of urgency, but you wouldn’t know it the way the characters behave. They’re distinguished people, but there’s little in terms of an element of suspense in terms of how it will all turn out. That on top of the fact that movie moves so slowly makes it occasionally hard to tolerate despite the charisma of the cast.
I liked the way the movie showed how artists still had to do other things to thrive, especially during the height of the time period the film sets itself in (the early 1930’s). As usual, the help staff at the mansion the film sets itself in is always fascinating to watch. Joanne Froggatt also acquits herself admirably as Anna Bates, too, while Dominic West is always a pleasure to watch as Guy Dexter. I just wish the characters were more well-rounded and the story didn’t drag as much as it does.
While Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale deserves credit for tackling tough issues such as financial stability during hard economic times and divorce, it is ultimately undermined by its casual presentation of such delicate topics. Michelle Dockery can do no wrong, and I stated she gave a good performance here, but more was expected from the script for a film of this caliber to play successfully as a last hurrah for a one-time enjoyable franchise. All the hard work that went into the sets and costumes ultimately feels like it is shortchanged by the presentation of the lackluster story line.
That being said, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale could please die-hard fans of the series and it has an ending where we see Maggie Smith which is both a plus and a minus. It is great to see the wonderful actress even if it’s just for a fleeting moment or two, but we can also wonder just how much better this film would have been if Smith had lived to play a central role in it. If this is called a grand finale, then something’s definitely missing in terms of making it as grand as it should be and that’s a shame.
Rating: 6/10
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