My Mom, my sisters, and I are huge fans of the PBS series Downton Abbey and we have been giddy with anticipation ever since we found out about the movie! I actually binge-watched all six seasons again to prepare myself for it (yes, I am a nerd). Last night the four of us had a girls night out to watch a Thursday preview and we all loved it! Lord and Lady Grantham (Hugh Bonneville and Elizabeth McGovern, respectively) are visited by King George V (Simon Jones) and Queen Mary (Geraldine James) when they stop at Downton Abbey as part of their royal tour of Yorkshire. Chaos ensues! Lady Mary Talbot (Michelle Dockery) is overwhelmed by the details of the visit and wonders if keeping Downton open is worth the effort in a changing world. Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael) is finding it difficult to adapt to her role as Marchioness of Hexham (I love it that Edith outranks everyone). Tom (Allen Leech) puts his loyalty to the Crawley family to the test when he is inadvertently involved in an intrigue against the King. Violet, the Dowager Countess (Maggie Smith), is up to her old tricks and plotting against the Queen's Lady-in-Waiting, Lady Bagshaw (Imelda Staunton). Of course, Violet has some of the best dialogue in the movie ("Machiavelli is frequently underrated."). My favorite part of the story is when the downstairs staff take great exception to the fact that the royal entourage has taken over Downton Abbey. The Royal Page of the Backstairs (David Haig) has usurped Carson's (Jim Carter) authority, Monsieur Courbet (Philippe Spall) has taken over the kitchen from Mrs. Patmore (Lesley Nichol), and Mrs. Webb (Richenda Carey) has relegated Mrs. Hughes (Phyllis Logan) to a mere bystander in the house. Anna (Joanne Froggatt) comes up with a brilliant plan to help the staff resume their duties and to allow Mr. Molesley (Kevin Doyle) to serve the King and Queen at dinner (in the funniest scene in the movie). I also enjoyed the opening credits because the bringing of the letter from Buckingham Palace to Downton mimics the bringing of the telegram about the Titanic in the very first episode. I thought that was very clever. I loved this movie so much because it was like watching an extended episode showing us what has happened to these beloved characters since they last appeared in our living rooms but with even more sumptuous production values (especially the costumes and jewelry) and beautiful cinematography. Fans of the series are sure to love this movie (the rowdy crowd in our screening, many of whom were in 1920s period costumes, was very appreciative) but people who are not familiar with the show and characters may not enjoy it as much.
Note: Our girls night out was so much fun! We even got ice cream after the movie!
