Downton Abbey The Grand Finale movie review: A good way to say goodbye

Of course it’s all silly and mawkish and absurd and outdated, as a story should be where the “Downstairs” are just grateful to be able to clothe, feed, clean — even breathe the same air as — the “Upstairs”. Especially in times like this when the floors in between seem to be increasing.

And the Upstairs are heavy work in Downton Abbey, what with all the clothes to be changed, the parties to be had, the grounds to be maintained, the tea to be laid out in different corners of a castle, etc etc.

This while all the while everyone is complaining about the money that is “running out”. But which never really actually does. Like Salman Rushdie wrote, “The rich are obscure to us…”

What The Grand Finale gets right is in framing the inevitability of change, be it in the passing of Maggie Smith, who was the queen empress of the Downton Abbey once, or in the retirements of old helps at the castle, or in an English county accepting a divorcee in their midst in the 1930s, or a parent handing over the reins of his empire to his daughter, or even in trading a “house” in London for a “flat”. “It’s like living in a layered cake of strangers!” exclaims Robert (Boneville).

Change is always hard, be it Downton Abbey’s Granthams, real-life Murdochs or even a new BJP chief.

Only, for the rest of us, change is also something that fits into our pocket.

Downton Abbey The Grand Finale movie trailer:

Still, if this is indeed The Grand Finale, it’s a good way to say goodbye. And comforting that some things after all haven’t changed — the actors and their “English ways”.

Downton Abbey The Grand Finale movie cast: Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery, Penelope Wilton, Jim Carter, Elizabeth McGovern, Paul Giamatti
Downton Abbey The Grand Finale movie director: Simon Curtis
Downton Abbey The Grand Finale movie rating: 2.5 stars