Category: Drama

Pain and Glory (Dolor Y Gloria)

Rated: MA15+Pain and Glory

Written and Directed by: Pedro Almodóvar

Produced by: Agustín Almodóvar

Executive Producer: Esther García

Original score: Alberto Iglesias

Director of photography: José Luis Alcaine

Starring: Antonio Banderas, Asier Etxeandia, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Nora Navas, Julieta Serrano, César Vicente, Asier Flores, Penélope Cruz.

Spanish with English subtitles.

‘If you don’t write or film, what do you do?’

‘Live, I guess.’

Pain and Glory is a drama, a life story shown in monologue and intimate conversation.

Salvador Mallo’s (Antonio Banderas) life is filled with patterns and colours, water and tiles, suspension and scars.

The story of the film circles his life as he remembers teaching a young builder to read and write when he was growing up in the catacombs with his mother, as he remembers his career writing and making films and the past disagreements with friend and actor, Alberto (Asier Etxeandia) whom he hasn’t seen since the premiere of his most successful film thirty-two years ago.

He remembers as the pain of his ailments take pieces from him, his back pain, his migraines, his choking – he can’t create anymore, but he can remember.

This is a film that bleeds the present and the past so the trigger of smoking heroin with the man described, ‘You’re the opposite side of that text,’ Salvador falls, taking him back to the time when he experienced his first desire, his first love, the escape from the ‘bad ring’ of Madrid, to get away from the temptations of addiction to Havana and the Ivory Coast.

But sometimes, love isn’t enough.

He has no regrets.  To recover from his past, he writes the story.

So the past and present are intertwined like his writing translated into this film.

Director and writer, Pedro Almodóvar has taken pieces from his own life, translating them into the film like the character Salvador makes films about his past.

The hair, the setting of the apartment the same as the man himself, Pedro.

Antonio Banderas has just won the Cannes 2019 Best Actor Award (the film selected to compete for the Palme d’Or) for his performance here.  And I can see why.  He just seems to get better with age.  His humble sincerity a warmth felt through the screen.  He’s endearing.

And there’s more to the film than a character study as the scenes cut from the bright sun shining through the exposed roof of the catacomb house, to the animation of red broken lines like the branches of a tree exploding in the drawn lines of a brain, a contrast to the quiet suffering of a man embarrassed of his pain, refusing to allow his housekeeper to tie his laces, wearing loafers, catching taxis, lying in the dark.

But there are no complaints as he loses himself in memory.

This isn’t a sad film, more a poignant tale of all the darkness and light in life – sad and happy and true.

The overriding feeling I got from this film was grateful: life can be cruel, but it can also be kind.

Fisherman’s Friends

Rated: MFisherman's Friends

Directed by: Chris Foggin

Written by: Piers Ashworth, Meg Leonard, Nick Moorcroft

Produced by: Meg Leonard, Nick Moorcroft, James Spring

Music by: Rupert Christie

Cinematography by: Simon Tindall

Starring: Daniel Mays, James Purefoy, David Hayman, Dave Johns, Sam Swainsbury, Tuppence Middleton and Joel Clarke.

‘Never under any circumstances say, “Rabbit”.’

Revelling in Port Isaac for Henry’s (Christian Brassington) stag weekend, the London boys, Danny (Daniel Mays), Driss (Vahid Gold) and music exec and boss, Troy (Noel Clarke) are ready for some larger and yachting.  Until they end up stranded at sea and getting ‘quite burnt’.

It’s up to the local Search And Rescue to fish to them to safety.  Ironic being the crew are the local fishermen.

It’s like two different worlds collide: the city boys who own country estates and work for a record label and fishermen who risk their lives every day and sing sea shanties.

When the London boys come across their rescuers singing in the town square, boss Troy thinks it’ll be hilarious tasking Danny with signing the group to their label.  Only for Danny to see more than just crusty fishermen signing, he hears history in their voices.

‘What’s that song?’ Danny asks Alwyn (Tuppence Middleton), the daughter of man-of-few-words, the words never wrong, Jim (James Purefoy) – ‘That’s the rock’n’roll of 1752.’

Based on a true story, Fisherman’s Friends is about the discovery of these ten men, and the journey from singing to raise money for the village Lifeboat Association to a million pound record deal with Universal Music, a top-ten album and playing the Pyramid stage at the world famous Glastonbury Festival.

But there’s more to these crusty sailors than a fine set of pipes.  There’s the history, the proud Cornwell folk defining those on this side of the river Tamar, and them on the other side – like the emmets (the Cornish word for ants): those who come across and are a pain to get rid of.

There’s some PG humour that doesn’t get too carried away, to keep the boat floating along the storyline – see what I did there?  Yep, that’s me getting carried away with the nautical theme because I enjoyed the ride, damn it.

The film reminded me of the songs we’d sing in primary school (What Shall We Do With A Drunken Sailor included) and dancing to folk music with kids from other local schools.  And the gymkhana with the bag pipes and dog jumping competition.

It reminded me about community and generations of families buried in the same cemetery and knowing a place.  Really knowing a place and people knowing you.

So rather than the underdogs winning and signing to that record label, there’s thought to place and where we stand in it and being able to take a man by his own merit.  Including Jago (David Hayman), Port Isaac’s number one bingo caller.  Bless him.

So yeah, I got a little swept away in the story.

And the guys did a good with the singing, no ‘taking the piss’ required.

Blinded By The Light

Rated: PGBlinded By The Light

Directed by: Gurinder Chadha O. B. E, Paul Mayeda Berges

Written by: Gurinder Chadha O.B.E, Paul Mayeda Berges,

Based on the book, ‘Greetings from Bury Park (2007)’ written by: Sarfraz Manzoor

Produced by: Gurinder Chadha O.B.E, Jane Barclay, Jamal Daniel

Executive Producer: Paul Mayeda Berges

Starring: Viveik Kalra, Kulvinder Ghir, Meera Ganatra, Hayley Atwell, Aaron Phagura, Nell Williams, David Hayman, Dean Charles Chapman, Tara Divina, Rob Brydon MBE and Jeff Mirza.

‘Tell the world something it needs to hear.’  That’s what Javed’s (Viveik Kalra) English teacher (Hayley Atwell) tells him.

And Javed has plenty to say being a Pakistani growing up in Luten in the 80s.

He writes poems in his diary.  He just doesn’t think anyone’s ever going to understand him.  Until Roops (Aaron Phagura) lends him two cassette tapes of The Boss himself: Bruce Springsteen.

I walked into, Blinded By The Light thinking there was going to be more comedy; and there’s some funny moments with the 80s style used well like the revelation of a hideous t-shirt described part Princess Diana and part Tina Turner…

But this is 80s England, with Thatcher in the midst of her third term, millions out of jobs and racism rampant.

It’s hard enough being a teenager without seeing some racist bastard pissing through the mail slot of the front door or spitting in your face.

The film’s also about family; the authoritative father, the trying to break away from all the expectations of parents and living in a home that has very different rules and expectations than the other kids in school.

I got reflective.  And a little teary, I admit.

I was never exposed to The Boss growing up and never chose to seek out his music.  Now, I seem to be coming across him a lot (see, Thunder Road).

The more I come across this guy, the more I realise the effect he’s had on people’s lives.

I grew up in the country.  I know what it feels like to be trapped, to feel so weak you want ‘to burn down the town’

And like this expression, Blinded By The Light uses the music and especially the lyrics of Bruce Springsteen to give voice to Javed.

It’s like the music is speaking, just to him.  Saying, singing everything he’s feeling so Javed sings the words to the girl he has a crush on (Nell Williams), to the people in his way as he runs with his mate and fellow fan, Roops from the school after they’ve set Springsteen playing over the school sound system, because yes, this is a musical, but it’s a hybrid of a musical because instead of using Springsteen just as a soundtrack, Javed sings Springsteen’s lyrics like a dialogue to say how he’s feeling instead of just, saying how he’s feeling.

So I guess, yeah it’s a musical.

It sounds like it would look stupid (the storm scene and discovery of Dancing in the Dark more like theatre than film), yet Viveik Kalra as Javed is such a sweetie, he gets away with it.  And I appreciated the text on screen to show the lyrics to make sure the message was understood by the audience.  I admit I didn’t realise Springsteen was so deep:

Blow away the dreams that tear you apart Blow away the dreams that break your heart

Blow away the lies that leave you nothing but lost and brokenhearted

The dogs on Main Street howl

‘Cause they understand

If I could take one moment into my hands Mister I ain’t a boy, no I’m a man

And I believe in a promised land.

I feel like there are a lot of these musical hybrid films around lately and I wasn’t completely convinced about The Boss obsession would make such a difference to a person’s life.  That’s my cynicism speaking.  Because the film is based on the true story and novel, ‘Greetings from Bury Park’ written by Sarfraz Manzoor.

Springsteen has read the book.  After meeting Manzoor he said he loved the book and was happy for the film to be made.  Seriously, what a legend.

Judy

Rated: MJudy

Directed by: Rupert Goold

Written by: Tom Edge

Produced by: David Livingstone

Starring: Renée Zellweger, Finn Wittrock, Jessie Buckley, Rufus Sewell.

I’ve often wondered how those lucky souls who have an inborn gift, the ones who are so effortlessly feted and adored, so often come undone. So badly.

For Judy Garland (Renée Zellweger) there was a price for ‘earning a million dollars before you’re twenty one’, and the dark side of her gift slowly becomes apparent as she vainly searches for a way to leave London and return home to her children.

Shown in a combination of flashbacks and flash-forwards, the movie alternates between a fifteen-year-old Garland filming, The Wizard of Oz and the final months of her life spent performing in London at the height of the swinging 60s, with surprisingly close parallels between the two very distant eras of her life and her role in the famous film.

When the Judy opens, Garland is strolling through the set of ‘the yellow brick road’ with a faceless studio executive. She’s not sure that she is ready to take on the role of Dorothy Gale and the man in the grey suit, while appearing to have her best interests at heart, is slyly grooming her, as he both soothes and at the same time subtly threatens: ‘Judy, you give those people dreams . . . ‘The rest of America is waiting to swallow you up’.

Winning the role away from Shirley Temple, Garland finds that her contract has reduced her to nothing more than studio property, at times working up to eighteen hours a day and watched over by a pair of the studio’s henchwomen. Beneath the pair’s unforgiving gaze, even sneaking a single fried onion ring, or maybe two, as she sits in a café attempting to flirt with Mickey Rooney is taken as a serious breach of the rules. Lonely, sleep deprived and starving, the price of Garland’s success is to wage a war on her body that denies the most basic of human needs. And to ensure that her needs stay denied, the Wicked Witch of the West and her eagle-eyed sister are prepared to do whatever it takes: whisking away hunger with amphetamines and granting sleep with barbiturates.

In any contest, the man in the grey suit was always going to win.

Flash forward thirty years and Garland is alone in the bathroom of her hotel suite, unable to finish dressing and barely able to raise a croak from her damaged vocal chords. She is a broken woman. It takes a fairly brutal shove from her production assistant Rosalyn Wylder (Jessie Buckley) to get her onto the stage. But when the lights come up and the beat counts in, Judy sings. And the audience is entranced. Until the lights are dimmed, when once again she is a broken woman surviving on pills and unable to sleep.

While Garland might have been one of the first to succumb to America’s amphetamine epidemic, that’s not the focus of this drama.

Woven through the story of Garland’s titanic struggle with her gift is a very personal search to find love and her pursuit of it eventually does bring a sense of what love is for her. In the title role, Renée Zellweger is unflinching and her portrayal of Judy Garland deeply affecting, while Finn Wittrock is irresistible as Garland’s dashing lover and husband number five.

Gemini Man

Rated: MGemini Man

Directed by: Ang Lee

Screenplay by: David Benioff, Billy Ray and Darren Lemke

Story by: Darren Lemke and David Benioff

Produced by: Jerry Bruckheimer, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger

Executive Produced by: Chad Oman, Mike Stenson, Guo Guangchang, Brian Bell, Don Murphy

Starring: Will Smith, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clive Owen and Benedict Wong.

Viewed in 3D+ (120 FPS)

After 72 kills, Henry Brogen (Will Smith) feels like his soul hurts.

It’s time to retire from the DIA and find something else he’s good at.  Something where he feels like he can look in the mirror again.

But when he finds there are complications to his last assignment, Clay Verris (Clive Owens), head of the shadow group who turn soldiers into killers, AKA Gemini, isn’t going to make retirement an option: soldiers who grow old and discover they have a conscience are no longer viable. Clay stating: ‘Mutts like Henry were born to be collateral damage.’

Clay had planned ahead, cloning the best in the business so when Henry outlasts his use, there will be someone to take his place: Junior.

With Agent Danny Zakarweski (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) by his side, Henry fights for his life against the only adversary good enough to stand a chance at beating him – his younger self.

From Belgium to Colombia to Hungry, director Ang Lee has set up some amazing shots featuring motor bike acrobatics, intense fight scenes and explosions, all good action while leaving the violence implied (hence the M rating rather than the MA15+).

But the real point of difference is the tech.  Not only is Junior a computer-generated creation (by Weta Digital), the whole film is shot in 3D at 120 frames per second (instead of the usual 60).

That extra resolution isn’t a gimic either.  I have never watched anything so clear, so pristine.

I was glad the bloody was kept to a minimum as it would have been too much.

Instead, Ang Lee uses the tech to show shots underwater, looking up, and spits of sparks off helmets as bullets ricotte, as kerosene tins blow and to see those fight scenes between Henry and his clone so you feel like you’re right there with them.

What surprised me was how that clarity left no room for discord or error in the acting.  There is absolutely no where to hide so any false expression or off-key moment would have shouted through the screen.

Instead we get Mary Elizabeth Winstead as the very likeable side-kick, Agent Danny; and Clive Owens as the fierce villain, Verris.

And Will is at his finest here, his sincerity coming through clear, his skill as a killer shot coming through like his role as Deadshot in Suicide Squad.

The more I see this guy, the more I like him.

It has to be said some of the humour felt like filler for the dialogue.  Just a bit – more, I’m-happy-go-lucky in a tight spot and that’s funny, rather than, jokey jokes.  If you get what I mean.  Which probably fit the tone of the film which gets borderline soft cheese with that added bit of drama.

But I enjoyed the film.  And really got into the  visual difference on screen.

Ang even goes so far as to include a scene that shows a set used as a military exercise, shooting and explosions, to show the difference between fake and his actual movie that looked more genuine and authentic.  Tricky stuff!

The whole film is filled with tricky that successfully leads to an entertaining movie.

Hustlers

Rated: MA15+Hustlers

Written and Directed by: Lorene Scarfaria

Inspired by the Article Published in New York Magazine, “The Hustlers at Scores”, Written by, Jessica Pressler

Produced by: Jennifer Lopez, Benny Medina, Will Ferrell, Adam McKay

Executive Producers: Robert Simonds, Adam Fogelson, Megan Ellison, Alex Brown, Pamela Thur

Starring: Constance Wu, Jennifer Lopez, Julia Stiles, Keke Palmer, Lili Reinhart, Mercedes Ruehl, Cardi B, Lizzo, Mette Towley, Madeline Brewer and Trace Lysette.

Destiny (Costance Wu) – definitely a stripper name – is the new girl.

She’s followed the green brick road, all the way to the city.

She’s got some moves, but nothing like Ramona (Jennifer Lopez) who has Wall Street guys throwing fists full of cash on to the stage as she performs moves like the carousel, fireman, front hook, ankle-hook, and stag (It has to be noted Jennifer Lopez had to train for six months to be able to pull-off the pole dancing moves in this film which says something about the athleticism required to be a good stripper…).

Destiny could learn a thing or two from Ramona.

And literally taking Destiny under the cover of her fur jacket, together they make a bodacious, money-making partnership – until the dreaded financial crash on September 29, 2008.

When all the money disappears, the girls have gotta get creative.  Cut a few corners.

They gotta hustle those Wall Street guys, clean out their bank accounts by any means possible; and then, keep them coming back.

It’s a fun ride watching these guys get fleeced.  But also a little sickening, demonstrated by youngest member of the crew, Annabelle and her puking whenever things get real, or even just a little stressful.

It’s a world of hustle or be hustled.  A world based on the true story written by Jessica Pressler, in her article, “The Hustlers at Scores”.

We see the reality of stripping, the behind the curtain in the dressing room moments where being sexy for a living doesn’t necessarily mean there’s always sex – one stripper admitting she hasn’t had sex for two years, while another introduces the girls to her new boyfriend, a pink vibrator.

And sure it’s about the money, about the shopping, but also about Destiny not wanting to rely on anyone and wanting to look after her Grandmother.  And Ramona wanting to look after her daughter, to give her everything – she even admits that motherhood is a mental illness that will make you do anything for your child.

It’s all anyone wants.

And in America, where those who hustle get rewarded, where banks who rip off the little people get let off because they’re too big to fall – stripping, stealing, hustling sure beats making minimum wage.

Director and writer Lorene Scarfaria doesn’t let the whole stripper thing get in the way of a good drama or try too hard with the sexy stuff.  It’s more about the tongue-in-cheek humour and friendship between Destiny and Ramona and following a path to get what you want not realising how dark that path is.  It’s survival.  It’s all dark.

Ad Astra

Rated: MAd Astra

Directed by: James Gray

Written by: James Gray & Ethan Gross

Produced by: Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, p.g.a., Jeremy Kleiner, p.g.a., James Gray, p.g.a., Anthony Katagas, p.g.a., Rodrigo Teixeira, p.g.a., Arnon Milchan

Starring: Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Liv Tyler, and Donald Sutherland.

‘I will not be vulnerable,’ says Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) in a monologue that threads the story of the film together; it’s a voice that measures the thought processing behind those blue eyes with green specks.  A thought-process hidden, because the person Roy shows to others is a performance, ‘my eye always on the exit.’

Set in the near future, Ad Astra is a mystery set in space, the story based in commercialised space travel to the moon, to rockets that blast toward the human inhabitants of Mars, to go further, for Roy to reach Neptune in search of his father who began the Lima Project thirty years before; his father’s purpose: to find evidence of extra-terrestrial life.

Instead of science fiction and the practicalities of space travel or even the exploration of physics to understand human existence, Ad Astra, at its heart, is a drama.

There was plenty of opportunity to get technical, but the film skips over the science behind the impending disaster from outer space so the story jumps while the movement in space is slow and calculated.

So although there’s a disturbing beauty to the tense moments of guns fired from space rovers and visually stunning scenes of a reflection of darkness across the orange visor of a helmet that looks like a faceless being, I felt like the story was missing the factual backbone to hold up the idea of the mysterious father figure who has dedicated his life to science and space exploration.

Ad Astra is not a journey into space but for Roy to find his way back to humanity.

The story circles around to give some satisfaction, to be able to, Let go.

And there’s so much going for the film with the build of tension with the low vibrating soundtrack of a siren; with those crime thriller moments set in space with the slow danger of being in an environment with toxic air, without gravity – in a place no other living Being has ever been found.

But for me, those amazing moments of suspense combined with the beauty of space on the big screen would have been so much more astounding if the story dug just a bit deeper into the physics of the environment – that would have made the film more believable while adding that extra layer to the drama of the story.

Still, an interesting change in pace that adds a mysterious twist to the thriller genre.

Rambo: Last Blood

Rated: R18+Rambo: Last Blood

Directed by: Adrian Grunberg

Screenplay by: Matthew Cirulnick & Sylvester Stallone

Story by: Sylvester Stallone

Based on: The Character Created by: David Morrell

Produced by: Avi Lerner, Kevin King Templeton, Yariv Lerner, Les Weldon

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Paz Vega, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, Adrianna Barraza, Yvette Monreal, Genie Kim aka Yenah Han, Joaquin Cosio, and Oscar Jaenada.

Rambo: Last Blood isn’t the past coming back to haunt – although Rambo is now suffering from severe PTSD – this final instalment (the sixth in the series) is more a classic revenge film with lots of blood and guts and yes, there’s a broken bone through the skin moment for all those fans who remember, First Blood.  A moment I’ll never forget from way back in 1982.

Here, we have the opening on a big storm, a big man, on a big horse.  It doesn’t take long to realise there’s going to be some kitschy moments in this action flick; the dramatic moments highlighted by the over-emotive soundtrack (to make up for the drama completely missing the mark, again and again).  It never works.

And when there’s a, ‘Hey mister – thanks,’ in the first ten minutes, there’s always cause for concern.

Yet, Last Blood wasn’t all bad.

Coming home to the ranch we have Maria (Adriana Barraza) – the grandmother of sweet-but-growing-up and Rambo’s niece, Gabrielle (Yvette Monreal) – who gives the tone of the film some warmth with gems like, ‘You’re not in the war anymore.  Only in your head.’

And the travelling to Mexico changes the pace of the film where Rambo meets some super bad-ass guys leading to hammer wielding Rambo action that sits up and gets the adrenaline running through the old fella’s veins again.

Sylvester returning as John Rambo looks more monster than man, the visage used as a mask while he’s ‘just trying to keep a lid on it,’ the ‘it’ his soul-destroying rage.

‘You like digging and you’re a little crazy,’ says his niece but really adopted daughter, Gabrielle.  She gets it.

Instead of heading into cheesy territory, the film gets bloody with some dark nasty moments involving forced prostitution and drugs and of course, revenge.

It’s all just so serious, Rambo is so serious that there’s moments I just had to laugh to relieve the tension.  But it wasn’t even tension, more that Rambo was acting traumatised but not quite hitting the right tone.

So, some of the film worked with some surprising action.  And some of the dramatic didn’t, ultimately leaving a feeling of the film being self-indulgent.

Abominable

Rated: GAbominable

Written and Directed by: Jill Culton

Produced by: Suzanne Buirgy

Producer: Peilin Chou

Executive Producers: Tim Johnson, Frank Zhu, Li Ruigang

Starring: Chloe Bennet, Tenzing Norgay Trainor, Albert Tsai, Eddie Izzard, Sarah Paulson, Tsai Chin, Michelle Wong.

Yi (Chloe Bennet) lives in an apartment in a busy Chinese city with her mum and grandma.

She keeps herself busy; too busy to play with her neighbour, all braces and squeaky-voiced, Peng (Albert Tsai), and Jin (Tenzing Norgay Trainor) who is typically teen self-obsessed.

Because if she stops for a moment, then she’ll remember her dad is gone.

The only time Yi allows herself to remember her dad is when playing violin.  And that’s when she meets Everest – up on the rooftop where the yeti is hiding from the people who had captured him and kept him in a cage.

On the run from the bug-eyed and rich explorer Burnish (Eddie Izzard) and zoologist Dr. Zara (Sarah Paulson), the trio decide to take Everest back home.  Back to the Himalayas.  And so the adventure begins.

The DreamWorks Animation team have outdone themselves, the trailer for Abominable not translating just how majestic the film is on the big screen.  There were so many times I said, ‘Amazing’ and ‘Wow’ from watching the trio of kids and yeti ride a wave of yellow blossoms to see raindrops fall to the earth to unfurl into flowers.  And not just a few times, the film is just one wonderful moment after another.

It’s the detail and captured behaviour in those details of even the small characters that delights – ‘You just darted Dave!’ from a gun-for-hire; and the grandmother captured so well with her constant, ‘that’s what I say’.

And there’s an intricate story here about family and grief but also about the magic of nature where, ‘It’s amazing how small you feel, just looking up.’

Where there are those who appreciate nature and those who want to cut it down and take it home.

‘I own that yeti,’ says the brutish Burnish.

And the yeti, Everest was not abominable but adorable with his underbite and puppy-like behaviour.

I love that furry critter!

And so did my nephews who enjoyed the film just as much as I did; one asking if I was OK at one point because I was a little teary with the sweetness of it all.  I even got a hug.

Funny and sweet and beautifully realised, Abominable is a real treat.

Downton Abbey

Rated: PGDownton Abbey

Directed by: Michael Engler

Written by: Julian Fellowes

Produced by: Gareth Neame, Julian Fellowes, Liz Trubridge

Co-Produced by: Mark Hubbard

Executive Produced by: Nigel Marchant, Brian Percival

Starring: Maggie Smith, Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Imelda Staunton,Tuppence Middleton, Joanne Froggatt, Allen Leech, Jim Carter.

It’s 1927, the roaring twenties. English-style. The Charleston is an underground dance craze and the plots and schemes are swirling, above and below stairs.

Beginning with the nib of a fountain pen as it traces a loop in glossy, black ink, the opening scene follows the byzantine logistics of a royal missive. With the precision of finely-tuned clockwork, the envelope then travels from steam train to a maze of narrow backstairs corridors before it is finally placed on a silver tray and delivered to Lord Grantham (Hugh Bonneville) as he ambles down to breakfast with his favourite retriever in tow.

The king wishes to visit, even though the upstairs coterie are harbouring an Irish republican in their midst. Worse, Lord Grantham  looks set to miss out on his inheritance and Violet Crawley, the imperious and incorrigible Dowager Countess (Maggie Smith), is not prepared to stand for it. Above stairs the scene is set.

Below stairs, apart from a few minor skirmishes, all is humming along nicely. The Downton staff are thrilled to be showing off their domestic skills to the royal couple; that is, until the king’s personal valets, the king’s chef Monsieur Courbet  (Philippe Spall) and the ‘terribly scary’ royal butler (David Haig) arrive to take over the household duties and steal their moment of glory.

Although deeply miffed at the royal interlopers, the Downton staff are sufficiently cowed to stand aside. That is, until scheming pair Anna Bates (Joanne Froggatt) and her husband (Brendan Coyle ) hatch a plot: ‘We’ll meet in the wine cellar.’ Over the protests of the butler (Jim Carter), ‘it’s ‘treason’, the household staff agree to fight back, and, in so doing, find themselves rather perversely staging a minor revolution in order to perform their own cooking and waiting duties.

From the clatter of new millennium machinery to the dinging and tinkling of bells on shop counters, we are subtly drawn in to a world in transition. Not only from an era where handcrafted workmanship is giving way to the age of the machine, but to a time where the old certainties and the precisely ordered clockwork society that king and queen represent are being almost invisibly eroded from beneath. Not only are the staff getting uppity, but the women are more openly standing up to the men. Although, in the world of Downton Abbey, they’ve been arranging affairs all along.

Not that Downton Abbey sets out to deliver any type of lesson, unless that lesson be in the art of Machiavellian intrigue. Rather, the experience is a heady cocktail of tomfoolery and power moves. While some may find the setup lengthy, aficionados will appreciate the clever dialogue, the exquisite costumes, the sense of romance that perfumes the air and the devious minds at work.

When the credits rolled on opening night, the entire theatre offered up a round of applause. And that is something that doesn’t happen very often.

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