Edith: ‘I just want to own my own life. I want to say things that I think, and do what I like.’
‘The idea that Bertie might be away when she is due to have the baby,’ explains Laura, ‘stirs up these feelings with Edith, about the lack of control she has and she misses her old life working in London as a magazine editor.’ Having already had a taste of independence, Edith’s new-found position as a marchioness ‘entertaining people who bore me to death’ is trying – as she says, ‘I just want to own my own life. I want to say things that I think, and do what I like.’
Luckily for Edith, she has a husband who is more than willing to support her. ‘They are ahead of the time,’ explains Harry Hadden-Paton, who plays Bertie, ‘and I think Bertie is in awe of Edith and her strength and he wants to facilitate that. He’s a sensitive character and does the right thing.’
While Bertie is certainly considerate, there is also a gung-ho side to him. The evening before the parade, just as everyone is helping themselves to a buffet dinner, he heads off into a stormy night in search of Branson, who has mysteriously disappeared. ‘I like to think he had a good war and is happy to get stuck in if he’s needed,’ says Harry.
However, not all aspects of filming were plain-sailing for Harry, as he explains: ‘Edith and Bertie arrive at Downton in this wonderful 1920s car. The only issue was I was shown the car about ten minutes before I was due to drive it up to the house. The brakes are very different from modern cars, meaning I had to start applying the brakes about a hundred metres before I would normally and then make sure the car stopped at a particular line for the shot. I then had to put the handbrake on, turn the engine off and try and open this really old-fashioned door, all the while looking like I knew exactly what I was doing.’
In playing Bertie, Harry delighted in his character’s new-found membership of the Downton family. ‘Having been a bit of an outsider, Bertie is now very much part of their world and even helps to welcome in the new guests at Downton’ – as Harry himself did on set with the arrival of the new members of the cast.
‘I thought I might feel nervous coming back on set and filming for the big screen but actually it felt like returning to a character and family I know and love. In many ways, it’s like we never left – like we’re just back at our big house.’
Laura Carmichael
With a new baby on the way, life for the Hexhams is looking very bright. Edith has certainly had her share of heartache over the years and growing up under the shadow of her beautiful sisters once did little for her self-esteem. But she seems to shaken off all of that, and while her relationship with Mary will never be harmonious, even her sister can see Edith has become someone who is at last happy and sure of what she wants in life.
For ladies like Edith, the etiquette surrounding gloves was intricate. They could be removed during the day but evening gloves had to be kept on, other than while eating when a lady must place them on her lap – although it was acceptable to drink a glass of champagne in gloves.
‘In 1927 where we are in the film, hemlines had almost reached their shortest point so you’d nearly see women’s knees. Towards the end of the decade, the hem would drop back down again, with longer dresses all the rage again in the 1930s. It was great to show a bit of leg in the film!’
Anna Robbins, costume designer
Women in the 1920s
Lady Astor entering Parliament in 1920.
Actress Colleen Moore in 1929; she played the first ‘bright young thing’ on film in 1923.
By 1927, women like Edith and Mary were able to lead quite different lives to those of their mothers or grandmothers. Edith has had a career, running a magazine in London, and yearns to return to the independence she once had. Mary is now largely running Downton Abbey and its estate, and is happy to muck in wherever she’s needed.
Of course, there have always been robust, intelligent women at Downton Abbey, but it’s hard to imagine Violet hopping over a stile to help out at the estate’s pig farm, as Mary did in season four (although she’d probably have quite firm views on how it should be run).
Edith and Mary’s new-found liberties are representative of the freedoms a whole generation of women were experiencing in the 1920s, particularly those with money and power. In 1918, women over the age of thirty had been given the vote and by 1928 this would be extended to all women over the age of twenty-one. By 1927, there had been seven female MPs; the first of these was Lady Astor, who continued working in the House of Commons until 1945.
As a result, women felt more confident and empowered, their independence reflected in new fashions – hair was shorter, hemlines were higher, corsets abandoned. It became acceptable for women to smoke, to drive motor cars and to have leisure interests, like the cinema. Some upper- and middle-class women took to frequenting cocktail bars and jazz bars, their decadent behaviour prompting the tabloid press to nickname their set the ‘bright young things’.
TOM BRANSON
Allen Leech
Tom Branson is now settled at Downton Abbey, living there with his daughter, Sybbie, while running a car showroom with Henry and helping Mary to manage the estate. He is, if nothing else, busy. But he still hasn’t found the happiness in love he once had with Sybil, the youngest of the Crawley daughters, who tragically died giving birth to Sybbie seven years earlier.
Branson entered the world of Downton Abbey as the family chauffeur, an Irishman who fervently believed in the independence of Ireland, in socialism and the abolition of monarchy. After losing his wife, he left with Sybbie for America, only to return to Downton Abbey so that his daughter could grow up with her family. Over the years he has sometimes struggled to adjust to living with the Crawleys – as he confesses to Maud Bagshaw’s maid, Lucy, in the movie: ‘Between my old world and new one, there were times when I didn’t know who I was.’ It’s a journey we’ve watched Branson go on, as Allen Leech, who plays Tom, explains: ‘Branson’s always been slightly baffled by the aristocracy and their ways, and probably sees them in a similar way to the audience of Downton.’
Slowly but surely, however, Branson began to see the good side of the Crawleys, and the shared commitment in the management of the estate gave him a valued role. Once a strident revolutionary, he has gradually mellowed – ‘I’m a law-and-order man these days.’ Accepting that there are plenty of things he and the Crawleys disagree on – ‘I wouldn’t give tuppence for their politics’ – he’s nonetheless learned to be happy at Downton.
Branson: ‘Between my old world and the new one, there were times when I didn’t know who I was.’
In the series, Branson’s look often echoed his Irish roots; he’d be dressed in Irish Donegal tweeds or similar materials. For the film, the wardrobe department marked his full transition to the upper class and there’s no longer any difference in the way he and the Crawley men dress. ‘For that reason, I echoed Robert’s tweed choices in Branson’s suits,’ explains Anna Robbins, ‘although we cut and styled them slightly differently to suit his character and age.’
While the family have accepted him into the fold, certain members begin to question whether the royal visit is sparking republican tendencies in Branson – although Mary, who has grown close to her brother-in-law, outwardly dismisses the notion, declaring he would never harm the family. Nevertheless, she is relieved to be proved right. When Branson first meets the strange establishment figure of Major Chetwode at his car showroom in York, he believes Chetwode is some sort of government agent keeping him under surveillance during the royal visit. When Chetwode then asks Branson some odd questions over drinks at the King’s Arms pub in the village, Branson suspects that it is in fact Chetwode who is a danger to the King, although he keeps his thoughts to himself.
‘Allen Leech is a good friend and like my brother, so much so that sometimes he’ll come up and pinch my arm just to annoy me. But it is such fun working with your mates – it’s just the best job in the world.’
Michelle Dockery
Branson�
��s suspicions, however, are confirmed at the royal parade the next day. Tom follows Chetwode as the parade passes through the village and heroically manages to wrestle him to the ground just before he tries to shoot the King on horseback. ‘That makes a good turn in the film,’ says Allen. ‘Everyone had him wrong. Tom was actually looking after the family, and because of that looked after the royal family at the same time.’
Having saved the life of the King at the parade, Branson also unwittingly helps the King’s daughter, Princess Mary, when they talk in the grounds of the house. He is entirely unaware of her status – and would probably be less in awe of her than others might be if he did know – and she is touched and interested to hear about the compromises he’s made in living at Downton.
‘We were a family for six years and you go away, do your own thing for three years, and you come back and you almost pick up conversations that you left off exactly three years ago. It’s great.’
Allen Leech
Branson also impresses another person connected with the royals, namely Lucy Smith, the maid of Lady Bagshaw. There is an instant spark of romance between the two – strengthened by the fact that they have both entered the aristocratic world by irregular means – she as the secret illegitimate daughter of Lady Bagshaw and Branson as a chauffeur. As Allen says, ‘Lucy is someone whose life is about to be turned upside down in a similar way that Branson’s was. He immediately feels an attraction to her, but also an affiliation with her situation. The irony is, however, that if he were ever to marry Lucy, these two outsiders would inherit the estate of Lady Bagshaw; which under normal circumstances would have passed to Lord Grantham – not that Branson is motivated by any of this.
Just as the Crawley family have warmed to Branson, so have we the viewers – he deserves love again and we hope that he’s finally found it. As Allen says, ‘It’s what I think the fans would want and we wanted to make sure that Branson had an opportunity to find happiness again.’
Branson: ‘I wish you could dance with me.’
The attire for men at the dinner with the royal couple at Downton and the ball at Harewood is ‘court dress’, which means ‘white tie’ from the waist up, with black breeches, knee-length silk stockings and court shoes below. To recreate the look, the wardrobe department referred to paintings and photographs of George V. They also used various books on etiquette and dress from the time and liaised with the historical advisor, Alastair Bruce.
‘It is a bit of a challenge getting back into the white tie and tails, with collars that are like razor blades. I can’t imagine how they managed to have relaxed evenings when they had what feels like a piece of steel down the front of their chest.’
Hugh Bonneville
VIOLET, DOWAGER COUNTESS of GRANTHAM
Maggie Smith
The family matriarch, Violet, the Dowager Countess, has always fiercely protected the Crawley family and its estate. She is a firm believer in the rules of social hierarchy and as such her allegiance to the King and Queen is unshakeable. More problematic is her opinion of the Queen’s lady-in-waiting Lady Bagshaw, whom we discover is a relation of the Crawleys but who has mysteriously cut herself off from the family.
It emerges that Lord Grantham is in fact the rightful heir to Maud Bagshaw’s estate, although Violet suspects she is to write Robert out of her will. Incensed by the very thought of this, the former mistress of Downton Abbey is set to fight tooth and claw for what she believes is rightfully her son’s. Her eventual showdown with Maud proves predictably feisty, particularly when Violet discovers that Maud’s maid is her chosen heir. Violet rages – ‘… you are clearly insane! You should be in an asylum!’
Fortunately for everyone, Isobel steps in, having worked out for herself Lady Bagshaw’s secret – that Lucy is in fact Maud’s illegitimate daughter – and advises Maud to tell Violet. When Violet is enlightened, she doesn’t approve but she understands the situation and instead resolves to encourage the blossoming union between Tom and Lucy, having not quite given up the fight to get Brompton Park back ‘for Tom at least’.
Violet: ‘To treat your maid as a blood relation is to unpick every fibre of the English way of life.’
The whole affair illustrates just how formidable a foe Violet can be, although she is not as shocked by Lady Bagshaw’s predicament as one might expect, hinting that she is a little more worldly than others give her credit for. Born in 1842, Violet would have had a strait-laced Victorian upbringing, but over the years she has had to adjust to changes and potential scandal within her own family – her granddaughter Sybil married Branson when he was just the family chauffeur, while Edith went on to have an illegitimate daughter, Marigold. Violet ultimately embraces both within the family (although she still hasn’t quite got over the passing of white tie and tiaras at dinner). In the final season, we also discovered that Violet once had a brief love affair with a Russian prince, a tantalising glimpse of her younger days.
Beneath her haughty demeanour, Violet does have a softer side and will go to great lengths to ensure the happiness of those she holds dear. Despite her initial misgivings about Isobel, who has a far more liberal view of the world than the Dowager Countess, Violet has grown fond of the plain-speaking Lady Merton and has proved a staunch support for her friend, although the two still seem to delight in their verbal spats. Isobel works hard to get Violet and Lady Bagshaw together so they can discuss their dispute over the Brompton estate, which Violet acknowledges, although she sees it as more of an opportunity to have Lady Bagshaw ‘cornered’.
Violet’s sharp tongue and her witty one-liners are defining characteristics of the Dowager Countess – never more so than in the film, which includes a wealth of such examples. Julian Fellowes of course writes the wonderful lines that Maggie Smith, who has won a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Violet, delivers so perfectly – it’s a combination that makes for exquisite drama. As Julian himself has said, he asks a lot of Maggie as an actress, as she is required to make the viewers laugh and cry, sometimes in the same scene, which she does to remarkable effect in her touching scene with Mary at the ball.
Above all else, Violet is committed to her family, and entrusts the future of Downton Abbey to her granddaughter Mary. In the film’s most poignant scene, she confesses to Mary that she does not have long to live and that it is Mary who must take over when she is gone: ‘You are the best of me that will live on’. On the brink of the grave, as she puts it, Violet allows herself a little sentimentality with Mary, but refuses to wallow in self-pity – she has never been one to burden anyone with her own grief. ‘The point is, I’ll be fine until I’m not. That’s all there is to it,’ she says as she and Mary leave to join the ball – the past and future chatelaines of Downton Abbey.
Mary: ‘You know you’ll always be with us, Granny, staring from every picture, talking from every book, as long as the house stands.’
Violet: ‘Sounds very exhausting. Do you know, I think I should prefer to rest in peace.’
Isobel: ‘And you’re an expert in the matter?’
Violet: ‘Oh, I’m an expert in every matter.’
Violet has maintained a certain style throughout Downton, with a length of skirt that always reaches the ground, a high neck and full-length sleeves. While her silhouette has remained more or less unchanged over the years, her fabric has evolved to include the occasional art-deco-inspired pattern.
For the final scenes with Violet and Mary, Anna Robbins wanted their costumes to work almost as a mirror image of each other – Mary being the future of Downton and Violet its past. Violet is dressed in a beautiful pale blue, slightly faded dress with detailed metallic lace and soft chiffon, her palette more muted. In contrast, Mary is in black and white, a strong monochromatic look, as she moves into the future.
MICHAEL ENGLER
Director
The director Michael Engler had worked on episodes of the last two television seasons of Downton Abbey, and now welcomed the opportunity to direct the movie. ‘My approac
h to Downton Abbey as a film was that for the large screen it should have scope, a cinematic integrity with a more ambitious scale. For TV you rely more on close-ups, whereas for the wider screen you can increase the scale of the scenes themselves, adding more crowd scenes, splendour and more of a gala atmosphere.’
‘To shoot a typical scene, particularly a big one like the ball, we’ll first gather everyone together and get to know the location if they’ve not been in it before. People can raise their concerns or thoughts, and we’ll then rehearse the scene in the space, running through the lines.’ This allows the director and actors to establish how the scenes will work, and at that point the director might pass on notes to the actors to help their performances – such as what a character might be thinking or feeling or where they are in the story.
Once the scene feels right, the actors might be sent away to have the final touches on their hair and make-up, while the director, cinematographer and the rest of production team start to break the scene down into how it will be filmed, the best shots and in what order. If the lighting hasn’t been prepped before, then this will be done and finalised ready for filming. Often the director has already planned out the scene carefully, which he’ll explain to the actors and they’ll then make adjustments as they go long. The actors then might be called back to set for another quick run-through in front of the camera, until a bell signals for quiet and the first assistant director shouts: ‘Shooting!’ At this point the camera rolls and filming has begun.
Downton Abbey Page 4