Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale (2025) Focus/Drama RT: 124 minutes Rated PG (suggestive material and some thematic elements) Director: Simon Curtis Screenplay: Julian Fellowes Music: John Lunn Cinematography: Ben Smithard Release date: September 12, 2025 (US) Cast: Simon Russell Beale, Hugh Bonneville, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Raquel Cassidy, Paul Copley, Michelle Dockery, Kevin Doyle, Michael Fox, Joanne Froggatt, Arty Froushan, Paul Giamatti, Harry Hadden-Paton, Fifi Hart, Robert James-Collier, Allen Leech, Phyllis Logan, Elizabeth McGovern, Sophie McShera, Lesley Nicol, Alessandro Nivola, Douglas Reith, Joely Richardson, Eva Samms, Dominic West, Penelope Wilton.
Rating: ***
It’s the end of an era…. for now.
As indicated by the title, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale is the final chapter of the Crawley family saga which started way back in 2010 with the premiere of the first series on ITV (in the UK) and PBS (in the US). Of course, you know what they say about the whole “Final Chapter” thing. There’s always a way to a “New Beginning”. But I’m getting way ahead of myself here.
Unlike the previous film A New Era, The Grand Finale doesn’t open with a recap of the significant events from the movies that came before it. Director Simon Curtis (A New Era) cuts through all the narrative brush and gets right to the latest drama going on in and around Downton Abbey circa 1930. Lady Mary (Dockery, Non-Stop) creates a scandal when the news of her divorce from Henry Talbot makes the front page. That’s a no-no in British high society. She’s asked to leave a fancy party before the royal couple arrives. The family’s friends and neighbors shun them. She becomes persona non gratta. It’s bad.
The Crawleys face financial troubles after Harold (Giamatti, The Holdovers), brother to family matriarch Cora (McGovern, Ragtime), loses most of their inheritance from their late mother. He made some bad investments. His American financial advisor Gus (Nivola, The Brutalist), who helped him narrowly avoid complete ruin in the Wall Street Crash of 1929, accompanies him to England where he and Mary find themselves mutually attracted to each other. He’s also hoping he can get the whole family on board with his plan to recoup the losses incurred by Harold. Yeah, he’s shady.
The Grand Finale marks a passing of the torch so to speak. Family patriarch Robert (Bonneville, Paddington 1-3) has reached the point where it’s time to turn the reins of Downton over to Mary. He has a hard time letting go, especially with the divorce scandal hanging over Mary’s head. He’s not the only one stepping aside. Butler Carson (Carter, Shakespeare in Love) and head cook Patmore (Nicol, East Is East) are calling it a day too. Husband and wife Andy Parker (Fox) and Daisy (McShera, Cinderella) will be replacing them. They both worry that they can’t fill their predecessors’ shoes.
These Downton Abbey stories typically have some big event going down at the stately manor. This time, it’s a visit from flamboyant playwright Noel Coward (Froushan, Carnival Row) who will be there with actor Guy Dexter (West, The Wire) and his not-so-secret lover Barrow (Collier, Coronation Street), the former butler. Mary’s dresser Anna (Froggatt, Liar) comes up with a plan to get her lady back in everybody’s good social graces.
It’s hard to review a movie like The Grand Finale. While it’s definitely cinematic, it’s really little more than an entire season of the TV show compressed into two hours. Not that I’m complaining. Downton Abbey is a great show. The drama is compelling. The characters are fully fleshed out. It’s rich in period detail (i.e. costumes, sets, cars and interior décor). It’s a well made show. The movies follow suit. What’s especially good about them is that they don’t have to waste time on things like character development. You already know everybody. The makers can get right to the story. Of course, that means nothing to the uninitiated. I’ll put it like this. If you didn’t watch the show, there’s no reason for you to see the film. It’s for the fans. I’m one of them.
The acting, as always, is superb. The actors fit as neatly into their old rows as an elderly man in his favorite old cardigan. It’s really hard to single out any one of the performers, but I will say that Dockery commands the screen every time she’s on it. Froushan is a riot as Noel Coward who, as it turns out, got the idea for one of his most famous works from the private life of Mary. Can you guess which one?
The presence of the late Dame Maggie Smith, to whom The Grand Finale is lovingly dedicated, hangs over Downton like a sharp-tongued but benevolent spirit. A portrait of her hangs in the main hallway of the mansion watching all that goes on. It’s the perfect note to go out on. Seeing all the Abbey characters again is like going to a family reunion. Some drama rears its head, a few pointed words might be exchanged, but it’s familiar territory you don’t mind revisiting. Who knows, maybe we will someday.
