The Subtlety of Grandness

For the longest time I kept wondering why the fuss over “Downtown Abbey?” I thought it was about an inner-city church. I blame that nonexistent second “W,” which is subliminal or something, because I know I’m far from the only person who thought it was “Downtown” and not “Downton.” It turns out, it’s a brilliant and addictive show, especially if you’re an Anglophile such as myself.

1. It’s equal parts Upstairs, Downstairs and Gosford Park, with everything that made those two special. The show is centered on the stark class divide with the English aristocracy at its peak. It’s not quite class warfare, as much of the delicious infighting is within each faction. Downstairs, the servants gossip and look to undermine one another. Upstairs, it’s almost the same, but with all the extra worries about inheritance and finding a good marriage. Yet, in all of this maneuvering, it’s the many touching moments of friendship, family, duty, and loyalty that stand out.

2. These people are doomed, and they just don’t know it. The aristocracy on display is in fine Edwardian form, though it is beginning to fade. It is, technically, the reign of George V. Beginning in 1912, it’s  just two short years before everything changes. Revolutions murderous and revolutions social are about to erupt, not to mention the bloodiest war in history. An entire generation of Englishmen will be lost in the mud at Ypres and the Somme. (How bad? The British lose 60,000 men on the first day of the Somme.) But these people couldn’t know that, so let them carry on with their dinner parties and “seasons” for now.

3. It’s fantastically well made, with an incredible cast. English period pieces always look good, partly because the English seem to make nothing but period pieces, so they have a lot of practice, but also because you can pretty much plop a camera down in about half of England and start filming. Highclere Castle is an awesome Jacobethan monstrosity, with a landscape designed by Capability Brown himself. You just want to pause during the establishing shots and soak it all in. Meanwhile, the cast is stellar, from Hugh Bonneville as the Earl of Grantham, to the incomparable Maggie Smith as his fearsome dowager mother, to Jim Carter as the thoughtful and caring butler, to Elizabeth McGovern, who apparently has been hiding in England these many years.

I’m officially obsessed with the show, and though I’m kicking myself for now watching it sooner, the good news is that the second season is literally just around the corner, so the wait won’t be as bad.