The term gimlet-eyed seemed to have been coined for Maggie Smith, who plays Countess Violet Crawley, who, in her words is “expert on every matter” and has a quip for every situation. She stands for the dying aristocracy that Britain is getting so nostalgic about, that the TV series, Downton Abbey, was a big enough success to be turned into a film.
Directed by Michael Engler, the film has all the characters that appeared in the serial, though those who have not watched any episodes, might have some trouble figuring out who is who. The film is a feast for the eyes, however, with those grand estates, beautiful costumes (even the footmen are impeccable), and sumptuous banquets.
That the film opens with a letter making its way to Downton Abbey, with the news that King George V and Queen Mary (Simon Jones, Geraldine James) will visit the Crawley family estate. Even though they are to stay just one night, it throws the residents and staff at the mansion into a fit of delight mingled with nervousness.
The plot of the film is thin as compared to some the television episodes, and while there are a few against royalty, most of the characters are all for tradition and enamoured of the pomp and splendour the arrivals of the royals will entail. For the staff at Downton Abbey, as well as commoners like the village grocer, it is an event of a lifetime.
It is set in the 19th century and even then it is a strain for the lord and lady of the house (Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern), to keep the estate going. Their daughter Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) would like nothing better than to offload the burden that is the huge house, but is informed by her maid (Joanne Froggatt), why Downton Abbey is so important to those who work there.
The workers at Downton Abbey, from the cook to the housekeeper and footmen, are so proud of their skills, that they are insulted when the royal staff arrives and sidelines them — the head butler being particularly nasty. Apart from the below-stairs goings on — that include a romance, and gay subplot — the other minor crisis that the Crawleys face, is a cousin (Imelda Stanton), who is the Queen’s lady-in-waiting, deciding on an unlikely heir for the property, which angers the dowager countess.
Unlike the series, the film does not have the time to give the huge cast — all fine actors — enough to do, and the conflicts are too trivial to be engaging. The comedy track involves the staff pushing back against the royal intruders, and winning back their dignity — all of which does not concern their employers.
A couple of Irish Republicans make a little noise against the royals, but the film is firmly on the side of the monarchy, noblesse oblige and all — as the unhappily married Princess Mary (Kate Phillips) tells her parents, duty to the crown comes first. This is not the platform to air any progressive thinking or declarations of independence from the stuffiness of complicated protocol. There is not even a hint of satire or irony; as Mary says when the sun shines on the morning of the royal visit, after a stormy night that threatens to derail the pageantry, “The day has dawned and the weather proves conclusively that God is a monarchist.”
