DOWNTON ABBEY
Shine the silver and ring the butler bell – cultural phenomenon Downton Abbey at last transitions from the small screen to the big. As creator Julian Fellowes puts it: “It seemed a nice idea we should come back for a final curtain call.” That curtain call is Downton Abbey, out Sept. 12. It’s directed by Michael Engler, who’s helmed episodes of other hit shows such as Sex and the City and 30 Rock, on top of four for the Downton series.
The film picks up approximately 18 months from where the 2016 series finale left off. “Life is settling into these new realities when this event happens at Downton that brings everybody together,” teases Engler. “The storyline has expanded the scale of it. It takes the things you love about Downton – the romance, the intrigue, the pageantry – and makes it bigger.”
Downton guarantees more in store, too, in terms of romance. “What you see is her being settled,” says actress Michelle Dockery of her character Lady Mary’s marriage to Henry Talbot (Matthew Goode). “It’s nice to see Mary in that way, as opposed to being in constant turmoil about her love life.” Allen Leech, however, is coy about the relationship status of chauffeur-turned-crawley family member Tom Branson. “Given he is one of the only ones left who hasn’t found love, one would hope there is an opportunity for him to have an iota of a chance at finding something,” he says.
Whether you crave the upstairs glamour, the downstairs drama or the Dowager Countess’ bons mots, Downton Abbey the movie promises a familiar homecoming. After all, if there’s one thing Downton Abbey (or at least Lord Grantham) is resistant to, it’s change.
By Maureen Lee Lenker