Parents' Guide to Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale

With this drama, Julian Fellowes offers a fitting, nostalgic farewell to one of pop culture's favorite dramas about aristocrats and servants. After the twist-heavy A New Era, it's no surprise that Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale is more low-key, aside from the scandal of Lady Mary's divorce and her subsequent impulsive romantic decisions. The film's villain is so broadly telegraphed that he might as well have donned a monocle and twirled a mustache. But, cartoonish antagonist aside, the story—like the series it stems from—remains rooted in domestic concerns, making even progressive audiences feel sympathetic toward aristocrats, provided they adapt with the times like the Crawleys do, rather than cling to outdated snobbery like one particularly reviled supporting character.

Fans will delight in the story's callbacks to the series and its many beloved characters. Edith, aka Lady Hexham (Laura Carmichael), now a powerful marchioness, jokingly references Mary's unforgettable night with a Turkish lover, while Lady Merton (the excellent Penelope Wilton) movingly honors her late friend (and occasional sparring partner) the Dowager Countess (the film is dedicated to the late Dame Maggie Smith). Revolutionary-turned-semi-capitalist Tom (Allen Leech) isn't given much to do, but his return with Sybbie and his short, heartfelt speech thanking Lord Grantham provide one of the movie's most touching moments. McGovern continues to make Cora a kind, elegant matriarch, and Froggatt shows how a lady's maid could easily become a lady's close confidant. Special kudos go to costume designer Anna Robbins for moving the gorgeous fashions into a new decade: Lady Mary's scene-stealing red gown is likely to inspire many young fashion lovers. This isn't a movie for newcomers to the franchise, but for longtime fans, it's a warm, graceful goodbye that ensures all is well both upstairs and downstairs.