1 of 6 | From left, Laura Carmichael, Harry Hadden-Paton, Elizabeth McGovern, Hugh Bonneville and Michelle Dockery star in “Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale,” in theaters Sept. 12. Photo courtesy of Focus Features LLC
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, in theaters Sept. 12, is as much a fresh start for the franchise as it is a conclusion. By dealing with substantial issues and evolving the characters, the beloved world expands rather than winding down.
The Grand Finale opens with the Granthams visiting London in 1930 to see Guy Dexter (Dominic West) star in Noël Coward’s (Arty Froushan) operetta Bitter Sweet on the West End. Charles Carson (Jim Carter) is on the eve of retirement, while Andy Parker (Michael Fox) is ready for his promotion.
Upon their return to Downton Abbey, Lady Petersfeld (Joely Richardson) ejects Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) from a royal ball after learning of Mary’s divorce from Henry (played by Matthew Goode, who does not appear in the film).
The film explores British society’s treatment of divorced women in the 1930s, as nonroyals also refuse to associate with Mary. Her mother, Cora (Elizabeth McGovern), is up for challenging society’s sexist attitudes toward divorced couples, however. In exposition, it is made clear Henry had a mistress.
Mary is also progressive for the time, in recognizing and accepting that Guy is romantically involved with his servant Barrow (Robert James-Collier).
Mary’s father, Robert (Hugh Bonneville), meanwhile, is more concerned about putting Mary in charge of the Grantham estate. Cora also has a lovely way of de-escalating his defensiveness with love, and there is an amusing scene where Robert adapts to city living.
Mary’s sister Edith (Laura Carmichael) and maid Anna (Joanne Froggatt) support her, as befits a “Mary episode” of Downton Abbey. Still, Anna is pregnant throughout the film, so that’s a significant subplot as characters remind her to sit down more.
In another nod to female empowerment, Daisy (Sophie McShera) is invited to attend a board meeting with Carson. Her working staff perspective and suggestions ruffle the feathers of the male establishment, to the pleasure of the other women on the board.
The other major plot of The Grand Finale comes when Cora’s brother, Harold (Paul Giamatti), visits Downton bearing bad news about the family finances. Harold brings Gus Sambrook (Alessandro Nivola), who took the family fortune out of the stock market before the 1929 crash, but has lost it in other schemes.
Harold and Gus hope to convince Cora to sell property to repay loans Gus gave Harold, and invest in their next surefire plan. Gus is also a potential rebound relationship for Mary.
Financial issues are also relevant. The Crawleys of Grantham are privileged, but don’t deserve to lose it all on a whim or be taken advantage of.
Again, it’s Mary, Cora, and even Edith, who sort out how the men mismanaged funds. The ladies and lords of Downton have always been good to their staff, too, so it’s as much to protect the entire enterprise as their own fortune.
The Grand Finale is essentially just the latest episode of Downton Abbey with new developments. Harold and Gus are the guest stars, particularly as Cora never mentioned a brother until it became important to the plot.
Nor does Downton Abbey solve sexism or economics in a single movie, although one subversive gesture and a very convenient opportunity speed the resolutions along. But overall, both stories make strides towards progress.
In addition, Molesley (Kevin Doyle) and Baxter (Raquel Cassidy) get a substantial subplot. Molesly is still working as a screenwriter after discovering the craft in the previous movie, Downton Abbey: A New Era.
His overworking is not a major threat to their marriage. It’s more, as ever, that he’s never satisfied with his own accomplishments, and his attempts to micromanage them lead to humorous dinner party shenanigans.
By the end of The Grand Finale, characters have accepted new roles, and commemorated characters and the real-life actors who are no longer with us. It may suggest Downton Abbey: The Next Generation, but should this be the last visit, as it leaves Downton Abbey in a hopeful place.
Fred Topel, who attended film school at Ithaca College, is a UPI entertainment writer based in Los Angeles. He has been a professional film critic since 1999, a Rotten Tomatoes critic since 2001, and a member of the Television Critics Association since 2012 and the Critics Choice Association since 2023. Read more of his work in Entertainment.
