I’m no monarchist. Though born in Canada, royalty – the idea that a few select people deserve special status simply because they say so – is anathema to me. This mocks a foundational belief that undergirds our democracies – we are all born equal. The blood that runs through the Queen’s veins is no more special than the blood that runs through mine or yours. Right? Seems a simple, objectively straightforward idea. Strangely, many disagree with me. What can you do?
So, when I say I haven’t seen a single episode of the very popular TV series “Downton Abbey” (2010-2015), upon which this movie is based, I’m sure you won’t be surprised. Why did I want to see the movie version? It’s simple, I love going to the movies. My reservation for all things royal lost out to my reservation for a seat in a half full theatre to watch the lives and loves of pretend royalty, nobility and the underappreciated people who serve them. Sometimes, you just gotta bend a little.
The King and Queen of England are coming to stay overnight at the estate of Lord Robert Crawley, (Hugh Bonneville) the Earl of Grantham. That estate, known as Downton Abbey, is home to the previously mentioned Earl of Grantham, his family and a wide assortment of servants – cooks, butlers, housekeepers, maids and valets.
Although seen as a great honour, both the upstairs and downstairs inhabitants of Downton Abbey are understandably nervous. The King and Queen dropping in for a little visit presents endless opportunities for disaster. Tensions within the sprawling estate have just gone up a notch.
Upstairs, Lord Crawley’s mother, Violet Crawley (played to snooty and sh@t disturbing perfection by Maggie Smith) has a bone to pick with the Queen’s Lady-in-Waiting, Maug Bagshaw (Imelda Staunton) over an inheritance; Lord Crawley and Duchess Cora Crawley’s (Elizabeth McGovern) daughter, Lady Mary Talbot (Michelle Dockery) is conflicted about her life in nobility and also worried that her deceased sister’s Irish Republican widower Tom Branson (Allan Leech) will insult the King or worse; The Crawley’s second-in-line daughter, Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael) is also concerned with the demands a life of nobility makes on her and her husband, Bertie (Harry Haden-Paton) especially as it relates to a new development in their lives.
Downstairs, the servants worry about whether or not their humble work will meet the standards of the King and Queen. Quickly, though, that worry is thrown in the trash for another when the King and Queen’s own servants arrive and elbow the Downton gang aside. Outraged by their sudden relegation to redundancy, Lord Crawley’s loyal gang of servants bicker among themselves about how to respond.
You have to admire all the balls that writer Julian Fellowes keeps in the air throughout DA’s 2 hour and 2 minute running time. Every character seems to have an arc or, at least, is given a distinct personality complete with clearly communicated values, quirks, concerns and, most importantly, secrets. “Downton Abbey” is stuffed to the ridiculously high ceilings with secrets. Of course, Fellowes got plenty of practice juggling character and story in the 6 TV seasons of twists, turns and revelations. Still, it must have been a challenge packing so much plot and character complications into the running time of a feature film. Credit Fellowes for making it look like a breeze. There is genuine comfort an audience feels knowing that the guy behind the wheel will get us from A to B and will take the most efficient and scenic route doing it. Plenty of writers can’t even get out of the driveway without plowing into a fence.
Director Michael Engler and Editor Mark Day obviously deserve some of the credit, as well. Though, this is not a typical film production. I assume that Fellowes had more power and say than a writer typically would have on the overall shape of any given film. He did create the show, after all. Who would have a better feel for the material than him?
Though mostly a smooth ride, there is the occasional bump in the road. A key scene involving Irish Republican Tom Branson is poorly staged. Much of the excitement and suspense that should accompany this moment is somewhat dulled by a rushed build up and pay off. Is it the writer, the director or the editor’s fault? Or do all 3 deserve to share the blame? No idea. It may simply be a case of trying to fit so many characters and so many plotlines into 2 hours – inevitably some moments are not going to have enough room to breathe.
Then there is the odd inclusion of Princess Mary (Kate Phillips) and her husband troubles. The filmmakers give it very little screen time and for good reason – it’s dull and has no connection to the central story. All other stories flow from the impending Royal visit like rivers flowing from one common ocean. Princess Mary and her brief bit of bother is like some small pond sitting on a plot of land miles away.
Of the performances, all are solid to terrific. Maggie Smith is a terrible treat as Dowager Countess of Grantham. Her stare could melt steel. The best lines are batted back and forth between her and Isobel Merton (Penelope Wilton). Their interplay and one upmanship is a delight throughout. Smith’s Violet Crawley is the voice of tradition and, as such, is always working hard to keep everyone and everything in its place. Her tangle with Maud Bagshaw over an inheritance that Violet believes belongs to her son – Lord Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham – produces plenty of cold shoulders and even colder stares. Unfortunately, all of it is somewhat undermined by a secret at the centre of their squabble that is easily understood long before it is officially revealed.
Among the other upstairs crew, Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary Talbot manages to match an icy look and stiff manner with an obvious warmth lurking just under the surface. Her interactions with the staff serve to soften her character and establish her as a sort of advocate and champion on their behalf.
The truth is, though, the upstairs collection of noblemen and noblewomen are among the least colourful of the characters. Locked into dull lives of pomp and protocol, they behave mostly as expected and this proves to be bad for their appeal.
Downstairs, however, where the space is smaller and the tongues are looser, the collection of characters assert themselves in a much more entertaining way. Lesley Nicol as head cook, Mrs. Patmore, is a delight. She’s fierce and proud and very much the Queen of her own fiefdom – the kitchen. Bullsh@t is scarce in the space that she commands. Worked no doubt to the point of collapse, Mrs. Patimore has little time for beating around the bush and Nicol does a great job of being the blunt broad not to be f@cked with. Sophie McShera infuses Daisy Mason – Mrs. Patmore’s right hand woman – with lots of spunk. Equally as proud, Daisy is still young and hopeful enough to imagine a life beyond the boil and bake trap of the Downton Abbey kitchen – something Mrs. Patmore can no longer manage. Though the filmmakers leave McShera with a story of her own that is slight and only half-way convincing, she manages to give it more life than it deserves.
Brand new butler Thomas Barrow (Robert James-Collier) has a secret and, though, it too is easy to spot, his story proves to be one of the more compelling. When Lady Mary Talbot replaces him with Mr. Carson (Jim Carter) – who is supposed to be retired – his story ventures into the night and underground and, eventually, leads to an emotional payoff that is genuine and moving. The sad reality for Barrow is that he can never escape his downstairs designation. He is a downstairs both inside and outside of Downton Abbey.
Tapped by Lady Mary Talbot to come out of retirement because of what she sees as Barrow’s excessive deference to all things royal, Mr. Carson is sort of a Downstairs Violet. Stuffy, stiff and deeply dedicated to the tradition of his humble profession, Mr. Carson spends much of his time trying to keep the rest of the servants in their place. He has so thoroughly absorbed his own subservience that he will even stick to it when his very reason for being is not only challenged, but rudely pushed aside. Among the rest of the staff, Carter effortlessly exudes a kind of stale sense of authority. Though his dictator of the downstairs act might have had real bite back in the old days, his pompously delivered lectures about the importance of staying in your lane now only meekly nibble away at the edges of the much younger servants.
Kevin Doyle is terrific as the soft hearted and soft headed servant Mr. Moseley. Embarrassingly, excessively deferential to the King and Queen, Doyle effortlessly mimics the kind of wonderment a child might show when meeting his favourite athlete for the first time. And he outright steals the movie for half a minute or so in a hilarious moment that must be the type of misstep that keeps a guy like Moseley up at night.
The movie keeps your attention and proves to be a fairly entertaining bit of polished up nonsense. I say nonsense, because – and this should surprise no one – DA’s depiction of the lives of the servants of that time is pure bunk. Turns out, in real life, these servants lead miserable lives.
“The work was boring, repetitive and could also be very lonely. Servants were often left utterly exhausted but they had no unions or employment rights.”
Social Historian, Dr. Pamela Cox
– Express UK
While the nobility lived upstairs in the splendour of their stately homes, the servants often had to share a room – sometimes even a bed. They had no bathroom and the reason they wore white gloves was to cover up their grubby hands. They were expected to be invisible so that their “betters” didn’t have to experience the embarrassment of having to interact with them. That is why some of these gargantuan residences had secret passages. And, get a load of these Servant Rules…
Never let your voice be heard by the ladies and gentlemen of the house.
Always “give room” if you meet one of your employers or betters on the stairs and avert your gaze.
Always stand still when being spoken to by a lady and look at the person speaking to you.
Never begin to talk to ladies and gentlemen.
Servants should never offer any opinion to their employers, nor even to say good night.
Never talk to another servant in the presence of your mistress.
Never call from one room to another and always answer when you have received an order.
Always keep outer doors fastened. Only the butler may answer the bell.
No servant is to take any knives or forks or other article, nor on any account to remove any provisions, nor ale or beer out of the hall.
The female staff are forbidden from smoking.
Any maid found fraternising with a member of the opposite sex will be dismissed without a hearing.
Any breakages or damage to the house will be deducted from wages.
– Express Uk
Look, I get it. Audiences flock to DA because it presents a comfy fantasy. We are much more willing to accept the divisions between the nobility and the servants if we feel that the servants are treated well. Lord Grantham, Cora, Lady Mary Talbot and the gang would lose a lot of their appeal if they were shown to be consistently cruel and ungrateful towards those who toil away for them 17 hours a day in conditions barely fit for a rat let alone for a human being.
Entertainment does not have to reflect reality – yes, that’s true. It is also true that entertainment that serves to dishonestly elevate the reputation of the entitled is a sneaky magic trick worthy of being exposed as such. The silverware and the candlesticks are not the only thing being polished in DA.
