‘Downton Abbey: A New Era’ or ‘It’s my first day with these wacky Brits’

[Rating: Minor Rock Fist Up]

Only in theatres.

Have you ever gone to a party by yourself where everyone seems to know each other and you realize you don’t know anyone there, you have no idea why this party is being thrown but you’re stuck you just go with the flow and make the best of it? Yep. That was me and Downton Abbey: The New Era, a funny, easy to digest British soap opera, a follow up to the beloved TV series that ran for 6 seasons, and sequel to the 2019 movie.

I’m going to do my best to explain the plot and characters, but the movie itself doesn’t really introduce anyone. I think they assume anyone watching has probably kept up on all of the family drama between the Granthams and the Crawleys and the well to dos and the servants and so forth and so on. This was my worst fear going in, “what if there’s a wedding and I’m like..is this good? or bad? did we want this to happen?…” and then of course, right off the bat, there’s a wedding and I’m like “oh crap, I’m in trouble. This is going to be Detective Pikachu all over again.”

When Maggie Smith‘s character (the Dutchess?) inherits a villa in the South of France, it sends the family into a fuss trying to figure out why some dude in France would give their mom a sweet little beach house in France, which casts her son (Hugh Bonneville) into an existential crisis. At the same time, and times being what they are, the fam has come into some financial struggles as of late and as luck should have it, they have an opportunity to rent out the big house to a movie studio who are shooting a silent picture. So, the set up is some of the fam is going to go France and check out this house situation, while the others will stay behind and make sure this movie production — which comes with its own dramatic cast of characters — doesn’t destroy the house. Cue the whimsical drama.

Now, if you’re trying to make a movie that I probably have zero interest in — and it’s not that I didn’t have interest, I’ve considered watching, I just never got on that bandwagon — but the one way to lure me in is dishing out some old Hollywood stuff. And herein lies where they hooked me because brothers and sisters, I’m a sucker for old Hollywood, so I was struck by the struggle of the cast and crew trying to make a silent film when the world around them was falling head over heels for talkies. Hugh Dancy (Hannibal) plays the director, who’s trying to keep his leads, Dominic West (The Wire) and Laura Haddock (Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2) happy and on task and not worrying about whether they will have jobs or not when this is done.

But the strength of the film relies on the banter between the top-notch actors chewing scenes with their sharp wit and epic line-drop timing. Hats off to Maggie Smith, Penelope Wilton, and Imelda Staunton for their performances. Almost makes me willing to go back and watch the TV series. Or maybe the last movie. Almost. There’s a lot of characters, a lot going on and a lot of jumping back and forth between the filming at the house and the trip to France. Sometimes, it feels like some characters really don’t have much to do, but it’s like, ya know…ya gotta have ’em our audiences will be like…”where’s that one dude?”.

For me, even knowing nothing about these people going in and feeling a bit lost right off the bat, once I got the flow of the characters, I had a good time. It’s funny and light and even though I knew literally nothing about anyone, it was ultimately predictable. That’s not a negative. The fans know it’s a formula. I went in very curious how much I’d get out of it or enjoy because I know the fan base and what these characters mean to people. I won’t go into it too much more because if you’re a fan, I don’t know what’s a spoiler and what isn’t so I’ll let you go in fresh like I should have for Multiverse of Madness.

Having said that, here’s the basis of my review, and that is the reaction to the general audience in the theatre during my press screening. The theatre was packed with people who had most definitely kept up on the tv series and the 2019 film. And for all of the little inside jokes that went over my head, there were out-loud chuckles of knowing zing, for the moments where I was like, “…is this supposed to mean something?”, there were audible gasps at apparent plot twists. The character moments, which there seems to be a lot of tying up loose ends that have been stringing fans along for years.

There was a lot of vague dialogue about “the things we’ve been through” (wink) and “I didn’t always like you” (wink, wink), so if you’re invested in the characters, there’s certainly a lot more weight to some of the sly digs and pokes and you’re going to feel satisfied with where things are left here. Maybe this is the end, maybe they keep going with the next generation of these families, who knows? It does very much feel like the Downton Abbey: Endgame, where it’s like end of the road for some characters but yet plenty of drama to carry on, ya know?

From this Downton: Abbey newbie to you, the good readers of Scene-Stealers, if you’re looking for something witty and fun, a break from the MCU, or whatever topical drama, Downtown Abbey: The New Era is a decent little escape. Fans will dig it, but there’s plenty of enjoyment to be had even if you, like me, have no idea who these people are. I honestly at one point was like, “wait are they witches or anything? no? Just rich?”. But it’s still fun and well worth a watch for fans and virgins.

Tagged as: 2022, Dominic West, Downton Abbey, Downtown Abbey: The New Era, Hugh Bonneville, Hugh Dancy, Imelda Staunton, Laura Haddock, Maggie Smith, Movie Review, Penelope Wilton