FILM: Downton Abbey

OMG, the new Downton Abbey film was wonderful!!! Julian Fellowes is still at the top of his game. Even though he had neatly "tucked in" all of the characters at the end of the TV show, he still had a delightfully intriguing set of plot lines, with some good twists and revelations, to propel all of our beloved characters through various challenges and machinations, and to wrap them up neatly in the end. With the cinematic scale of a film, the palatial estate was even more of a star, including some swooning aerial shots. The opening sequence sets the scene magnificently, showing the progress of a letter sent from Buckingham Palace, the mail on a train steaming up to Yorkshire, then on a truck with loving sweeping shots through Downton Village, then a mail carrier bringing it to the estate, with the theme music building to crescendo as the iconic Abbey comes into view, and finally getting passed along from footman to butler to lord as we get our first look at all our favorite characters. With an impending royal visit, Anglophile viewers are amply rewarded with royal pageantry, and the house is thrown into a tizzy with preparations, but that only scratches the surface of the delicious plot complications. Oh, it was good! I'll be dreaming about it for weeks.