'Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale' review: Plummy sequel that misses Maggie Smith

Let's have a round of applause for Julian Fellowes, the creator and impossibly elegant writer of PBS’s British import "Downton Abbey." It’s his top-notch cast that usually gets the glory — and the splendid costumes — for incarnating the aristocratic Crawley family and their 'umble servants as they navigate a rapidly changing England in the early 20th Century. In the third and (possibly) final film adaptation,“Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale," Fellowes allows himself to take a bow — through his characters, of course.

We’ve reached 1930 now, and Robert Crawley (Hugh Bonneville, dependably) is preparing to step down as head of Downton Abbey (England's Highclere Castle, also dependably). But his wife, Cora (Elizabeth McGovern), has bad news: Their postcrash finances have dwindled perilously. The man to blame is her bumbling brother, Harold (a welcome Paul Giamatti), who arrives at the estate with a slick-talking financial adviser, Gus Sambrook (Alessandro Nivola). Things are so bad that the Crawleys may have to trade their London summer home for a mere flat. "A sort of layer cake of strangers," Robert grumbles.

But the biggest news is that Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) has obtained a divorce from Henry Talbot (Matthew Goode), and the media has found out. Quicker than you can say Wallis Simpson, Mary becomes persona non grata in polite society, shunned by neighbors and ousted from parties. "I’ll take a taxi," she huffs, "if I can find one that will carry a divorced woman."

To her rescue: Why, a writer, by the name of Noël Coward (Arty Froushan, swanning impressively). Could a magnificent dinner at Downton, attended by such a famous figure, boost Mary’s social standing? He’s even willing to perch at a piano and sing his 1925 ditty "Poor Little Rich Girl" for a starstruck crowd.

Rest assured that the series’ roughly 20 main cast members are all here, including the great Penelope Wilton as the ever-busy Lady Merton, Sophie McShera as the saucy cook Daisy and Jim Carter as the dignified butler Mr. Carson. Alas, the late Maggie Smith appears only as a family portrait of Dowager Countess Violet Crawley, her three-time Emmy-winning role. Without Smith’s razor-sharp intelligence and battle-ready presence, there's only so grand this finale can be. Still, returning director Simon Curtis keeps calm, carries on and dedicates his film to the actress, who died aged 89 last year.

As always, it’s Fellowes’ deft dialogue that makes this franchise shine. Fun fact: Fellowes once played Coward, in a 1989 British television film. Here, though, his heart seems to go out to Mr. Molesley (Kevin Doyle), once the Crawleys' endearingly preposterous footman and now a heroically struggling screenwriter. "In my eyes," he says haughtily, "the writers are the real stars of cinema."

By Rafer Guzmán

rafer.guzman@newsday.com