• Pop Culture
    • Movies
    • Television
    • Comic Books
    • Video Games
    • Toys & Collectibles
  • Features
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Articles and Opinions
    • Interviews
    • Exclusives
    • Flickering Myth Films
    • FMTV
  • About
    • About Flickering Myth
    • Write for Flickering Myth
    • Advertise on Flickering Myth
  • Socials
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • Bluesky
    • Instagram
    • Flipboard
    • Linktree
    • X
  • Terms
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy

Flickering Myth

Geek Culture | Movies, TV, Comic Books & Video Games

  • News
  • Reviews
  • Articles & Opinions
  • Write for Us
  • The Baby in the Basket

Movie Review – Downton Abbey (2019)

September 13, 2019 by Tom Beasley

Downton Abbey, 2019.

Directed by Michael Engler.
Starring Hugh Bonneville, Maggie Smith, Elizabeth McGovern, Laura Carmichael, Allen Leech, Rob James-Collier, Jim Carter, Michelle Dockery, Joanne Froggatt, Lesley Nicol, Sophie McShera, Simon Jones, Geraldine James, Imelda Staunton, Stephen Campbell Moore and Tuppence Middleton.

SYNOPSIS:

In 1927, the residents of Downton – both upstairs and downstairs – prepare for a visit from the King and Queen.

Downton Abbey is a TV show that lots of people like. I am not one of those people. It’s not that I have any particular dislike for Jullian Fellowes’ oh-so-posh stately home drama, but more that I’ve never had any inclination to step within the walls of the titular building. So it was with the expectation of bafflement that I took my seat for the movie sequel to the series. The most baffling thing, as it turns out, is that they bothered at all.

The plot, such as there is any over-arching story thread, is that King George V (Simon Jones) and his wife (Geraldine James) are stopping off at Downton for one night as part of a tour of Yorkshire. This causes considerable excitement for Lord Grantham (Hugh Bonneville) and his family, as well as the staff living downstairs led by new butler Barrow (Rob James-Collier). Outside of that, the film – scripted by series creator Fellowes – casts the net as wide as possible in giving just about every character a story of their own.

This would be fine, were it not for the fact that there are at least a hundred characters in the film, with probably a dozen staking a claim to being protagonists. The film spends time with Maggie Smith’s Dowager Countess as she sticks her nose into an issue of inheritance, sees Irish family member Tom (Allen Leech) become embroiled in a republican plot around the royal visit and follows under-cook Daisy (Sophie McShera) flirting with an outrageously sexy plumber. Each sub-plot seems more unnecessary than the last and, thanks to its decidedly televisual plotting, there’s no story the movie isn’t willing to wrap up in a flash within a few scenes of it being established.

Downton Abbey is too sprawling for its own good, determined to retain the cast of thousands from its TV days while losing sight of the fact that a film requires a tighter, more rigid approach than an eight-hour series of television. Characters which might have been compelling if they’d been allowed more room to exist are instead compartmentalised into side-quests that don’t ultimately amount to any major part of the central narrative thrust.

It’s less an attempt at telling a narrative feature story with these characters than it is a victory lap for the fans. Everyone gets to walk to the front of the stage and take their bow by virtue of a perfunctory story arc, which is invariably resolved by an overwrought, melodramatic conversation or, more often than not, a throwaway line of dialogue in a crowd scene. It’s notable that the final act of the movie takes up about 45 minutes of the running time, with the script simply waltzing from character to character in order to tie a little bow on their story. This is a movie that is less than the sum of its parts, with those parts often feeling like cogs whirring away separately, rather than as a crucial piece of a coherent central machine.

It doesn’t help matters that Downton Abbey feels like a bastion of cartoonish, aristocratic Britishness, without ever really making a comment on that. The notion of republican politics is briefly discussed by some of the characters in the movie, but the finished product is a monarchist’s wet dream that loves the royals so flagrantly it’s often painful to watch. For all but the most devout royalists, this is more than a little too much. It’s 50% movie, 50% commemorative tea towel.

It’s difficult to criticise Downton Abbey on a filmmaking level, because it never feels like it’s trying to elevate itself from its TV roots. This world is already lavish and opulent in a way that made it perfect for Sunday night television but, on the big screen, director Michael Engler fails to bring any filmmaking flair that communicates a noticeable change in medium. This is all about audiences getting to see their favourite characters for five minutes before everyone has a lovely party in nice frocks at the end.

Downton Abbey is, to boil it down, two exhausting hours of posh people doing posh things in fancy houses. For the fans, it’s doubtless a lovely farewell to the show. But for those yet to fall for the charms of Fellowes’ world, this feels like a misty-eyed ode to monarchy, privilege and plummy voices. It’s certainly not about anything else.

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★

Tom Beasley is a freelance film journalist and wrestling fan. Follow him on Twitter via @TomJBeasley for movie opinions, wrestling stuff and puns.

Filed Under: Movies, Reviews, Tom Beasley Tagged With: Allen Leech, Downton Abbey, Drama, Elizabeth McGovern, Geraldine James, Hugh Bonneville, imelda staunton, Jim Carter, Joanne Froggatt, Laura Carmichael, Lesley Nicol, Maggie Smith, Michael Engler, Michelle Dockery, Rob James-Collier, Simon Jones, Sophie McShera, Stephen Campbell Moore, Tuppence Middleton

FMTV – Watch Our Latest Video Here

WATCH OUR MOVIE NOW FOR FREE ON PRIME VIDEO!

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:

Ten Great Love Letters to Cinema

10 Iconic Movie Weapons Every Millennial Kid Wanted

Overhated 2000s Horror Movies That Deserve Another Look

The Essential Action Movies of 1985

5 Underrated Jean-Claude Van Damme Movies

Exploring George A. Romero’s Non-Zombie Movies

The 10 Best Villains in Arnold Schwarzenegger Movies

10 Great Forgotten Erotic Thrillers You Need To See

Die Hard on a Shoestring: The Low Budget Die Hard Clones

Philip K. Dick & Hollywood: The Essential Movie Adaptations

Top Stories:

7 Mad Movie Doctors Who Deserve More Recognition

4K Ultra HD Review – Dark City (1998)

4K Ultra HD Review – James Bond: The Sean Connery Collection

Movie Review – Heads of State (2025)

8 Great Tarantino-esque Movies You Need To See

10 Great 1980s Sci-Fi Adventure Movies

Movie Review – M3GAN 2.0 (2025)

Movie Review – Ice Road: Vengeance (2025)

STREAM FREE ON PRIME VIDEO!

FEATURED POSTS:

The Essential 1990s Superhero Movies

10 Great Forgotten Gems of the 1980s

Coming of Rage: Eight Great Horror Movies About Adolescence

The Essential Tony Scott Movies

Our Partners

  • Pop Culture
    • Movies
    • Television
    • Comic Books
    • Video Games
    • Toys & Collectibles
  • Features
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Articles and Opinions
    • Interviews
    • Exclusives
    • Flickering Myth Films
    • FMTV
  • About
    • About Flickering Myth
    • Write for Flickering Myth
    • Advertise on Flickering Myth
  • Socials
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • Bluesky
    • Instagram
    • Flipboard
    • Linktree
    • X
  • Terms
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy

© Flickering Myth Limited. All rights reserved. The reproduction, modification, distribution, or republication of the content without permission is strictly prohibited. Movie titles, images, etc. are registered trademarks / copyright their respective rights holders. Read our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. If you can read this, you don't need glasses.


 

Flickering MythLogo Header Menu
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Articles & Opinions
  • Write for Us
  • The Baby in the Basket