Julian Fellowes's Downton Abbey: A New Era.

The love I have for historical drama can't be compared to other genres of movies. Julian Fellowes brought to the screen a fantastic, amazing, and intriguing historical drama. It makes me appreciate him a lot for it. I have watched a lot of historical dramas and films but none can be measured up to Downton Abbey. It started as a TV series with six seasons and then two sequels were produced to further keep the fans and the audience closer. I can't get enough of this historical drama which is why I rewatch the TV series every once a year. It just becomes fresh again to me.

Downton Abbey: New Era was released in April 2022 and set in 1928 before the second World War. It was written by Julian Fellowes himself. The movie was directed by Simon Curtis and was distributed by Universal Pictures and Focus Features. It starred all the actors and actresses from the TV series like Hugh Bonneville, Jim Carter, Maggie Smith, Michelle Dockery, Imelda Staunton, and the rest. This sequel revolves around the changes that are about to take place in Lord Grantham's household and how the world is changing with modern inventions.

The movie started with Tom Branson, the son-in-law of lord Grantham getting married to Lucy Smith, the only illegitimate daughter of Lady Maud Bagshaw. After the wedding ceremony, Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, reveals to her family that she now has come into possession of an estate in the south of France which was given to her by Marquis de Montmirail who had recently passed. So the Countess wills this estate to the late daughter of Lady Sybil Crawley, Sybbie who is also the daughter of Tom Branson.

Then Downton Abbey gets a proposal from a film production company to use Downton Abbey's estate to shoot a film but Lord Grantham rejects the offer, but his daughter Lady Mary advises him to accept the offer to get them enough money to renovate the estate of old architectural designs. Lord Grantham, his wife, Tom Branson, his new bride, and Lady Edith accept the invite from the late family of Marquis de Montmirail to come over to the newly acquired estate in southern France. The Countess, Violet would have gone with them but she was on bed rest due to old age.

The film company begins to shoot in Downton Abbey as it sets all the house workers up for the excitement of their lives. The change they all were not ready for came, and things started to change in Downton Abbey as Lady Mary and all the house workers joined in the production of the film. Also, Violet, Countess passed away which leaves Lady to carry on her legacy.

My Opinion About The Movie And Rating.

Juan Fellowes did a fantastic job with the plot even though the first fifteen of the movie felt rushed to me, but Fellowes made the plot seem like there was never a break in between the TV series, the first sequel, and this sequel. He merges all the plots by giving us a standard, smooth flow of the storylines.

The setting of this movie was beautiful and just perfect for it. Amazing locations (the estate in the south of France) and scenery, beautiful costumes, and vehicles. It was well planned for the movie. The actors acted well as usual, though there were lots of changes in the physical appearances, maybe due to changes in the personal lifestyle of the actors. I wasn't impressed with Edith's acting or I should just blame that flaw on Fellowes the creator of the movie. There was this dry chemistry between her and her husband, Bertie Pelham (the Marquess of Hexham). It was like they were two strangers who were put together in a marriage contract and this wasn't so in the TV series and previous sequel. That is a flaw I noticed.

The scene of grandma's death (the Countess) was so emotional for me. I will miss her, her mannerisms, her sense of humor, and her facial expressions. It never gets old. I see her death as a big change in the plot of the film. Who will be the next comedy relief? We need a grandma Hahaha. Who else agrees with me? Two of her quotes in life hit me hard,

“Life is a game, where the player must appear ridiculous.”

“Hope is a tease, designed to prevent us from accepting reality.”

Rating this movie, I am giving it 4.5 stars! It is an amazing sequel, all the teams in charge of every piece of the movie did a perfect job and it is a movie I would watch without thinking twice. If you are a fan of historical films or Downton Abbey and you have watched this movie, you go watch it immediately.