A garden party on the neon green lawn, a grandiose wedding , cowboys between sisters, beaded outfits, love affairs between servants, a Labrador and heirloom shenanigans: welcome to Downton Abbey , whose familiar doors reopen at occasion of the release of its second part in cinemas on April 27.
3 good reasons to see Downton Abbey 2: A New Era , the latest baby from screenwriter Julian Fellowes directed by Simon Curtis .
Because it's the extraordinary picture of an era
We are in 1928 when the intrigue begins at Downton. After receiving the King and Queen in the first part, Lord Grantham ( Hugh Bonneville ) accepts (for the money obviously) that a shooting takes over his domain for a (long) month. Then the whole team and equipment disembark, creating a cosmic mess in the superb reception rooms of the castle, distracting the servants from their tasks and even putting Mary to work...
This period coinciding with the beginnings of talkies , the film is particularly interested in the fate of these actors and actresses with pretty faces, but unable to play while talking. Subject necessarily conducive to the best gags, this true period phenomenon has also seen revered stars fall into oblivion, such as the actress with the rattle voice of Singing in the rain , of which we necessarily think through the character of the hilarious Laura Haddock .
Because part of the film takes place in France
How better to flatter loyal French viewers than by shooting a large part of the plot in its own land? It was obviously on the Côte d'Azur , dear to Lady Grantham (imperial Maggie Smith ) and to the English aristocracy of the Roaring Twenties , that the choice of series producer Gareth Neame fell . In question ? An inheritance affair concerning a dream villa near Toulon, which would go to Violet against the advice of the Marquise de Montmirail, camped by an almost too discreet Nathalie Baye .
While costume designer Anna Robins has gone to great lengths to transcribe the light and colorful period outfits typical of holidays on the Riviera, the house by the sea and its lush gardens make you want to book a one-way trip. simple for the South. Everything is beautiful, everything is luxurious, everything is refined: we want more.
Because it's a pleasure to find them
We missed the piano notes from the credits. What a joy to find in great shape (for the most part… no spoiler ) the Crawleys , the Bransons , the always gruff Mr. Carson , the mischievous cook Daisy and that cursed Barrow, who has become a butler but is forced into solitude by his homosexuality, or still the best enemies Isobel and Violet, always ready to draw the tastiest punchlines. And punchlines, there are all along.
It must be said that the situations are not lacking in crunch, between the eternal flirtations of Mary, the outrageous pastism of Carson, the relationship (still) at a standstill between Molesley and Baxter or even potentially scandalous revelations about the love affairs of youth of the Dowager, who could well change the very structure of her estate... In short, get out the popcorn and think about the handkerchiefs.
In theaters April 27.
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