Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale (2025)

Downton Abbey’s Last Act a Truly Grand Finale

I doubt that there will be much debate that Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale is going to be considered one of 2025’s best films or end up as some sort of awards juggernaut (save maybe for series veteran Anna Robbins’s suitably sumptuous costumes). Not that it matters. This supposed last entry in the film trilogy of the popular franchise is marvelously entertaining. I smiled, I laughed, and I maybe even wiped away a couple of tears, and that’s exactly as it should be.

Set during the final days of summer 1930, the core of this journey to Downton revolves around Lord Grantham (Hugh Bonneville) realizing he must follow through on his commitment to turn over sole leadership of the family estate to his daughter Lady Mary Talbot (Michelle Dockery). This is a continuation of a major climactic subplot of the prior feature, Downton Abbey: A New Era, and it’s nice that writer Julian Fellowes and director Simon Curtis are confidently determined to pay it off here.

That they do this with professionalism and subtle restraint is hardly surprising. That they also manage it with a level of universally accessible emotional authenticity somewhat is. This has always been a very British enterprise, and the culturally stiff-upper-lip of it all can be obnoxious. Yet, Fellowes has always adored these characters ever since he first brought them to life back in 2010. Better than that, he treasures his audience, too, refusing to condescend to them while continually treating viewers with intelligence and respect.

The only real issue is how many additional subplots have been crammed into an otherwise economically paced 123 minutes. It’s as if Fellowes couldn’t stop himself. There’s Lady Mary dealing with the societal repercussions of her divorce, Lady Grantham (Elizabeth McGovern) discovering her ne’er-do-well brother Harold Levinson (Paul Giamatti) has ineptly squandered the American portion of the family fortune, head butler Mr. Carson (Jim Carter) officially retiring (again, but this time for good), Daisy Parker (Sophie McShera) taking over as Downton’s cook, actor Guy Dexter (Dominic West) making a marquee name for himself in Noel Coward’s (Arty Froushan) latest hit while happily carrying on a clandestine relationship with his beloved dresser Thomas Barrow (Robert James-Collier), and Lady Merton (Penelope Wilton) eagerly stepping into the shoes once filled by her late best friend Violet Crawley as President of the County Fair.

It’s a lot, and it’s only the tip of the iceberg. Fellowes and Curtis aren’t always able to successfully juggle it all. The storyline involving Lady Grantham, Harold, and his mysterious benefactor Gus Sambrook (Alessandro Nivola) is particularly messy, and its eventual, oddly quick resolution only matters thanks to the multifaceted performances of the three stars, especially McGovern’s. The opening, London-set section of the film is annoyingly disjointed, and it isn’t until the majority of the cast ends up back in the familiar confines of Downton and its surrounding cottages that things begin to find solidly engaging footing.

But this ensemble knows what they are doing. They are all excellent, every single one of them, Dockery, Bonneville, and Carter most of all. The familiar refrains of John Lunn’s lavish score are perfectly utilized, cinematographer Ben Smithard shoots things with colorfully lived-in ebullience, and production designer Donal Woods has once again outdone himself. Every facet is beyond reproach, and other than some rather wonky digital trickery near the end, I can’t think of any technical aspect I’d want to complain about with any forcefulness.

Then there are the last few moments. Lady Mary takes control of the reins and does so with a comfortingly knowing smile and a mesmerically penetrating gaze. She is the bridge to the past and the gateway to the future, and this makes her remembrances of all it’s taken for everyone who has ever stepped foot in Downton — and I do mean everyone — to make the place what it has become all the more rapturous. As last acts are concerned, few are as proudly euphoric as this one, all of which makes this closing chapter of Downton Abbey a truly grand finale.

– Review reprinted courtesy of the SGN in Seattle

Film Rating: 3 (out of 4)