Returning to Downton Abbey in downtown St. Catharines

I don't write often about movies in this space but this week I'll make an exception.

There was much hype over the past year about the release of the movie Downton Abbey, as a follow up for fans of the long-running television series that held fans captive on PBS for about five or six seasons.  Early preview notes suggested the plot revolved around the King & Queen of England visiting the Abbey and now-retired head butler Carson being pressed into service to save the day.  As one pundit commented at the time..."is that it?  That's the plot line?!"

Well there was much more to the story line than that, thankfully, and I won't go into all the details here in case you have yet to see the movie.  But suffice it to say there is an attempt on the King's life while visiting the area (not specifically at the Abbey) and the service staff at the Abbey are no pushovers.  It all ends with pretty much everyone happy in the end, save perhaps with ageing Violet Crawley who is merely 'satisfied' a family crisis only she seems concerned about appears to have been averted.

My far better half and I have become fans of the show over the years, she much sooner than I.  Due to the fact I usually have to be in bed by 9 for work the next morning I never really had the chance to get into the series the first time around.  When PBS ran a Downton Abbey marathon weekend a couple of years ago and I couldn't tear Sophie away from the telly for two whole days, I wasn't exactly a fan then either.

But towards the end of the series' run I did in fact try to catch up on the wealthy yet struggling Crawley household and their imposing and iconic Abbey, trying to make sense of each character and what import they had in contributing to the story.  I quickly learned Maggie Smith as Violet Crawley was the glue that kept things together and always would be, snide remarks and all.

Fast-forward to August of 2018 and Sophie and I are on our PBS tour of England and included on the second day of the tour (and the main reason Sophie was adamant about being on this particular tour) was a visit to the much-venerated and oft-visited home used in the TV series.  Known of course as Highclere Castle, the imposing Georgian mansion appears amongst the rolling hills about halfway between Windsor and Bath.  As we drove up the winding drive in our tour bus the tour director cleverly played the opening theme from the TV series rather loudly on the bus sound system.

It was effective if not somewhat predictable.

But the visit was amazing.  Tour groups are allowed only at certain times of the year and although you cannot see every corner of the Castle you get to see a good part of it.  And what you see in the TV series and now the movie Downton Abbey is a somewhat glossy version of what actually greets you upon arrival.

The first thing you notice is that due to the high volume of tourist traffic through the estate, the carpets are rather threadbare in many spots.  You don't see that on the show!  There are some rough spots on the walls and such, as one would expect from such an old building.

For the better part of the 18th and 19th centuries the Carnavon family lived in the old brick and freestone house, but it was in 1838 the 3rd Earl of Carnavon sought to transform the home into the grand mansion we know today as Highclere Castle.  The structural work on the interior of the Castle was completed in 1878 and once built, the Castle became a centre of political life during the latter part of the Victorian era.

The scenes that regularly played out in the series and now the movie were a part of life during the early part of the 20th century, although during the First World War Almina, the 5th Countess of Carnavon transformed the Castle into a hospital, with patients arriving in late 1914 from Flanders.  It also became home to evacuee children from London at one point.

The Castle returned to a private home after the war and in 1922 the 5th Earl of Carnavon and Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun, really the first global world media event.  To this day there is an extensive Egyptian display in the basement of the Castle the public can visit.

Today the current (8th) Earl and Countess of Carnavon live partly in the Castle and partly in another home on the grounds nearby but remain closely involved in the Castle's day to day life and future.  It is not unusual even today to see the Countess on the grounds near the Castle on pleasant days.

But back to the movie.  Although it helps it isn't necessary to be a fan of the TV series in order to follow or even enjoy the movie version.  I still have to defer to Sophie to figure out where a particular character figures in the story line.

The filming is stunning, especially the drone shots of the Castle and grounds from above.  The dining scenes are especially fun to watch, if you are at all interested in proper dining etiquette.  Incidentally, the basement of the present Castle no longer houses the kitchen facilities as depicted in the movie.  All that would be shot off-site I'm told.

While Sophie marvels at the elaborate decor and ladies' gowns, I instead take a keen interest in the men's formal wear of the period, as outlined in my blog post in this space last week.  It is all very grand, and all very proper, as you would expect.

As a fan of movies not utilizing an overabundance of computer-generated special effects, I found the near total lack of same here refreshing, as well as the total absence of any foul language at all.

As mentioned earlier, all ends well with the Crawley family bound and determined to soldier on and keep the old gal going for awhile longer and one guy actually gets the girl in the end.

Oh and the music: sweeping, familiar and as comfortable as your old slippers.  John Lunn's score is lush and appropriate without every being over the top.  Just a perfect complement to what we're watching on the screen.

Now I know the film was released world-wide last September and we loved it then.  But paying a return visit this past Friday evening at The Film House at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre in downtown St. Catharines allowed us to savour the glory of a bygone age yet again and perhaps see some things we missed in the first viewing.  It was well worth a revisit.

Clearly Downton Abbey the movie is not for everyone, as was the case with the TV series.  But for those of us who love British period pieces aired on PBS we're in our glory.

If you have not succumbed to the magic of Highclere Castle, now might be a good time to catch the movie and perhaps if you're ever over in England, actually visit in person.  It will be an unforgettable experience either way.

Have a great weekend!

January 12th, 2020.