Downton Abbey (film)

Downton Abbey is a 2019 historical drama film based upon the television series of the same name. The film is produced by Carnival Films and Perfect World Pictures, and it continues the storyline from the series, with much of the original cast returning. Set in 1927, the story centers on a royal visit to the Crawley family's Yorkshire stately home, with the house servants pitted against the royal entourage and an argument between the Queen's lady-in-waiting - a distant cousin who has fallen out with the Crawley family - and the Dowager Countess, over an inheritance issue.


 * Directed by Michael Engler. Written by Julian Fellowes.
 * For character descriptions, click here.

Mr. Ellis

 * A Royal visit is like a swan on a lake. Grace and serenity above, demented kicking below.

Lady Mary Talbot

 * Well, the day has dawned, and the weather proves conclusively that God is a monarchist.

Tom Branson

 * You can love people you disagree with.
 * [about the Crawley family] They're decent, at the core.... And they're silly, too. And snobbish at times. And I wouldn't give tuppence for their politics. But I've learned to be happy with all of that. And, besides, they're my daughter's family.
 * [to Lucy Smith] Go forward in health and use your luck wisely.

Mr. Molesley

 * Oh, this wasn't Monsieur Courbet, Your Majesty. Mrs. Patmore cooked it. In fact, it is the Downton Abbey staff who are serving you this evening.

Daisy Mason

 * [to Andy] You tried to wreck the visit of the King of England. You risked being sacked, you risked ruin... just for the love of me?

Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess

 * Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit.
 * I'm glad I'm a revelation and not a disappointment.
 * I never argue. I explain.
 * [regarding her impending death] There's nothing sad here. I have lived a privileged and an interesting life, and now it's... it's time to go. I'm leaving the family and the place that I treasure in talented hands.
 * I'll be fine until I'm not. That's all there is to it.

Mr. Carson

 * Elsie, a hundred years from now, Downton will still be standing. And the Crawleys will still be here. And that is a promise.

Dialogue

 * Cora Crawley, Lady Grantham: Well, isn't that what the monarchy's for? To brighten the lives of the nation with stateliness and glamour?
 * Isobel Merton, Lady Merton: To quote Tennyson, "Kind hearts are more than coronets, and simple faith than Norman blood."
 * Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess: Will you have enough clichés to get you through the visit?
 * Isobel Merton, Lady Merton: If not, I’ll come to you.


 * Mr. Barrow: You mean, during the stay, you'll be the butler, and--
 * Mr. Wilson: [sharply] Excuse me. I am not a butler. I am the King's Page of the Backstairs.


 * Lady Mary Talbot: Carson is going to move back into the house for the royal visit.
 * Mr. Barrow: What? [to Carson] You are coming back here as butler, when I am the butler here?
 * Mr. Carson: Yes, that is--
 * Mr. Barrow: [to Lord Grantham] Can I ask how long this has been planned, milord?
 * Robert Crawley, Lord Grantham: Well, I wouldn't say it's been exactly planned.
 * Mr. Barrow: Because I don't quite understand where it leaves me.
 * Robert Crawley, Lord Grantham: Well, you can be a sort of--
 * Mr. Barrow: With your permission, I'd prefer not to be a "sort of" anything, milord. I will surrender my position for the duration of the visit, if I must, and serve you again when Their Majesties have gone, if you so wish. [turns to leave]
 * Robert Crawley, Lord Grantham: Please don't think that--
 * Mr. Barrow: By the way, the boiler's playing up and there's no hot water. [walks away]


 * [Maud, Lady Bagshaw intends to leave her estate to her maid, Lucy Smith, which angrily upsets Violet Crawley.]
 * Maud, Lady Bagshaw: How like you. A word of resistance and you slash with your saber.
 * Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess: It is lucky for Miss Smith that I do not own a saber.
 * Cora Crawley, Lady Grantham: So this is truly your choice?
 * Maud, Lady Bagshaw: Lucy has taken care of me for many years. I wish to show my gratitude.
 * Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess: With the family house? With the family estate? You belong in a straitjacket. To treat your maid as a blood relation is to unpick every fiber of the English way of life.
 * Maud, Lady Bagshaw: What piffle you talk.
 * Robert Crawley, Lord Grantham: Please. There is no need to argue.
 * Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess: I never argue. I explain.


 * Lady Mary Talbot: I want everything to stop being such a struggle. Will the staff stay? Will the farms pay? What are we going to do about the roof? When I was putting the chairs in the rain, I kept thinking, "What am I doing?"
 * Anna Bates: I'll tell you what you're doing, milady. You're making a center for the people who work here, for this village, for the county. Downton Abbey is the heart of this community. And you're keeping it beating.
 * Lady Mary Talbot: So you think we should battle on?
 * Anna Bates: While there's blood in your veins.


 * Mr. Barrow: I'm not sure I've shown enough gratitude for what you did.
 * Mr. Ellis: We have to stick together, men like us.
 * Mr. Barrow: That's the point. I don't know any men like I am. I've never just talked to someone like me.
 * Mr. Ellis: Well, we're talking now.
 * Mr. Barrow: And it feels good. Just to be two blokes, having a chat, not trying to fit in for once.
 * Mr. Ellis: Well, we all have to do what we must to get by. But yeah. It feels good to be two ordinary blokes.


 * King George V: Mr. Branson. I wish we had spoken more while we were at Downton Abbey.
 * Tom Branson: Do you, sir?
 * King George V: Certainly. I believe I have more than one reason to be grateful to you. [meaningfully] More than one.


 * Maud, Lady Bagshaw: When I get home, I will hire another maid, and Lucy can be my companion.
 * Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess: That's much more suitable.
 * Maud, Lady Bagshaw: And I'm afraid you'll dislike it, but she says that she and Tom Branson have agreed to correspond.
 * Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess: Dislike it? I will lick the stamps myself.


 * Lady Mary Talbot: Tell me, what are you playing at with Tom and Cousin Maud's famous maid?
 * Edith Pelham, Marchioness of Hexham: What do you mean?
 * Lady Mary Talbot: I heard you at dinner last night. What are you up to?
 * Edith Pelham, Marchioness of Hexham: You know she'll inherit the Brompton estate.
 * Lady Mary Talbot: Well, so Mama told me.
 * Edith Pelham, Marchioness of Hexham: Well, then, wouldn't you like Tom to have a proper establishment?
 * Lady Mary Talbot: Oh, you devious cat.


 * Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess: You are the future of Downton.
 * Lady Mary Talbot: But I have such doubts, Granny. Are we right to keep it all going, when the world it was built for is fading with each day that passes? Will George and Caroline still be living that life? Are we living it now?
 * Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess: No, no. Our ancestors lived different lives from us. And our descendants will live differently again. But Downton Abbey will be part of them.
 * Lady Mary Talbot: It won't be the same without you.
 * Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess: Of course it will. You'll take over from where I left off. You'll be the frightening old lady keeping everyone up to the mark.
 * Lady Mary Talbot: [laughs] Thank you very much.
 * Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess: You will, my darling. And you'll do it wonderfully. You're the best of me that will live on. Hurrah!


 * Cora Crawley, Lady Grantham: I do love our adventures.
 * Robert Crawley, Lord Grantham: But isn't it fun when they're over?

Cast

 * Hugh Bonneville as Robert Crawley, 7th Earl of Grantham
 * Laura Carmichael as Edith Pelham, Marchioness of Hexham
 * Jim Carter as Charles Carson
 * Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary Talbot
 * Kevin Doyle as Joseph Molesley
 * Joanne Froggatt as Anna Bates
 * Robert James-Collier as Thomas Barrow
 * Allen Leech as Tom Branson
 * Elizabeth McGovern as Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham
 * Sophie McShera as Daisy Mason
 * Maggie Smith as Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham
 * Penelope Wilton as Isobel Grey, Lady Merton


 * Imelda Staunton as Maud, Lady Bagshaw
 * Max Brown as Richard Ellis
 * David Haig as Mr. Wilson
 * Simon Jones as King George V