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Why I'm NOT Looking Forward to the 'Downton' Film...

'Downton Abbey' may have taken the world by storm when it was on TV, but is a film version a step too far?

By Dale HurstPublished 6 years ago 3 min read
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The Cast of Season 1 (2010)

When Downton Abbey first aired in 2010, I thought it was brilliant. A star-studded cast, a relatively original story, some great characters. And, of course, an Oscar-winning writer behind it, in the form of Julian Fellowes.

Afterwards, I think its reputation got the better of it and the creative teams became blasé and complacent. The acting suddenly became robotic and wooden, with the cast delivering lines literally as though they were reading them off of a script in front of them. And how they used to stand in the drawing room scenes, in a circle talking with their arms by their sides. But otherwise not moving or doing anything! Where was the acting?

After six seasons, I was pretty glad when it ended at Christmas 2015. After around Season 3, after we had all gotten over seeing Hollywood legend Shirley MacLaine on the small screen, I had already grown conscious of the mechanical acting from people like Michelle Dockery (whose acting the media often referred to as monotonous and branded her character Lady Mary "a cyborg") and Allen Leech (who I found most frustrating as he would alternate between really hammy delivery and really great acting between episodes!). From Season 4 onwards, I was watching the show in hope that it might surprise me. So, when I heard that a film had been announced, I just groaned, "Surely not. You have to be kidding me!"

Like the later series of the show, if I watch it, it will only be on the off-chance that I am pleasantly surprised.

But there are a couple of good reasons why I'm not going to hold my breath about it. Not least because of the directions the acting and writing were going during the series' original run.

First of all—they kinda made that film already. It was called Gosford Park, a murder mystery set on a country estate, where the story is told from both upstairs and downstairs. A star-studded cast included Dame Maggie Smith, along with the likes of Eileen Atkins, Helen Mirren, Michael Gambon, Charles Dance, Stephen Fry, Kelly Macdonald, Emily Watson and Kristin Scott Thomas (among so many others). And you know that Oscar I mentioned for Julian Fellowes? It was for this film!

Secondly, it strikes me as illogical. Where will the story go? They can't realistically set it before the tide turns in Europe and World War II breaks out. The older characters in the series, particularly Maggie Smith's Dowager Countess, would have died by this point. But to not have her star quality would be more detrimental.

The series ended in 1925; if they make a point of giving the film's story a historical context like each season of the TV show, the writers are going to have to find something interesting enough going on in that period. Something more interesting than the miner's strikes of 1926, when the rich and famous decided to open up pop-up cafés in parks and volunteer on buses as conductors.

Though you can probably imagine the Dowager Countess having a quip or three about that, can't you?

However, it could be a character-driven storyline instead, going back to its Gosford Park roots. But if that is to be the case, I personally think the actors need to be coached on giving their delivery some substance. Watching people—especially performers I otherwise admire like Penelope Wilton and Jim Carter, as well as newcomer to the series Imelda Staunton (Dolores Umbridge from Harry Potter to those not quite so aware, and also Jim Carter's wife)—stand there like planks of plywood is only entertaining for so long.

The Downton Abbey film is set for release on September 13, 2019, and filming has just begun at Highclere Castle. In that time, I live in hope that it follows in the quality footsteps of its innovative, well-acted, and beautifully-written predecessor Gosford Park and not in those of the TV series. I do not often leave a cinema in a state of disappointment, so I really hope the Downton film doesn't give me a reason...

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About the Creator

Dale Hurst

Dale is a writer, restaurant critic, presenter and broadcaster. He has run the food and travel blog Expensive Tastes since 2012 and in 2018, published his debut novel, The Berylford Scandals: Lust & Liberty.

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