First review: Downton Abbey devotees will be delighted as the Crawleys enter a new era

Review: The stakes aren’t too high but Downton Abbey fans will find plenty to like about A New Era and the Crawleys’ latest adventures.

Downton Abbey: A New Era (PG)

Director: Simon Curtis (Woman in Gold)

Starring: Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery, Elizabeth McGovern, Maggie Smith, Hugh Dancy, Dominic West.

Rating: ***

A home movie, and a holiday abroad

Downton Abbey fans can rest easy.

Though there are slight changes afoot in A New Era – the second movie outing for the Crawley clan and their ever-expanding entourage – everything so beloved about this oh-so-British costume-drama franchise remains exactly the same.

The action (if you can call it that!) picks up shortly after we last left the Crawley’s splendid rural estate.

The 1920s are almost over, and a big rambling joint like Downton could use a fresh lick of paint to usher in the new decade.

Therefore Lady Mary Talbot (Michelle Dockery) has decreed that the Abbey swing open its doors to a Hollywood film crew as a plush location for their latest production. A sizeable payday will cover the cost of some urgent repairs.

A scene from Downton Abbey: A New Era. Picture: Ben Blackall / Focus Features

Not all of the Crawleys are thrilled by the prospect of movie-making types causing a daily ruckus in their drawing rooms and parlours, and elect not to stick around while shooting is in full swing.

As luck would have it, the legendary Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham (Maggie Smith), has just received news that she is to inherit a swanky villa in the south of France.

Though not inclined to travel to inspect the new property herself, Violet encourages her son, Earl Robert (Hugh Bonneville), his wife Countess Cora (Elizabeth McGovern) and others within the family circle to make the trip across the Channel.

Once the tourists have departed, A New Era settles into a comfortable rhythm which longtime Downton devotees will find most agreeable indeed.

Front and centre most of the time is the chaotic film shoot at the Abbey, which starts out as a silent movie, but later must be hastily remade on the spot as a talkie.

Whenever events in A New Era are in need of some light (and luxurious) relief, the screenplay cuts across to France for an update on how the inspection of the villa is coming along.

The ever-growing cast of Downton Abbey is becoming a little unwieldy in the second feature film, A New Era. Picture: Ben Blackall / Focus Features

The regular switching between the two settings is handled smoothly, and though the storytelling stakes are low, the end results are as highly enjoyable as they have been since the TV series debuted over a decade ago.

If there is a minor quibble with Downton Abbey: A New Era, it is only that it is carrying more featured characters than it truly knows what to do with.

In particular, fan faves from the servant ranks such as Anna Bates (Joanne Froggatt), Thomas Barrow (Robert James-Collier) and the huffing, puffing ex-head butler Carson (Jim Carter) come off second best here

However, the scripting prominence given to the visiting movie stars Guy Dexter (Dominic West) and Myrna Dalgleish (Laura Haddock) – along with their director Jack Barber (Hugh Dancy), who develops a crush on Lady Mary – is justifiable in terms of bringing some much needed fresh material to the table.

Downton Abbey: A New Era opens in general release across Australian from April 28.