So I have never seen an actual episode of Downton Abbey. In fact before this movie came out, I hadn't even the slightest idea what the show was about. I actually knew so little about the show that I thought it was called Downtown Abbey. So calling me a newcomer when I came in to this movie is a complete understatement. Perhaps this movie is better if you have seen the show, but judging this as a standalone movie it was terrible.
This film left me completely and utterly bored. Perhaps the personalities of these characters came off better in the TV show, but here they are completely bland and one-note. They seemed to have only one personality trait each. Each felt like stereotypes of characters we might see in this type of movie rather than actual characters. Part of the problem came for the filmmakers trying to give each character their own subplot. There were simply too many characters for them to attempt such a thing. No plot was given time to be developed enough to be interesting. Because of this they all blended together in a similar blandness. This is not a plot with high stakes (one of the major conflicts in the film is that the servants won't be able to serve dinner for one night). This is something I don't have any problem with, but even when the stakes are small we have to be given a reason to care about them. Personally I didn't care about a single thing that happened. This movie also tries to inject as much humor in the form of one liners as possible but it all falls completely flat without one joke even making me smile.
To be fair to this film, the costumes and set designs are very pretty. I can imagine people who are into clothes and fancy houses finding a sense of escapism in this. However I am not one of those people and this movie offered me nothing that I found the slightest bit entertaining. I was bored to tears myself.
-Michael J. Ruhland
I just saw this movie. Based on your review, I was expecting to have a similar reaction, but I actually liked it. However, you are correct that this is not a true "feature film". It is more like an episode of the series and in fact it begins shortly after Series Six leaves off. The characters are more multi-faceted than they may seem, having been developed through the course of the entire series, but for one who does not know the nuances and plots that have already been established, it is going to seem confusing and disjointed. Indeed, several characters who were central to the main series are given less to do in this film. There were a few nods to throw in a bit of exposition for those unfamiliar with Downton from television, but overall the design of this film is "Not for the Uninitiated". It might have been better to set more of an introductory tone and to have pared down the cast of characters. As a feature film, I agree that it falls short of the mark. However, taken as an epilogue to the television series, it works very well and is quite entertaining. However, I figured out all of the plot points way ahead of time. I've been a fan of Downton but not whole-heartedly, as I, too, have been aware of its flaws. I much prefer the original "Upstairs Downstairs" series which was its chief inspiration.
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