Downton Abbey 2: A New Era

The Crawley family once again requests an audience: some time has passed after the turbulence surrounding the royal visit of King George and Queen Mary to Lord Grantham's Downton Abbey estate. But already there is new hustle and bustle on the estate. A film crew is coming to Downton to shoot a movie in this wonderful setting - much to the displeasure of Robert Crawley (Hugh Bonneville), who bows to the wishes of his daughter Mary (Michelle Dockery). A trip to the south of France comes just in time. There Lady Violet (Maggie Smith) has surprisingly inherited a villa, which she wants to pass on to Toms (Allen Leech). But before that, the mystery of why the Dowager Countess received such an inheritance in the first place must be solved. But until that happens, there are plenty of surprises in store for the residents and servants of Downton Abbey.

After the end of the popular TV series "Downton Abbey" by acclaimed screenwriter Julian Fellowes ("Gosford Park", "Young Victoria"), the call for a cinema sequel soon became loud - from fans as well as from those involved in the series. In 2019, the wish became reality: The Crawleys came to the big screen. With over 230 million dollars worldwide, the film was able to recoup many times its budget, so it was soon decided to make another feature film. "Downton Abbey II: A New Era" offers little that is new, but this is not necessarily to be seen as negative. Rather, it is positive to see that fans are offered exactly what they loved so much about the series - just in compressed form of a two-hour film.

Even the series finale was actually a successful end to the story. And also the first feature film gave some characters a coherent conclusion. Now, however, a final conclusion seems to be drawn. Sure, there is always the possibility to tell the story even further. But as entertaining and beautiful as the film is, this seems absolutely unnecessary in the end. Because in addition to a truly final farewell, the last characters now get their happy ending. It is a worthy and successful last act of the film, which also works perfectly as the final curtain call for the series. Would I be happy about a third feature film? Well, sure, after all, a visit to Downton is always fun. But there will definitely never be a more perfect time for the final farewell.

"Downton Abbey II: A New Era" strives to give all the characters space and continue or finish their stories. This doesn't always succeed, but it also makes for some wonderful moments. In general: Even if a few tears could flow in one scene in particular, this film is perfect feel-good cinema that lets its target audience return to such a beloved world and thus escape reality for two hours. And that just feels good! To be sure: Simon Curtis' production always plays it safe, offering neither big surprises nor anything you don't already know from the series. Only the more intense indulgence in the shots of the wonderful locations has real cinema quality here. But even if that can be seen as a point of criticism, the really great feel-good factor and the no less great entertainment value, for which not only the direction and script, but also the great ensemble is responsible, prevail here. And for it there is then under the bottom line also a more than deserved: Absolutely worth seeing!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp