The obvious reaction to this movie (and even I, a huge Downton Abbey fan, thought this way) is that it’s just another cash-grab sequel with an irrelevant plot that keeps these aging characters around as long as they can make a buck. The title, “Downton Abbey: A New Era”, suggests a big transition, but it’s really just about the storyline of a movie studio wanting to film at Downton Abbey, right? And the rest of the family is going to check out a Mediterranean villa that Countess Violet has been bequeathed by a lover from her past (The rich just get richer, eh?) — yay, the Crawleys are going on vacation! Despite the snark, I am here for all this, as Downton is one of my favourite series and I would even watch Downton Retirement Villa if it ever comes to that. Unfortunately, there is a slightly bumpy first half, where it felt like we were rushing from scene to scene so that all the characters of this massive cast would get their due screen time. But thankfully by the second half they did a pretty good job of bringing the stories together and making me care about what was happening. Writer/creator Julian Fellowes is quite masterful at taking these gilded, soapy, frivolous storylines and leveling them up to make us see and care about the characters behind them. Granted, if this is your first encounter with Downton, you will likely still have a hard time telling this duke from that lord, so you’d best bring a fan with you to explain. After six seasons and two movies, it’s really a “by invitation only” experience.

As a bit of an upturned convention, we start the movie with a wedding. Tom Branson is marrying Lucy — no, I did not remember her either — who he fell for in the previous movie. The wedding was lovely enough, but it seemed to be just an excuse for viewers to see that the entire cast is showing up — except Henry Talbot, Lady Mary’s auto-enthusiast husband. He was previously played by Matthew Goode, but now replaced by some lame excuses and eye-rolling. Thankfully, Lady Mary is such a dude-magnet that pretty soon she has Jack Barber (played by Hugh Dancy of Hannibal fame), the director of the movie-within-the-movie, making eyes at her. Having a movie filmed at Downton seems to mostly be an excuse for a little comedy (there’s an almost surreal scene where the downstairs staff get to be extras and get all dolled-up for a scene eating at the grand dinner table where they have only served). However, it’s also a nice way to examine the gap between the upper class and the working class a little more as these film people are part of a new self-made nouveau-riche class.

Meanwhile, the rest of the family are off jaunting across the sea to the Cote D’Azur. It’s a little funny seeing poor butler Carson struggle with sea-sickness and overheating in his British wool suit. But mostly this storyline serves up some beautiful scenery (Gosh, the French Riviera is lovely!), some drama with the Monmirail family not wanting to give the villa up without a fight, and some long-buried scandals from Countess Violet’s past stirring things up as well. One nitpick that I found oddly distracting was how tan Hugh Bonneville (aka Lord Grantham) looked in this movie. I don’t begrudge him some healthy colour, but he looked that way before he supposedly left for the Riviera. Was this a mixup with the shooting sequence, or did the actor decide to take some sun on his own?

Because there are so many characters and so many actors playing them, there’s not much time for anyone to really shine. Nevertheless, everyone seems to be aging well and they all look so lovely in their frocks and drawing rooms. Surprisingly, one character that I didn’t expect to really enjoy is Mr Molesley, played by Kevin Doyle. However, his awkward bungling and earnest, slightly-pathetic goodness, is really something that I like in this movie and I was reminded that I have liked them even in the past. Same, but a little less so, goes for Mrs Patmore, played by Lesley Nicol. She also has a little bit of a story in this movie, but I find myself unexpectedly liking her character as well. All the rest of my faves (like Anna and Bates, and Mrs Hughes) are still there, but they are much more in the background.

As I suggested earlier, the movie saves some of the more serious plot developments for the last part of the movie, and Downton fans will not want to miss a scene that has been a long time coming. I won’t spoil it, but I think you can guess what happens, and it definitely adds meaning to the title of t he film. I have always enjoyed this series for its characters and this movie does a good job at bringing them all back for a little taste. Also, Downton is great storytelling and full of ups and downs. Despite the short-ish two-hour run time, they manage to fit a few of those into the film as well. As a fan, I am happy that this movie seems to indicate that the franchise still has some life in it, and if this is truly the start of a new era, then I hope that means there’s more to come. (4 out of 5)

2 movies down, 38 to go!