Downton Abbey The Motion Picture, the Crawley clan film works well

Now a major motion picture, that phrase used to be the marketing stuff of legend. The book that you read is now a movie! You and your friends can be the first to say that the book was better and then clamor for more books that can be made into sequels. When some of the toys, I’m looking at you Transformers, started to get into the game it did water down the reputation a bit. When video games were made into movies it was a tipping point in the universe where up was down. Thankfully that also signaled a bit of a change. It said, without actually saying it, that if the fans are there, then a movie could be made of a property that was once on the small screen. That’s where Downton Abbey, The Motion Picture succeeds as a fan’s film and one that’s enjoyable for people who enjoy cinema.

From 2010-2015 we were casual fans of the show. We’d watch it from time to time, but never got things out of kink if we missed an episode. The quality of that show was undeniable. It’s a set designer’s dream and one that the fulfilled perfectly on the small screen. One could all but reach out and touch the early 1900 props and engage in the social norms of the Crawley estate. The characters were all beautifully played and fit their roles to establish conflict within the servants, Crawley’s and society. In a way it was like watching a version of your family, just with a lot less wealthy and no servants.

Downton Abbey, The Motion Picture ups the ante and has the King and Queen of England visiting them. I found it surprising how well the film worked. There were a couple of threads within the greater plot that strained credibility, but it’s very difficult not to follow them along and enjoy what happens.

I had forgotten the specifics of the characters and even if you haven’t seen the show before you’ll quickly grasp their characteristics. The film does a great job is quickly reintroducing them and letting you know their place in the Crawley world and how it all figures into the times of the mid 1920s. The same goes for those fans that maybe are a season or two behind on the show. You will catch on very quickly and everyone involved with the show realizes that.

We stopped watching the show early in the third season. Sometime between then and now Lady Mary finally got married. However, her husband doesn’t show up in the movie until the final act.

It’s a little melodramatic, but it’s also very entertaining. The extras on the DVD are great for the fans as they feature interviews with the upstairs and downstairs cast in their respective areas. There is also a commentary with Director Michael Engler and many more extras that will keep the fans glue to the TV until the sequel comes out. The film is rated PG and appropriate for viewers 10 and up, but it’s doubtful that many of them will want to watch it.

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