She, Professor Minerva McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor House at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the soul of every magical boy; she, Dolores Umbridge, "Airborne" The Pink Lady", every Hogwarts nightmare, including McGonagall.
In the parallel universe of the wizarding world, Professor McGonagall "turned" into the widow of a noble earl of England's wealthy family. But even though this extravagant drama has come to an end, Comrade Umbridge, who is unwilling to give up easily, still made a "comeback" in the newly released "Downton Abbey" movie, recreating the "nightmare" in the form of a distant relative.
In this battle without magic, the flames of the beacon are still strong and unique.
1. The ultimate battle of the poisonous old lady
After four years of absence, "Downton Abbey", which was finally put on the screen, introduced a new conflict line to the calm mansion life. The veteran actor Imelda Staunton, who was freshly "broken into" Tangjiatun, continued the "airborne" feeling of the "Umbridge" image, but threw her aggressive qualities to the old Countess of Grantham. A tough "opponent".
As the immortal soul pillar of the manor, the old lady played by two-time Oscar + Emmy winner Maggie Smith has continued the most talked about skill in the play - poisonous tongue. One point is mean, two points are elegant, three points are witty and four points are charming. Professor McGonagall's Tangjiatun language magic can not only silence those who are not high enough, but also make the listeners inside and outside the camera smile knowingly.
The sudden visit of the king and queen forced Mrs. Maud Bagshaw, played by Stanton, to return to Downton Abbey as a royal entourage. The point of the old lady's "fight" with this distant cousin is to make her son the heir to the childless Mrs. Bagshaw's considerable fortune. However, Maud, who has other secrets, obviously has no such intentions.
"Irony is the best performance." In the strategic preparation stage, facing the ridicule of Mrs. Isabelle Crowley and her son who fell in love and killed each other, the old lady did not show weakness, and opened her mouth like a golden sentence. Even at the dinner table with the king and queen, the old lady's spirit of complaining still couldn't sit still while watching and listening.
Of course, the old lady's never annoying "poisonous tongue" stems from her outstanding wisdom and meticulous observation. This was evident in the "confrontation" with Mrs. Bagshaw. No matter the face-to-face "hate" that is so angry that he beats the stick, or the "circumferential" strategy of being relieved after understanding the secret but still hiding the cunning, they all reveal a high-level taste full of traditional reason and goodwill.
This kindness and peace of giving up property contention and respecting women's reason also made the latest version of "Downton Finale" give the old lady a sad but satisfactory curtain call. She received the news of terminal illness alone, and she still did not forget to "poison" her "tongue" in her "final farewell" with her eldest granddaughter, and kept a little hope for the flashy prelude to the ending of the movie in the background of the story.
2. Intermission of the past of the giants
The reason why the movie version of "Downton Abbey" can make the curtain call of the old lady so emotional and complete is that it relies on the excellent structure of the series and independent chapters.
In addition to the "dead" characters in the series, all characters of different classes in the "Tangjiatun Universe" appear, and the main line surrounding the visit of the royal family is organically nested in each story that highlights the characteristics of the characters. Among them, it is the interesting struggle of the old lady "calculating" the inheritance of distant relatives that is integrated with the main line; and the struggle for inheritance is also the origin of the story of the "Downton Abbey" series.
Around the core events, the members of the Crowley family have their own "tasks": under the observation of the Buddhist system of Mr. Crowley and Mrs. Crowley, the eldest miss devises strategies, the second miss handles family affairs, and the third brother-in-law "reversely" quelled the assassination riot and started a new relationship. .
As for the "downstairs" class with more intricate roles, after Carson, the old housekeeper of "Removing Armor and Returning to the Field", was ordered to take charge of Downton in danger, the process of realizing their tasks also became "proud" in the "confrontation" with the royal servants. . Daisy's marriage and Barrow's secret love have tortuous and complete answers.
Julian Fellowes, the founder of "Downton Abbey" and 53-year-old who made his debut with the Oscar-winning play "Gosford Manor", showed the world audience the world of the British "Dream of Red Mansions" at the beginning of the last century - the ultimate elegant Under the wrapping of costumes, sets, and etiquette, is his reappearance and deep reflection on the history of the class system.
However, the happy group of the movie version of "Downton Abbey" is "perfect", except for more subtle screenwriting techniques, it seems to be no different from the annual Christmas special that the drama once formed. What is the historical critique that the most long-time fans look forward to, which has been consistent with the previous seasons of "Gosford Park" and "Downton Abbey"?
It is undeniable that after the gradual "American drama", "Downton Abbey" frequently shakes the original intention of the series design while pouring water into the plot, which also led to the end of this classic series after the sixth season. But this film version with certain ambitions, under the appearance of perfection and sophistication, actually has a gradually waning sentimental connotation.
The restlessness of the royal family members during their visit, the urgency of the old lady to pursue her son to inherit the property of a distant relative, and the swaying of the entourage group all sounded the alarm that the paradigm of aristocratic life was about to collapse, not to mention the looming World War II. And just like the old lady's peaceful farewell without sadness, the film sums up the whole series as comprehensive as it is, and it is also the beautiful midfield of the old dream of the rich and powerful that will be awakened.
Retaining the best hope when people are at their peak may be the last tenderness of Fellowes before the follow-up cruelty; the old lady's final battle to solve the crisis also brought the goodwill of this prosperous manor to the audience who accompanied the series for ten years. curtain.
[Original public account "Today's Film Review Mtalk" 20191219]
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