Downton and out, farewell to abbey

AFTER five seasons of television and two films, the hugely successful Downton Abbey franchise appears to be bowing out with a third film, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale (PG), out today at the Regal Picturehouse in Boroma Way, Henley.

It is the early Thirties and the Earl of Grantham (Hugh Bonneville), with his wife, Cora (Elizabeth McGovern), is pondering the future of the family seat.

With his daughter, Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery), apparently mired in a divorce scandal, things perk up with the arrival of Noël Coward (Arty Froushan).

Created and written by Julian Fellowes, directed by Simon Curtis, the film features a huge cast list, including many from the original television series such as Joanne Froggatt, Phyllis Logan, Jim Carter, Dan Stevens, Robert James-Collier, Brendan Coyle, Penelope Wilton, Lily James and Laura Carmichael.

Even Violet Crawley, played by the late Dame Maggie Smith, is represented by a dramatic oil painting overlooking the household. The film has a running time of just over two hours.

From writer Suzie Miller and director Justin Martin, the team behind Prima Facie, comes National Theatre live: Inter Alia (Encore) (15).

Where Prima Facie featured Jodie Comer as a barrister defending men against sexual assault claims, until she is floored by her own traumatic experience, in Inter Alia (15), Rosamund Pike plays Jessica Parks, a crown court judge and mother of a teenage boy, Harry (Jasper Talbot). As she and her husband, Michael (Jamie Glover) face an incident closer to home, work and personal life become intertwined.

The film, which explores tensions in modern motherhood and masculinity, has a running time of an hour and 45 minutes.

Continuing are The Roses (15) and The Thursday Murder Club (12A).