(From IMDb.com)

My dear wife Karen did not want me to go into Downton Abbey fully uninitiated.

She also didn’t want to lecture me on the ins and outs of the good (and not so good) people who inhabit that big house on the other side of the pond before we sat down to watch the Blu-Ray in our living room. She had watched the TV series via Netflix, on her iPad, solo, and was convinced I needed a primer. So she found a 10-minute video on said iPad.

I was introduced to many characters. OK, I was somewhat confused with the flyby, but was ready to go.

Two hours, two minutes later, I was glad for the shared experience.

Good movie, this drama-comedy directed by Michael Engler from the screenplay by John Fellowes.

Oh, what an interesting cast of characters. I’m talking about the people who inhabit that big house in the factitious past, for sure. This story has the Talbots and Crawleys preparing and living through a visit from the King and Queen. Holy cow! They are but a small piece of the kingdom, but oh how they see and hear the rules. The staff, too, gets a wicked dose of regulations, and just follow or not.

The cast of actors and actresses is superb, yes, from Maggie Smith playing the true rapscallion of the estate and family to Hugh Bonneville and Elizabeth McGovern to the lord and lady of the manor.

A good life, yes. (From IMDb.com)

It’s a fight, to tie together the old traditions and things to come. Generations hang on it.

The play between the classes and sexes and families is fine indeed.

The story got me, so very well.

Good movie, this.