Film Review: Downton Abbey - A New Era (2022)

By

Downton Abbey - A New Era

Carnival Films

Focus Features

Release date 

May 20, 2022

#whatonwhatsgood Express Review: by: Jovin Tardif

This is the first time I ever watched Downton Abbey.  My wife is a huge fan.  I asked her to give me some information about the characters before we watched it.

In Downton Abbey - A New Era there are a few storylines going on.  One is that a film crew is looking to make a silent movie called "The Gambler" on their property.  Will Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) allows it?  How do the others feel about this arrangement? Can the staff act appropriately when they see actors Guy Dexter (Dominic West) and Myrna Dalgleish (Laura Haddock) arrive on the property?  

Another concern that is addressed is silent films versus “talkies”.  Will director Jack Barber's (Hugh Dancy) need to make changes?  Can Myrna Dalgleish (Laura Haddock) handle the pressure of being in a talkie or is she more suited for silent films?  Will there be drama if things have to be revised?  

The other topic in the film is that Violet (Maggie Smith) inherited a French villa from a man she knew decades ago.  Will Robert (Hugh Bonneville) be able to figure out why?

For someone who has never seen Downton Abbey, I thought this movie was quite entertaining. The characters are quite funny.  I might have to watch the television series in the future or at least the first movie.  

The cast and others discuss “Downton Abbey: A New Era”

Allen Leech - "Tom Branson"

One of the great treats has always been when you get a new script for Downton.  When we were filming the show as a series and then the first movie we were like, how is he going to make this cinematic?  And of course, he did beautifully, and then you're like kind of do it again. 

I love what happens to Tom. The movie opens with Tom finding happiness again. with Lucy.

Basically, Tom's journey is about finding acceptance and accepting himself.

So Tom has gone from a very revolutionary Socialist to a very, very distraught widow, to a State manager, to definitely now part of the family.

Elizabeth McGovern - "Cora Grantham"

I was very, very pleased when I read this particular one. It's so fun.  I mean that's really the the big word for me. It's just an absolute enjoyable escape, and really witty.

To do an ensemble show like this, you need patience.  You have to be a total star.   

Hugh Bonneville - "Robert Grantham"

The movie world comes to Downton Abbey.  A film is going to be filmed at the castle and Robert, of course, can't bear the idea of this.

Julian Fellowes - Writer / Producer

Lesley Nicol is a very funny actress. I'd seen her in projects before she got the part, but it didn't show what she was capable of in comedy terms. The more I realized she was funny, the more I wrote for the fact.

I want people to watch Downton and enjoy it.  I want them to go to this movie and have a nice time and laugh and cry. Go out and have a decent dinner and get back and feel they've had a good evening.

Downton Abbey - A New Era (2022) 

Directed by

Simon Curtis

Written by

Julian Fellowes

Based on

Downton Abbey by Julian Fellowes

Produced by

Julian Fellowes, Gareth Neame and Liz Trubridge

Starring

Nathalie Baye as Madame Montmirail

Hugh Bonneville as Robert Crawley

Samantha Bond as Lady Rosamund Painswick

Laura Carmichael as Edith Pelham

Jim Carter as Charles Carson

Raquel Cassidy as Phyllis Baxter

Jonathan Coy as George Murray

Brendan Coyle as John Bates

Hugh Dancy as Jack Barber

Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary Talbot

Kevin Doyle as Joseph Molesley

Michael Fox as Andy Parker

Joanne Froggatt as Anna Bates

Robert James-Collier as Thomas Barrow

Harry Hadden-Paton as Herbert "Bertie" Pelham, Marquess of Hexham

Laura Haddock as Myrna Dalgleish

Sue Johnston as Miss Denker

Allen Leech as Tom Branson

Phyllis Logan as Elsie Carson

Elizabeth McGovern as Cora Crawley

Sophie McShera as Daisy Parker

Tuppence Middleton as Lucy Branson

Lesley Nicol as Beryl Patmore

Douglas Reith as Richard "Dickie" Grey, Lord Merton

David Robb as Dr. Richard Clarkson

Maggie Smith as Violet Crawley

Imelda Staunton as Maud

Dominic West as Guy Dexter

Penelope Wilton as Isobel Grey

Jonathan Zaccaï as Marquis de Montmirail

Alex Macqueen as Mr. Stubbins

Charlie Watson as Albert

Cinematography

Andrew Dunn

Edited by

Adam Recht

Music by

John Lunn 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

TV Series Review: Deadloch

By
Image
Deadloch Amazon Studios, OK Great Productions, Guesswork Television Amazon Prime Video #whatonwhatsgood Express Review Deadloch is an Australian comedy/crime show. It is set in a town called Deadloch, Tasmania.  In the first episode, Trent Latham (Barry Wheeler) is found naked and dead on a beach.  The question is can Sergeant Dulcie Collins (Kate Box) and Det. Eddie Redcliffe (Madeleine Sami) work together to solve the mystery?  It's a whodunnit. Enjoy! Description Deadloch is an eight-part crime comedy. When a local man turns up dead on a beach, two vastly different detectives are thrown together to solve the case. Deadloch puts a comedic spin on the crime genre, completely flipping it and challenging the tropes of the genre. It’s a compelling mystery with The Kates’ signature humour, and explores themes of truth, misogyny, gender, and race. The series features a large ensemble cast led by Kate Box (Fires, Wentworth), Madeleine Sami (The Breaker Upperers), Nina Oyama (Utopia),
Read more

TV Review: The Neighborhood

By
Image
The Neighborhood Mud, Blood & Beer Productions/A Bird and a Bear Entertainment/Kapital Entertainment/Trill Television CBS Studios/CBS #whatonwhatsgood Express Review (by: Jovin Tardif) "The Neighborhood on CBS is about a friendly Midwestern couple (Dave and Gemma Johnson) and their son Grover (Hank Greenspan) who move to a neighborhood in Los Angeles. Gemma (Beth Behrs) got a new job as a school principal in L.A. Dave Johnson (Max Greenfield) is just about the friendliest guy in the world.  I don't think anyone can dislike him.  Well one person can... They have a pretty opinionated next-door neighbor, the grouchy mechanic Calvin Butler (Cedric the Entertainer).  He has a wife named Tina (Tichina Arnold) and two sons Marty (Marcel Spears) and Malcolm (Sheaun McKinney).   Dave is desperately trying to fit in with the community.  Will the Johnsons be accepted by everyone?   The series is quite amusing.  Tina as Calvin's wife is fun as she keeps Calvin in line.  Some of
Read more

Express Review: Dear Child

By
Image
Dear Child Netflix   Release date September 7th, 2023  Description   Lena lives in complete isolation in a highly secured home with the two children Hannah and Jonathan. They eat their meals, go to the toilet, and to bed at precisely prescribed times. As soon as he enters the room, they line up to show their hands. They do everything he says. Until the young woman manages to escape. After a near-fatal car accident, she is hospitalized, accompanied by Hannah. DEAR CHILD starts where traditional thrillers end: with redemption. But the true extent of this nightmare is revealed with the arrival of Lena's parents at the hospital the same night. They have been desperately searching for their missing daughter for almost 13 years… DEAR CHILD is a six part mini series based on Romy Hausman’s novel of the same title. Episode count 6 Episodes Express Review A woman is taken to the hospital after a hit-and-run accident. We learn from her daughter that her name is Lena Beck.  Lena has been mis
Read more

TV Series Review: Muted

By
Image
Muted Alea Media Netflix #whatonwhatgood Express Review Muted (El Silencio) is a crime-mystery-drama series. It follows Sergio Ciscar who murdered his parents and was incarcerated for 6 years.  Since then, he hasn't said a word. Once he leaves jail, the authorities still want to keep an eye on him.  They want to know if he is a danger to society and why he murdered his parents.  Will they figure out what really happened? Overall, it was a decent story.  If you need something to binge, 'Muted' is an interesting watch. Description Sergio Ciscar is released from prison 6 years after having killed his parents when he was still underaged. During that time, Sergio hasn’t said a word nor has collaborated with the justice system, so the motivations for the crime and the intentions he has by now are a mystery. Ana Dussel, a young psychiatrist, and her team are in charge of determining his potential danger to society by secretly watching him day and night as if he was an animal. Re
Read more

Being The Ricardos (2021)

By
Image
Being The Ricardos (2021) Amazon Studios My IMDB Rating: 7/10 #whatonwhatsgood Fan Club Rating: 71% Social Media #BeingTheRicardos #PrimeVideo Written and Directed by  Aaron Sorkin Produced by  Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Steve Tisch Executive produced by  Jenna Block, Stuart Besser, David Bloomfield, Lauren Lohman, Lucie Arnaz, Desi Arnaz Jr. Starring Nicole Kidman as Lucille Ball Javier Bardem as Desi Arnaz J. K. Simmons as William Frawley Nina Arianda as Vivian Vance Tony Hale as Jess Oppenheimer Alia Shawkat as Madelyn Pugh Linda Lavin as older Madelyn Pugh Jake Lacy as Bob Carroll Jr. Clark Gregg Nelson Franklin John Rubinstein Robert Pine Christopher Denham Cinematography Jeff Cronenweth Edited by Alan Baumgarten Music by Daniel Pemberton Academy Award winner Nicole Kidman discusses her character Lucille Ball “I really knew nothing about Lucille Ball except that she had done ‘I Love Lucy.’ I fell in love with the woman and the way Aaron wrote about her, as well as
Read more

American Fiction Rating

By
Image
American Fiction Orion Pictures, MRC Film, T-Street Productions, 3 Arts Entertainment Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Release date September 8, 2023 (TIFF) November 17, 2023 My Rating   8/10 #whatonwhatsgood Fan Club Rating   75% Running time 117 minutes Description AMERICAN FICTION is Cord Jefferson's hilarious directorial debut, which confronts our culture’s obsession with reducing people to outrageous stereotypes. Jeffrey Wright stars as Monk, a frustrated novelist who’s fed up with the establishment profiting from “Black” entertainment that relies on tired and offensive tropes. To prove his point, Monk uses a pen name to write an outlandish “Black” book of his own, a book that propels him to the heart of hypocrisy and the madness he claims to disdain. Written for the Screen and Directed by   Cord Jefferson Based upon the novel ‘Erasure’ by  Percival Everett Genres Comedy/Drama Starring Jeffrey Wright as Thelonious "Monk" Ellison Tracee Ellis Ross Erika Alexander Leslie Ugga
Read more

Film Review: Confession (2022)

By
Image
Confession Uncork'd Entertainment Release date 01/21/2022 On-Demand 01/25/2022 My Rating: 7/10 #whatonwhatsgood Fan Club Rating: 70% #whatonwhatsgood Express Review (by: Jovin Tardif) One evening at a church, Father Peter (Colm Meaney) meets Victor Strong (Stephen Moyer), armed with a gun and bleeding.  Victor tells Father Peter to lock the doors.  Peter is looking to escape in order to contact the police.  Victor makes sure that Father Pete knows who’s in control.  But note....they’re not the only ones in that church.  Willow (Clare-Hope Ashitey) is hiding in the church armed and wounded.  We learn that Willow is the one who shot and wounded Victor and happens to be a policewoman.  She explains that Victor is a policeman who has gone rogue. She needs to arrest him.  The sketchy part of Willow's story is why is she here alone, with no backup, trying to arrest Victor?  Father Peter has to decide what to do.  The performances by Colm Meaney (Father Peter) and Stephen Moyer (Vi
Read more

TV Mini Series Review: The Thing About Pam (2022)

By
Image
The Thing About Pam Weird Egg Productions/Big Picture Co./NBC News Studios/Blumhouse Television NBC #whatonwhatsgood Express Review (by: Jovin Tardif)   "Who doesn't like a true-crime story?  'In The Thing About Pam' Renée Zellweger plays Pam Hupp.  In this particular mystery series, you are told right away who murdered Betsy (Katy Mixon).   But you get to learn how the killer makes others believe that there could be other suspects. This includes Betsy's husband Russ Faria (Glenn Fleshler).   Pam is an interesting character and Zellweger does a fantastic job of playing her. If you are a fan of "Why Women Kill" you will probably enjoy this show as well."  Season 1 She's a Good Friend S1, Ep1 8 Mar. 2022 My Rating 7/10 #whatonwhatsgood Fan Club Rating 75% She's a Helper S1, Ep2 15 Mar. 2022 My Rating 7/10 #whatonwhatsgood Fan Club Rating 73% She's a Star Witness S1, Ep3 22 Mar. 2022 My Rating 8/10 #whatonwhatsgood Fan Club Rating 78% She
Read more

TV Mini Series Review: Encounters

By
Image
Encounters Netflix Release date September 27th, 2023 Description Explosive new revelations from military whistleblowers of alien encounters, UFOs, and clandestine Pentagon programs, as well as coverage from major news sources, have breathed a fresh urgency into a topic that, for decades, we’ve relegated to the realm of conspiracy. ENCOUNTERS, directed by Yon Motskin (Generation Hustle) and executive produced by Amblin Television, Emmy-winning Boardwalk Pictures and Vice Studios, is a landmark four-part series that travels the globe to explore four extraordinary true stories of encounters with otherworldly phenomena. Each cinematic and deeply-researched episode tells a single story: strange lights in the sky over small-town Texas; submersible space crafts haunting a coastal Welsh village; an alien encounter with schoolchildren in Zimbabwe; non-human intelligence reportedly interfering with a nuclear power plant in Japan. As told from the perspective of firsthand experiencers – in the
Read more