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Pomp and piffle: Rashid Irani reviews the Downtown Abbey film
Don’t expect much of a plot as the Earl of Downton and his loyal retinue prepare to host the royal family. Do expect sumptuous production design and soap opera-style drama.
A big-screen spin-off of the long-running TV series, Downton Abbey is about the lives unfurling on an English country estate, in the 1920s.
Class is everything, and it’s time to pull out all the stops as the family of the Earl of Downton (Hugh Bonneville) and their retinue of loyal servants prepare to host the royal family. A starry ensemble led by the inestimable Maggie Smith acts as catalyst to revelations of character and conflict.
The episodic script by the series scribe Julian Fellowes focuses on the interactions between and among the masters, guests and servants. The upstairs-downstairs divide leads to soap opera-ish situations and melodramatic posturing.
A prestige production with appropriately sumptuous production design, Downton Abbey is strictly for fans of fluffy British period dramas. Others are advised to give it a skip.
