Downton Abbey

WRITER/CREATOR JULIAN Fellowes on the high-octane hijinks of Downton’s first bigscreen outing.

TOM SAVES THE KING

In a film where buffing some cutlery is the equivalent of facing off against Thanos, the sequence where Tom Branson (Allen Leech) leaps into action to stop dastardly traitor Chetwode (Stephen Campbell Moore) from offing the King is like all of James Cameron’s filmography rolled into one. “I like the idea of reminding people of the bravery that is required for being royal, or

President, or any other public position,” says Fellowes. “And I like the irony of having the only Republican in the house being the one who saved him. We wanted to show what his journey has been. As he says to Mary, ‘I’m a law and order man these days’.”

Tom Loves Lucy

In one of the film’s main plots, Tom finds himself drawn to the charms of Lucy (Tuppence Middleton), the maid (or at least, so we think) of Imelda Staunton’s Maud. Between this and his feats of derring-do, Tom is in many ways the focus of the movie. “He was the only young running character who was not resolved romantically at the end of the series,” explains Fellowes of his Branson pickle. “That interested me, that I still had a character I could produce a love story for without disrupting any of the stories that had gone before.”

barrow makes a stand

In the TV series, Mr Barrow (Robert Jamescollier), who replaced Mr Carson (Jim Carter) as Downton’s head butler, was something of an antagonistic figure. But in the movie, Fellowes paints him as a more sympathetic figure, first of all in this moment where, having found himself sidelined ahead of the royal visit to make way for the return of Carson’s safer pair of hands, he gives Lord Grantham (Hugh Bonneville) the Downton version of both barrels. “I wanted him to stand up for himself,” says Fellowes. “It’s a pleasant surprise, even if it’s a slightly awkward moment.”

mr barrow goes To a dance

In a sequence designed to have the bluerinse brigade tutting in their seats, Mr Barrow further explores his sexuality when he finds himself invited into a proto-gay bar, only to be rudely interrupted by the local constabulary. “When, on television, we had a gay story I had letters saying, ‘Are you seriously pretending this was illegal in 1920?’” says Fellowes. “I wrote back and said it was illegal in 1964. What I was trying to convey there was it wasn’t even like the 1950s, when police were beginning to turn a blind eye. If you were homosexual

and you made a pass in a bar, you might be in prison and the rest of your career would be over. I think it’s good to remind people of that.”

Things Boil over

In a foolish gesture, born out of pure rage and jealousy because his fiancée, Daisy (Sophie Mcshera), is enjoying the attentions of a hot young plumber, Andy (Michael Fox) beats the living crap out of the Downton boiler, setting in motion a chain of events that could, quite simply, ruin dinner. “I felt it was wrong for Daisy to accept a safe and predictable choice,” says Fellowes. “I wanted Andy to be dangerous, unpredictable, wild in some way. That would make him her soul brother.” Remember: don’t savage boilers in real life. Andy is a professional. Don’t try this at your country home.

Mr Moseley Makes a Meal of it

In the comedic highpoint of the movie, Mr Moseley (Kevin Doyle), who is serving the King and Queen at dinner and who has been expressly told not to open his gob, does just that — and his life flashes in front of his eyes. “I very much wanted that Moseley moment in the dining room with the Queen,” laughs Fellowes. “That came from talking to someone who often escorted various members of the Royal Family down presentation lines. He said, ‘You’d be astonished at the number of men who curtsy because they get so nervous.’ I thought, ‘What a wonderful idea to do that visually,’ so I gave Moseley a curtsy.”

farewell, lady violet?

“I think we wanted to have an emotional moment. We’d had quite a few funny ones,” says Fellowes of the late-breaking moment where Maggie Smith’s Lady Violet confesses to Mary (Michelle Dockery) that she’s just been diagnosed with a terminal illness, and is not long for this world. Can Downton’s most redoubtable character really be on the way out? Fellowes, intriguingly, decided against endangering tear ducts across the land by bumping her off in this movie. “We should remember that at the end of the film, Maggie was by no means dead,” cautions Fellowes. “You imagine Violet is on her way out, but that decision hasn’t been reached.” Perhaps she’ll still be going strong by the time Downton 2 hits our screens.

downton never dies

Throughout the movie Lady Mary wrestles with her, and Downton’s, place in the world. By the end, she’s made her peace with being Downton’s caretaker for many years to come. “I believe if you had any brain, you could not be in that position socially with a great house and a great estate, in the 1920s and 1930s, and not at some point have thought, ‘Do we want to go on with this? Is it right?’ But I like the fact that Mary decides to be one of the ones that went on.” However, at the end, Mrs Hughes (Phyllis Logan) tells Mr Carter that Downton might not be around a hundred years from now. Or, to put it another way, the present day. “I don’t think it’s resolved that they’ll still be there in 100 years,” says Fellowes. It may not be a cliffhanger up there with Thanos’ snap, but it’ll do.