A day at the races: The gang from ‘Downton Abbey’.
DOWNTON ABBEY: THE GRAND FINALE ***1/2 (122 minutes) PG
For what we are told is the final bell for our favourite blended family of aristocrats and servants, the overlords of Downton manor have served up an excellent, handsome piece, its narrative menu deliciously packed with a pleasing mix of drama and humour dancing around the central theme social progress.
After five seasons of the phenomenally successful TV series and two fabulous films, the Crawleys and their squad of servants here find themselves in the 1930s.
The winds of change are blustering through the corridors and across the greenery of the sprawling Downton estate – a singularly attractive location that reminds us of the deep gratitude we have for the English for having the wisdom to list so much of their land, chiefly for the benefit of tourists and film producers.
The shock divorce of Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) dutifully serves as the thematic fulcrum of the film, the immediate reaction of contempt and ostracization meeting some polite yet persistent challenge proposing that it shouldn’t be such a big deal, just like in America.
As well as coping with the stigma of divorce, Mary is also dealing with the numerous headaches of taking over the tottering Crawley empire, a burden given to her by patriarch Robert Crawley (Hugh Bonneville).
The wake of the stock market crash has left the joint in a financial quagmire, a mess Harold (Paul Giamatti), brother of Lady Grantham (Elizabeth McGovern), is trying to amend with his oily associate Gus (Alessandro Nivola).
With an emphasis on how tradition needs to accommodate changing values, director Simon Curtis and writer Julian Fellowes (who created the show) cook up a lovely batch of interweaving storylines about class, friendship and photogenic antiques with a pleasantly progressive undertow.
While the film is beautifully fashioned for fans, it works perfectly well as a standalone, so anyone going in cold or being dragged in should enjoy it just as much (well, almost).
As for the claim that this is it for Downton Abbey, hopefully the dollar this film will inevitably turn prompts a rethink, because the potential is enormous.
Wouldn’t it be grand to track the house as it travels across the decades – perhaps with film covering each one – right up to the present day.
Imagine Downton Abbey as a hotel, or an Airbnb or a share house packed with unruly GenZ students.
Then they could take it into the future where the place becomes the site of secret, highly illegal genetic experiments that get out of control in Downton Abbey: The Reckoning.
Just trying to help.
LESBIAN SPACE PRINCESS ***1/2 (86 minutes) MA
Huzzah! What a fruity delight this beautifully rendered adult animation is as Saira, a diffident, insecure princess, tries winning back Kiki, her bounty hunter ex-girlfriend by flying across space to where she is being held prisoner by a trio of hilariously dim-witted, girl-hungry noobs, referred to as straight white Maliens.
An independent enterprise from South Australia, the film features loads of lovely design elements and a candy-coloured palette that adds vibrancy to the spacescapes and environments young Saira finds herself traversing in a spaceship with a distinctly male personality.
For the record, Lesbian Space Princess is set in a “gaylaxy” that is totally straight/hetero/normie-friendly – just invented that term; but what is normal these days? – thanks largely to the focus writer/directors Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese have placed on actually telling a coherent story about a girl compelled by circumstances to realize who she is.
It’s a tale with a considered arc, neatly told amidst all the cute, clever jocularity, including dashes of deliciously ribald humour and a lovely background detail saluting the classic poster ad for Chiko rolls. (Thank you.)
As for the golden “thespian” routine, it’s hands-down hilarious. Why, pray, aren’t there more Australian comedy films with this level of free-flowing wit? (Come to think of it, why aren’t there more Australian comedy films?)
And though it’s a guess, oldies will smile at one brief segment in the film that appears to reference the classic 1975 adult cartoon feature Shame of the Jungle. It might be unintentional but appreciated all the same.
SKETCH *** (92 minutes) PG
The cheerily creepy drawings of monsters large and small by feverishly creative small-town tweenager Amber (Bianca Belle) come to vivid life in Sketch, a wonderfully unusual fantasy action film in which kid heroes do battle with an assortment of fabulous beasties. An inexplicably magical pond deep in the woods (of course) is the source of the chaos, its ability to turn scribbles into fearsome creatures brought to bear when Amber’s sketchbook is dropped into its transformative waters. First-time writer/director Seth Worley studiously keeps matters on the safe side of frightening, thanks to some superb, studio-grade animation and themes about odd-kid syndrome and parental loss, which he deftly renders with humour and humanity. A real gem, with Tony Hale and D’Arcy Carden (as Amber’s dad and aunt) providing terrific comic support as the kids face off with these lovely monsters.