Fans of the iconic British TV show will appreciate this movie more than I ever could. However, I went into this blindly and without any knowledge, and enjoyed a very down to earth story.
There may have lingering stories from the show, that I didn’t fully comprehend, but the writers did a great job of making it simple for a newcomer to enjoy. You don’t need to know everything about everyone to feel like part of the family.
I came to understand what Downton Abbey meant to the family and the many people who live and work there. The building isn’t just a building. It’s a pice of each and every one of them. People come and go, but the castle will always be their home. It bonds them all together, even when they would hate to admit otherwise.
I will even say I almost teared up at the end. It felt like a changing of the guard and the end of a particular chapter of Downton Abbey’s history. The movie did achieve something that it may have set out to do subconsciously, which was to introduce these characters to a whole group of people who never gave the show a chance. I am one of those people. This movie invited me to go back and watch the series to see what all the fuss was about. 7/10
Ten Stars or Less 