Wednesday 18 September 2019

I Should Lick The Stamps Myself!

Om Monday evening, I went to see Downton Abbey at the cinema. I knew that Bob wasn't really interested, so asked around at church to see if anyone would like to come with me. I ended up booking TEN tickets. [note to self- next time check seating plan- I was reading it upside down, so we were nearer the front than I'd intended]
It was glorious fun.  There will be no spoilers in this review- but if you didn't like DA on TV, don't bother reading any further. "I don't know the characters, and so I don't really care about the film" said Bob. Which is OK- I slept through his new DVD of Gormenghast last weekend.
All the usual characters from Lord Grantham's household - plus the King and Queen, and their daughter Mary, Princess Royal plus husband, Henry Lascelles [Lord Harewood]. And The Queens chief lady-in-waiting, Maud Bagshaw.
Geraldine James played the Queen- brilliantly. She always looks like she ought to be a Redgrave [The Royal Family of English theatre?], but isn't related. There are strong hints about happiness of  the Harewood marriage [he was 15 years her senior] and there were certainly rumours throughout the 1920s about that.
Maud Bagshaw is an invented character - you can see her in the top picture standing on Lord Grantham's left. Imelda Staunton plays her extremely well, and she brings a good twist to the story.
Carson comes out of retirement for the royal visit. You couldn't really have a Downton film without him. How would Lady Mary cope, for one thing?
He is played by Jim Carter.
And this is the bit that I love- Jim is happily married, in real life, to Imelda Staunton. He's well over 6 feet tall, she just tops 60". I approve of such an arrangement. Marry a man you can lookup to, said my mother. I did, and so did Imelda!
The Dowager Duchess, Maggie Smith, gets some of the best lines. In one discussion about the idea of whether or not two characters should start a correspondence, she clearly does not disapprove. "Dislike it? I should lick the stamps myself!" [note to younger blog readers - in the good old days, stamps were not self-adhesive!]
OK, the plot is ridiculous but it is fun to watch. It will be on TV over Christmas before long, I am sure. The scenery, the costumes, the pomp&ceremony, the bustle of the kitchens, and the swish of the gowns....all the stuff we expect from Julian Fellowes is there.
Only two minor quibbles

  1.  I am not sure that "conspiracy theory" and "government cover-up" were terms in general use in 1923
  2. A gown which does not fit is altered. I know it is a film and therefore there were two separate garments - but I am not convinced that a gown like the first could actually be altered to create one like the second. But I'm just being picky - the costumes were great, on the whole. Do take note of Hugh Bonneville's splendid calves, in his formal knee breeches at the ball!
A great evening with good friends, and a film we all enjoyed *****



7 comments:

  1. I've never watched DA, mainly because I'm a modern day housekeeper in a large house with a posh family! I hear those plummy accents everyday!I could probably write my own book about everyday life in a Scottish baronial pile but I won't. Look what happened to Nanny Crawford when she unwittingly betrayed the Royals and after devoting her whole life to them. I love the juxtaposition of the characters in the top pic. The servant girl is rising above the rest of them. Exactly where she should be.

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    1. Yes Nanny Crawford did become persona non grata didn't she! I think that a lot depends on which family servants worked for. My grandmother was treated very well in her two posts (then left to marry - she did not spend her entire life as a lady's maid)

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  2. I'm looking forward to it coming out on DVD, as I don't go to the cinema.

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  3. I'm glad you had such a good evening with friends and enjoyed the film. :)

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  4. Oooh, I would like to see it ! I do like a bit of Downton!

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  5. Sounds like you had a good evening - I only saw the first series of Downton so will need to catch up a bit before seeing the new film. It is hard to watch any series as we don't have a TV when we visit the cottage so my life is full of half finished programs!

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  6. John Carter and Imelda Staunton's daughter, Bessie Carter, was in Beecham House, "the Indian Downton" 🙂.

    I'm looking forward to this film, but think I'll wait until it hits TV so I can record it and not miss anything if I need a look break!

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