Since I was totally out of my element, I asked Dana to offer some commentary and context to the movie, though after about 30 minutes of “Who’s this?” and “Why are they important?” and “Are they related?” she grew weary of my company and said I just needed to keep quiet and try to keep up. To the uninitiated, A New Era is a crash course in learning about the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their domestic servants in the post-Edwardian era and their doings at the family’s Yorkshire country estate of Downton Abbey. There are loads of characters and seasons’ worth of backstory and complex relationships, and jumping in is just a bit less complicated than keeping up with the families and backstabbing among the family houses of Game of Thrones—but with none of GoT’s sex, violence, (literal) backstabbing, or dragons. 

A couple of years have passed since the events of 2019’s film, and the Crawleys are getting ready to head into the 1930s. There are essentially three separate stories going on, and it feels like there’s a lot of jumping and cutting back and forth between the different subplots. I imagine some of this is fan service, as it’s difficult to give a cast this large any meaningful screen time, even with Era’s 124-minute runtime, and trying to give the major characters something interesting and compelling to do. Even so, Dana complained that many of the servants don’t play as big a role, Mr. Bates (Brendan Coyle) and Mrs. Hughes (Phyllis Logan) are barely in the movie, and Lady Mary’s (Michelle Dockery) husband, Henry Talbot, is completely absent.

The film opens with Tom Branson (Allen Leech) marrying Lucy Smith (Tuppence Middleton), which I gather from Dana is a relationship fans have been following. This also blossoms into the big subplot of why a villa in the south of France has been mysteriously willed to Violet Crawley (Maggie Smith) by the recently deceased Marquis de Montmirail. Violet is the Dowager Countess of Grantham, which basically means she doesn’t own the mansion but kind of runs the show and everyone walks around in fear of her. (My six-year-old asked, “Is the she Queen?”) Dana was happy Violet is back after hinting at a serious illness in the last movie. The Dowager intends to leave this villa to her great-granddaughter, Sybbie (Fifi Hart), who is Tom’s daughter from his marriage to Sybil Crawley. To get to the bottom of this “Why did the Marquis leave you his villa?” intrigue, Lord Robert Grantham (Hugh Bonneville) and his wife Lady Cora (Elizabeth McGovern), along with ex-butler/faithful manservant Mr. Carson (Jim Carter) and others travel to the villa.

The second plot involves a crew coming to shoot a silent film at Downton, the income from which will help pay for upkeep of the house and cover replacing the abbey’s leaking roof. This gives the film an opportunity to introduce new characters and relationships, including director Jack Barker (Hugh Dancy), and stars Guy Dexter (Dominic West) and Myrna Dalgeish (Laura Haddock). Lady Mary stays behind to deal with the production, and Downton’s “new” butler Thomas Barrow (Robert James-Collier) must attend to the staff and juggle the demands of the cast. Oh, and adding to the drama, the production company wants to pull the plug because silent films aren’t making money any longer and they only want to fund talking pictures. 

There’s a third story about another couple—Andy (Michael Fox) and Daisy Parker (Sophie McShera)—and a family house or something that honestly didn’t seem really important. But, if you’re a Downton fan, I’m sure you’ll pick right up on it, and Dana commented she liked that they were happily together.  Ultimately, Dana felt there were too many little plot twists, and that they tried to cram too much in, give everyone happy endings, and tie up loose strings in case this is the last movie.

The technical specs say New Era was shot on Sony CineAlta Venice 6K cameras, with no listing of the resolution of the digital intermediate for the 4K HDR transfer. I found the picture quality to be mostly terrific, especially in closeups or long establishing shots. During the opening scenes both inside and outside the wedding, faces are held in clear, sharp focus as the camera pans through the pews of attendees and crowds. Outdoor scenes look lovely, especially the beautiful exterior shots in the south of France, with white walls, emerald-green grass, vibrant blue waters and skies, and colorful boats and walls. Some long establishing shots either of castles or groups of people had great depth of field and focus, letting you see nearly every leaf and branch on a tree, but when the focus changed to a foreground character it could turn the background to mush.

With the enhanced sharpness, clarity, and resolution, it has never been easier to appreciate the fabrics and finery of the set dressing. You can really see the rich interiors of the mansion and practically feel the sumptuous fabrics and textures on clothing and furniture. Closeups reveal the intricate detail of wood carvings and stonework or the fine checks, tweeds, plaids, and patterns in clothing. 

The HDR grade certainly isn’t aggressive but designed to give images a natural, lifelike quality. There are some nice interior scenes with deep shadows from lamps or the glow of lights from under shades, and some extra pop to the gleaming whites of men’s shirts, vests, and bowties.

While the Kaleidescape download includes a lossless Dolby TrueHD Atmos soundtrack, don’t expect this to be a title you queue up to wow guests. Much of the sound is restricted to the center channel with a bit of left/right spread, with the surround channels used sparingly and mainly reserved for bits of outdoor atmospherics like the twittering of birds, rustling of wind, and far-off voices in crowds. The score is also spread out beyond the front channels, expanding the soundstage. There was a scene with some background rain and thunder with rain pattering down overhead that actually engaged the height channels, but suffice to say, this isn’t the stuff of sonic demos. Downton is primarily a dialogue-driven film, and fortunately the speaking is clear and anchored to the center channel, though it can be a tad forward-sounding at times. 

Honestly, even though the plot didn’t do much for me as a non fan, Downton was beautiful to watch and appreciate for all the attention that went into crafting its look. Also, I know this is a series my wife likes to revisit, so having it available in our library at best quality means it will likely get a rewatch or two.