Downton's final hurrah is a poor imitation of stately past glories

After 15 years on screen, Downton Abbey limps to its conclusion with The Grand Finale, writes Laura O'Flanagan, a PhD candidate at the School of English, Dublin City University.

- Laura O'Flanagan

Directed by Simon Curtis and billed as the ultimate farewell, it reunites the ensemble cast for one last bow.

Marketed as the crowning chapter of a much-loved, award-winning series that once defined Sunday night television in Britain and became a transatlantic hit, the film carries a weight of expectation.

What audiences have been given, however, is a perfunctory epilogue, as though everyone involved knew something had to be delivered but couldn't quite summon the spark to make it worthwhile.

At the film's centre lies the long-anticipated moment when Lord Grantham (Hugh Bonneville) prepares to hand the reins of Downton Abbey to Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery). This plot is further complicated by Mary's divorce, a scandal rippling through society as she assumes leadership of the estate.

This culmination of a story where responsibility is passed on, continuity is assured and change is accepted ought to feel momentous, but it is bogged down by dozens of minor storylines, quickly raised and neatly resolved. The slack pacing and uneven tone reduce it to a carousel of passing titbits. The Grand Finale seems determined to include all of the characters at once, and in doing so, loses its way.