Good review - Downton Abbey
I've finished watching Downton Abbey now!
It really is brilliant drama. I think some people have complained that it is on the basic/cheesy side, but I really can't see it. Yes, we've all seen period dramas before, we're all aware of the typical tropes of the genre - and yes, Downton Abbey plays to all of those gleefully. But for me that's what a good drama is. I don't need it to be massively innovative to enjoy it. Actually, I'm a fan of the genre because I love all the tropes associated with it, so why would I be upset to see a period drama that was typical of its genre?
The most obvious strengths of this series are characterisation and cinematography. The second of these is apparent at every turn. The setting is stunning, the camerawork sweeping and grand, the score suitably understated but dramatic when needed, the costumes wonderfully detailed. If there are historical infelicities (as there usually are in any period drama), I didn't notice them. (This is an incredibly liberal definition of cinematography, sorry - I mean, every aspect of the way in which it's made.)
The characterisation is aided by a delightful script (written by Julian Fellowes, who has the advantage of really understanding the way of life he's describing - though upstairs more than downstairs!) and delightful acting. The baddies are despicable, and the 'goodies' are a mixture of nice, lovable and complex. The plot is pleasingly simple, giving you everything you want but nothing too implausible, and also delivering lots of wonderful memorable little scenes that had no great importance to plot development but were all the more pleasant for that (difficulties with the new technology of electricity and the telephone; affirming the self-worth of people in service; that sweet lovely hug at the end between Carson the head butler and Lady Mary; the understated but loving relationship between Lord and Lady Grantham; the competition between the Dowager Countess and Isobel Crawley).
The cast was full of well-known names - and well-known for their acting rather than their celebrity. We were treated to Maggie Smith, Hugh Bonneville, Penelope Wilton, Brendan Coyle, Phyllis Logan, Robert Bathurst. And alongside them were plenty of the actors you recognise from other dramas but can't always put a name to (in this category, perhaps, Joanne Froggatt - who shone here, which was nice to see after being trapped in an awful role in Robin Hood - and Kevin Doyle and Jim Carter). But in many ways it was the actors I'd never seen before who were the greatest revelation, in particular Dan Stevens as Matthew Crawley, the down-to-earth accidental heir to the estate (I have to get in somewhere that he has extraordinary eyes!), and Michelle Dockery as the selfish and often incomprehensible Lady Mary, whose every action makes you feel disapproval but without turning against the character (I want to say she's not good enough for Matthew... and yet I desperately want them to get together!).
There's romance a-plenty for those of us who like that kind of thing (I get very soppy about these things if the characterisation has caught me!). I must say I was as taken with the budding romance between Anna and Bates as I was with that between Matthew and Mary. I felt awfully sorry for Edith missing out on her proposal from Sir Anthony, even if she had been rather horrible to Mary. I'd rather like to see Lady Sibyl and Branson (played by Allen Leech who played Agrippa in Rome) get together. And it's very gratifying to see that by the end of the series Daisy had realised Thomas was horrible - and started seeing William's virtues. There's lots of potential for the next series.
If I have any criticisms, they are very minor indeed. I would have liked more episodes to get us from 1912 to 1914 - sometimes the jumps are a little disconcerting, and it would have been nice to watch relationships develop in between the bits we see. There were also several places where it seemed as though we only got to watch half the picture - in particular, I would have liked to see exchanges such as Matthew's proposal in episode 6. I'm not sure whether Downton Abbey is supposed to be situated up north, but the overwhelming impression that 'northern accent = servant' is the sort of thing I could see myself bristling at slightly if I were in a less favourable mood. But these are all minor and entirely forgiveable.
Does anyone know when the next series is filming and when it might be shown? I'm not sure I can wait! The war will change everything, of course, and should make for some wonderful drama. Must buy the DVDs in the meantime...
It really is brilliant drama. I think some people have complained that it is on the basic/cheesy side, but I really can't see it. Yes, we've all seen period dramas before, we're all aware of the typical tropes of the genre - and yes, Downton Abbey plays to all of those gleefully. But for me that's what a good drama is. I don't need it to be massively innovative to enjoy it. Actually, I'm a fan of the genre because I love all the tropes associated with it, so why would I be upset to see a period drama that was typical of its genre?
The most obvious strengths of this series are characterisation and cinematography. The second of these is apparent at every turn. The setting is stunning, the camerawork sweeping and grand, the score suitably understated but dramatic when needed, the costumes wonderfully detailed. If there are historical infelicities (as there usually are in any period drama), I didn't notice them. (This is an incredibly liberal definition of cinematography, sorry - I mean, every aspect of the way in which it's made.)
The characterisation is aided by a delightful script (written by Julian Fellowes, who has the advantage of really understanding the way of life he's describing - though upstairs more than downstairs!) and delightful acting. The baddies are despicable, and the 'goodies' are a mixture of nice, lovable and complex. The plot is pleasingly simple, giving you everything you want but nothing too implausible, and also delivering lots of wonderful memorable little scenes that had no great importance to plot development but were all the more pleasant for that (difficulties with the new technology of electricity and the telephone; affirming the self-worth of people in service; that sweet lovely hug at the end between Carson the head butler and Lady Mary; the understated but loving relationship between Lord and Lady Grantham; the competition between the Dowager Countess and Isobel Crawley).
The cast was full of well-known names - and well-known for their acting rather than their celebrity. We were treated to Maggie Smith, Hugh Bonneville, Penelope Wilton, Brendan Coyle, Phyllis Logan, Robert Bathurst. And alongside them were plenty of the actors you recognise from other dramas but can't always put a name to (in this category, perhaps, Joanne Froggatt - who shone here, which was nice to see after being trapped in an awful role in Robin Hood - and Kevin Doyle and Jim Carter). But in many ways it was the actors I'd never seen before who were the greatest revelation, in particular Dan Stevens as Matthew Crawley, the down-to-earth accidental heir to the estate (I have to get in somewhere that he has extraordinary eyes!), and Michelle Dockery as the selfish and often incomprehensible Lady Mary, whose every action makes you feel disapproval but without turning against the character (I want to say she's not good enough for Matthew... and yet I desperately want them to get together!).
There's romance a-plenty for those of us who like that kind of thing (I get very soppy about these things if the characterisation has caught me!). I must say I was as taken with the budding romance between Anna and Bates as I was with that between Matthew and Mary. I felt awfully sorry for Edith missing out on her proposal from Sir Anthony, even if she had been rather horrible to Mary. I'd rather like to see Lady Sibyl and Branson (played by Allen Leech who played Agrippa in Rome) get together. And it's very gratifying to see that by the end of the series Daisy had realised Thomas was horrible - and started seeing William's virtues. There's lots of potential for the next series.
If I have any criticisms, they are very minor indeed. I would have liked more episodes to get us from 1912 to 1914 - sometimes the jumps are a little disconcerting, and it would have been nice to watch relationships develop in between the bits we see. There were also several places where it seemed as though we only got to watch half the picture - in particular, I would have liked to see exchanges such as Matthew's proposal in episode 6. I'm not sure whether Downton Abbey is supposed to be situated up north, but the overwhelming impression that 'northern accent = servant' is the sort of thing I could see myself bristling at slightly if I were in a less favourable mood. But these are all minor and entirely forgiveable.
Does anyone know when the next series is filming and when it might be shown? I'm not sure I can wait! The war will change everything, of course, and should make for some wonderful drama. Must buy the DVDs in the meantime...