Downton Abbey is a film continuation of the British TV drama series, directed by Michael Engler and written by series creator Julian Fellowes. It was released on September 20, 2019.
It's 1927 and life at Downton Abbey still continues, but things are turned upside down with the announcement that King George V and Queen Mary are planning to visit the estate!
The staff are thrilled with the prospect of a royal visit, until the King's Butler and the Royal Household arrive, bluntly informing the staff that they will not be needed during Their Majesties' visit. The staff isn't going to take this lying down. Meanwhile, Lady Mary is feeling the pressure of running the estate and Branson might have a second chance at love.
Almost the whole cast of the series returns, with the exception of Lily James's Lady Rose. And one new Crawley is introduced: Robert's cousin Lady Maud (Imelda Staunton), a widow who has been semi-estranged from the rest of the family for many years but is returning to Downton in her capacity as lady-in-waiting to the queen. Tuppence Middleton plays Lucy, Lady Maud's maid and companion.
A sequel, Downton Abbey: A New Era, was released on 2022.
Tropes present in the film:
- Ascended Extra: According to the Director's Commentary, Charlie Watson (Albert the Hall Boy) originally featured as a reoccurring extra in series 5 & 6 of Downton Abbey. The film version marks Charlie's first role with lines. Director Michael Engler said that "it felt in a funny way similar to the story; which is the Hall Boy who becomes the Footman - it's like the extra who becomes an actor".
- Big Damn Kiss: One between Branson and Lucy as well as Thomas and Richard Ellis.
- Big Fancy House: Not just the eponymous abbey, but the end of the film takes place at Harewood House
, home to the Earl of Harewood (Princess Mary's husband in 1927) and the Lascelles family. - Beware the Nice Ones: Mary asks Carson to return. He does return and the look on his face when he catches sight of the King's butler is one to be frightened of. This is his domain, no-one else's.
- Book Ends: A few with the tv series' first episode:
- Both start with a letter being delivered to Downton and the camera following its journey.
- Both have Thomas involved in a same-sex kiss.
- Both have an unlikely heir of the lower class connected to the Crawely family.
- Brick Joke: As the royals arrive, Mr. Carson is visibly annoyed that his position in the doorway is occupied by the King's butler. When the King and Queen leave their roles are reversed, and Carson cannot suppress a smug smile.
- Child of Forbidden Love: It turns out that Lady Maud's maid Lucy is in fact her daughter. Lady Maud, already several years a widow, had a long-term affair with one of her servants and Lucy was the result.
- Cleaning Up Romantic Loose Ends: Both Branson and Thomas find a potential new partner. Molesley and Baxter's mutual affection is pretty much confirmed.
- Demoted to Extra: Over a two-hour movie just about every character has some business and story beats, except for Mr. Bates, who does pretty much nothing over the film.
- The Disease That Shall Not Be Named: Near the end Lady Violet takes Lady Mary into a side room and tells her a secret: Violet doesn't have long to live. It's obviously cancer but the C word is not used.
- Do Wrong, Right: At the end, Carson asks Anna how she knocked out Monsieur Courbet as part of the Downton Staff's rebellion, and when Anna tells him she spiked his tea, he chuckles knowingly.
- Dude, Where's My Respect?: A big point of contention with the Downton Staff and the Royal Household. Traditionally visiting servants take orders and work in tandem with the host servants, but the King's Butler insists the Royal Household run the household and wait on Their Majesties, while the Downton staff ... stand and around and do nothing. The Downton Staff are not going to take this sitting down.
- End of an Era: Mary ruminates on the possibility of leaving Downton once and for all. The announcement of Violet's imminent death cements this trope, as she's probably the most recognisable character of the series.
- Flat "What": Mary's reaction when Robert announces the King and Queen are coming to visit Downton.
- Another one is provided by Thomas when he's told that Carson has been brought in to take his place during the Royal visit.
- Four Lines, All Waiting: While not unexpected for a film with a huge cast, inherited from the TV series as well as several new ones, there are no less than nine plotlines running, most of which last even less than half the total runtime.
- French Jerk: All the king's servants are horribly obnoxious, including the haughty French cook Monsieur Courbet, who insults Mrs. Patmore and denigrates the Downton kitchen as well.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Andy the footman has this in a big way when the handsome boiler repairman comes to Downton and makes eyes at Daisy, and she seems receptive.
- Genteel Interbellum Setting: As with the later series of the, well, series.
- The Roaring '20s: Specifically set in 1927, a year and a half after the events of the series finale.
- Hate Sink: Mr. Wilson, The King's Page of the Backstairs, is a condescending micromanaging asshole. While the King's visitation is causing all sorts of stress for the family and staff, he's not an antagonistic character so Mr. Wilson picks up the slack by giving the audience someone to root against. While the King's staff isn't necessarily pleasant to begin with, Monsieur Courbet is given a lot of comedic scenes, the royal housekeeper isn't as prominent, the Footmen largely keep to themselves, and Richard Ellis, the Valet, is much easier to get along with. Mr. Wilson is also the only major conflict character to be treated unsympathetically as Lady Maud and the Dowager's conflict ends amicably, Thomas is a firmly heroic, if sour, character, and even the Seamstress's thieving is given a small degree of sympathy.
- Historical Domain Character: King George V, his wife Queen Mary, their daughter Princess Mary, and her husband Viscount Lascelles (later the Earl of Harewood). One subplot involves Princess Mary's marriage, which is deeply unhappy.
- Insistent Terminology: Lady Violet does not like to be told she is arguing.Robert: There's no need to argue.
Violet: I never argue. I explain!- The king's jerkass butler gets very angry when he's called a butler, insisting that he is "The King's Page of the Backstairs." (He's the king's butler.)
- Karma Houdini: Andy deliberately sabotages the boiler after it's just been fixed and it is mentioned that upstairs will be notified that someone is trying to sabotage the King's visit. Andy looks rather gloom after realizing what he's done. But nothing comes of it. Daisy plays it of as something good and the pump is fixed with no one following through with the investigation into who sabotaged it.
- King Incognito: Accidentally. Tom Branson, walking on the Downton grounds, spots a well-dressed woman quietly weeping on a bench. Taking her for a just another one of the numerous guests at the Abbey, he sits next to her and they chat for a while, and Tom says some kindly words. What Tom doesn't know is that the lady on the bench is Princess Mary, the king's daughter; Tom's pep talk leads her to demand that her husband make some changes and stop being such a dick.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Earl and Countess Grantham indulge in this with their last lines of dialogue in the last scene.Cora: I do enjoy our adventures.
Robert: But isn't it fun when they're over? - Laser-Guided Karma: For Mary and Carson. Both decide that Thomas isn't cutting it getting ready for the King's visit and it would be a better idea if Carson took over. The moment Thomas surrenders control things go right to hell
- For Mary a delivery of chairs that Thomas would have handled shows up in the pouring, forcing her to work through the night setting them up. Then she has to deal with an assassination plot.
- More so for Carson as its revealed that Thomas taking a hand's off approach was actually what the King's Butler had demanded; Carson finds himself shoved to the side, the staff annoyed he didn't do more to help them, and all the problems Thomas was covering up now falling to him, making him look worse. If not for Anna stepping up things would have been a disaster for him.
- Lingerie Scene: A couple of extended scenes with Lady Edith in nothing but a tight slip, as everyone fusses on getting her a dress that fits for the royal ball.
- Mandatory Un Retirement: Lady Mary feels she can't cope with the pressure of a Royal Visit, and doesn't trust Thomas, and asks Carson to come back as butler. He happily obliges.
- Maybe Ever After: Thomas finally gets a boyfriend—maybe! It's Ellis, the king's valet, who uses his position to get Thomas sprung from jail after the gay club where Thomas was dancing is raided. They have a kiss goodbye, Ellis gives Thomas a locket as a keepsake, and the possibility that they will see each other again in the future is dangled.
- One-Steve Limit: Not only is there Lady Mary, but also Princess Mary; the film only avoids confusion because the latter is always referred to as 'Princess'.
- Passing the Torch: At the end Violet does this to Mary, naming her Downton's cornerstone and the next resident grumpy old lady.
- Remember the New Guy?: Robert's cousin Lady Maud, lady-in-waiting to the Queen, never mentioned throughout the course of the show but popping up in this movie. Justified In-Universe as Maud having kept her distance from the rest of the Crawleys for many years (and further justified when Maud's secret is revealed). There's also the fact that, as she's female, she has no claim to Downton anyway...
- Reset Button: At the end of the series, Carson had a tremor that led to his retirement, and Molesley the Butt-Monkey had left service and found dignity as a schoolteacher. In the movie, plot machinations lead to Carson coming back to be head butler again (with his tremor having mysteriously disappeared) and Molesley pinch-hitting as a footman again (and being the Butt-Monkey as usual).
- Romancing the Widow: Gender-flipped. Tom Branson, seven years a widower, falls in love with Lucy, Maud's maid. They're dancing together in the last scene.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: Comes up twice in the movie:
- When Violet plans to fight Lady Maud's wishes to leave her estate to Miss Smith, she is willing to arrange for a "friendly" judge to oversee her contesting the will.
- Richard Ellis just has to pass his card over to the duty officer at the police station to get Thomas freed after being arrested in the raid of a gay bar.
- Second Love: Lucy for Branson, Ellis for Thomas. In the backstory, Jack Smith was one for Lady Maud.
- Serious Business: As usual at Downton, people are getting spun up into a lather over the most trivial stuff. In this instance it is all-out war between the Downton staff and the King's own servants as to who will get to serve the royal family dinner.
- Slipping a Mickey: How M. Corbet the king's cook is dispatched, allowing Mrs. Patmore to cook for the royal family. Mrs. Bates slips him a "sleeping draught" in his tea.
- Spoiler Cover / Spoiler Opening: Early on Mary says Henry's in the US and he may not arrive in time for the royal visit. Sure enough he manages to come around for the ball, given that he appears on the poster and his actor's name is in the opening credits.
- State Visit: The Crawleys and their staff are busy preparing for the King, Queen, and the royal household to visit their country house of Downton Abbey.
- Status Quo Is God: Carson had retired in the series finale and Thomas been promoted in his place; but of course it was simply unthinkable for the audience to return to a house without Carson in charge. Mary therefore brings him back due to concern about Barrow's lack of experience.
- Subordinate Excuse: Moseley has a job that he loves as a teacher, but cheerfully begs to work as a footman during the time of the royal visit, a job he once found demeaning, for the pleasure of rubbing elbows with the royal family.
- Token Good Teammate: The King's staff are for the most part, very controlling haughty people save for the King's Valet Richard Ellis. Ellis's scenes with the Bates's and Thomas establish him as a casual and friendly man he even helps the Downton Staff sabotage the Royal Staff and later uses his status as a member of the King's household to get Thomas out of being arrested.
- Trailers Always Spoil: Publicity announcements for this film flat-out stated that one character will be revealed as an assassin. As the film starts it's pretty obvious they're talking about Chetwode.
- Tyrant Takes the Helm: The staff goes head to head against the King's Butler and the rest of the Royal Household when they take over the preparations for Their Majesties' visit. Mary described as "terribly scary" which is intercut with the Butler saying to "stay out of my way" to a furious Mrs. Hughes and Mrs. Patmore doesn't think highly of the Royal Cook either. Some characters are even heard considering pushing back to preserve the Abbey's honor, even though disregarding the authority of King's servant could easily cross into treason, in Carson's eyes anyway.
- Wham Line: From Isobel to Maud."Does Lucy know you're her mother?"
- Where Everybody Knows Your Flame: Thomas, temporarily relieved of duty, goes to have fun in nearby York and finds himself in a gay nightclub (it's northern England in 1927 so the nightclub is hidden in a warehouse—essentially, at least in terms of secrecy, the British equivalent of a speakeasy in the Prohibition-era U.S. since England had no alcohol prohibition laws at the time).
- Women Are Wiser: Bertie tries to talk to the King about calling off his three-month trip to the colonies, but he fails. Cora succeeds by talking to the Queen instead.
