Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale is probably not the best place to check this show out for the first ever time, but while period dramas are not my bag, once you have an Odeon Limitless subscription, you’ll see anything.
Anyhoo, this threequel opens with a one-take-style shot across 1930 London, heading into the theatre, as the cast are sat down, watching a new play by Noel Coward, during each all the couples in the cast – in turn – look at each other lovingly.
Yes, this may as well be: Downton Abbey: Love Is Nice.
For this film, it’s a changing of the guard scenario as Lord and Lady Grantham (Hugh Bonneville, and Elizabeth McGovern) are thinking of handing over the reins to Lady Mary Talbot (Michelle Dockery – Flight Risk), especially since Robert is rather out of touch with modern society, thesedays.
With the year being 1930, there’s a huge to-do over the fact that Mary is divorced, a hushed conversation about which causes an entire orchestra to grind to a halt, because you can’t have a divorced woman in there, even leading to Lady Petersfield (Joely Richardson – Suspect) to kick her out! I’d have told the latter to fuck off, but then it’s only a PG.
New to the Downton Abbeyverse is financial advisor Gus Sambrook (Alessandro Nivola – The Brutalist), who certainly bakes Mary’s potato and might just lead to their dalliance being overseen be the staff (Ooh, LA LA!), but is this smoothie more of a rotter? Blimey, you mean there might actually be a plot in here??
Well, a quick additional to that, but avoid the hidden bit if you want to avoid spoilers!
On more straight-forward plots, and cook Daisy (Sophie McShera – The Queen’s Gambit) joins Lady Merton’s (Penelope Wilton – The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry) committee, finding fault with this and that, causing Sir Hector Moreland (Simon Russell Beale – Douglas Is Cancelled) to get all hoity-toity in the most clichéd way possible.
Beyond that, everything is “Ma-Maaaaa” and “Pa-Paaaaa”, and “Yes, M’Lady”, so for the latter, it’s apt that Carson (Jim Carter – Wonka) is retiring, and Parker (Michael Fox – Marvellous) is taking over his role.
Meanwhile, as Harold Levinson (Paul Giamatti – The Holdovers) has come over to stay for a while – inexplicably giving up a day at the races, in order to stay back at the manor and read Charles Dickens novels – there’s one evening when he’s going out for a dinner and will come back late, so is given a key by Mary to get back in, but as the camera angles switch back and forth between them, it’s clear that no-one was paying attention to the continuity in terms of how he holds it.
And finally, Grantham House has a portrait of Dame Maggie Smith, to which the film is dedicated as it comes to a conclusion, but for me, the ending couldn’t come quick enough, as it was largely tedious from start to finish.
NOTE: There’s no mid- or post-credits scenes as such, other than brief moments as the credits scroll up, showing various families in the franchise respectively settling down together for the day.
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale is in cinemas now, and is available to pre-order on 4K Blu-ray, Blu-ray and DVD.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 123 minutes
Release date: September 12th 2025
Studio: Focus Features
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Cinema: Odeon Trafford Centre
Rating: 2/10
Director: Simon Curtis
Producers: Julian Fellowes, Gareth Neame, Liz Trubridge
Screenplay: Julian Fellowes
Music: John Lunn
Cast:
Lord Grantham: Hugh Bonneville
Lady Grantham: Elizabeth McGovern
Lady Mary Talbot: Michelle Dockery
Anna Bates: Joanne Froggatt
Lady Edith Hexham: Laura Carmichael
Guy Dexter: Dominic West
Harold Levinson: Paul Giamatti
Gus Sambrook: Alessandro Nivola
Tom Branson: Allen Leech
Andy Parker: Michael Fox
Lady Petersfield: Joely Richardson
Daisy Parker: Sophie McShera
Thomas Barrow: Robert James-Collier
Mrs. Hughes: Phyllis Logan
Mr. Bates: Brendan Coyle
Mr. Molesley: Kevin Doyle
Miss Baxter: Raquel Cassidy
Noel Coward: Arty Froushan
Mr. Carson: Jim Carter
Lady Merton: Penelope Wilton
Mrs. Patmore: Lesley Nicol
Sybbie: Fifi Hart
Alfred Mason: Paul Copley
Lord Hexham: Harry Hadden-Paton
Sir Hector Moreland: Simon Russell Beale
Lord Merton: Douglas Reith
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.