I think that’s it.  After 52 episodes of the television series and 3 subsequent movies, we’ve milked all we can from the fictitious residents of Downton Abbey in Yorkshire, England.  This concluding instalment, appropriately subtitled The Grand Finale, isn’t intended to win over new enthusiasts.  It’s a simple, slight period piece that taps heavily into nostalgia and allows fans to be charmed by their favourite posh-talking protagonists for one last time.

There are many subplots, but the individual given the most prominent screen time is Lady Mary Crawley, played by Emmy nominee Michael Dockery.  The film opens with her divorce papers being finalised after a short-lived marriage to Henry Talbot (previously played by Matthew Goode who doesn’t appear here).  Being a divorcee was scandalous in 1930s Britain and so the fun-loving Lady Mary now finds herself a social pariah.  She’s uninvited from gatherings and no one wants to visit while she’s in residence at Downton Abbey.

The responsibility falls upon those around her to set things right.  Many have a part to play but the central event is a lavish dinner at Downton where the guest of honour is to be acclaimed playwright Noël Coward (Arty Froushan).  The hoity-toity members of the community may want to shun Lady Mary… but they’re not going to pass up the opportunity to sit alongside an A-list celebrity and listen to him skilfully play the piano while sipping on champagne and cocktails.

It’s easy to see what messages Oscar winning screenwriter Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park) is striving for to close things out.  Audiences will have enjoyed delving into the details of rich English folk in the 1910s and 1920s but, to borrow a classic song lyric, the “wind of change” has arrived.  The servants are retiring, public standards are loosening, and Downton’s long-ruling patriarch (Bonneville) hands control of the historic mansion over to the next generation.  It’s time to stop looking back… and start looking forward instead.

There’s nothing wrong with Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale but it’s not particularly memorable either.  Tension is lacking (everyone is so polite and nice) and the character arcs close out with minimal fuss.  Further, in the absence of the late Maggie Smith, the humour isn’t as fervent.  Penelope Winton (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) gets the best of the one-liners with performance as the fair-organising Lady Merton but she’s the lone comedic standout.  New cast members include Joely Richardson (Nip/Tuck) and Alessandro Nivola (American Hustle) but their roles lack significance.

It’s not exactly “going out with a bang” but this is a serviceable climax which provides safe, crowd-pleasing content as opposed to anything new.