The Boston Globe - 20.09.2019

G6 The Boston Globe FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2019

get dusty? Not withmeticulousMr.
Carson (Jim Carter) still on the job,
alongwithkindheartedlyattentive
Mrs. Hughes (Phyllis Logan); service’s
sweethearts, Annaand Mr. Bates
(Joanne Froggatt and Brendan Coyle);
and all those otherdutiful staffers.
And not withCrawley matriarchVio-
let (Maggie Smith) still alive, kicking,
and keeping them all on their toes.
Cleverly, though,the movie’s writ-
er, series creator Julian Fellowes,
findsan unexpected new layer to
trowel onto all the displacement
angst. Suffice it to say that being faced
with irrelevance surecan be a royal
pain.
So what “Downton” story could
onlybe told on the big screen?Fans
breathlessly asking the question were
informed months ago that — breach-
of-etiquette alert! — the film features
a visitby KingGeorge V and Queen
Mary. But this wasn’t giving away
quite everything.
Fellowesand director MichaelEn-
gler (continuingon fromthe finale)
don’t seem hugely interested in mo-
narchialpageantry. Their focus is on
their familiar ensemble’s collective
anticipation,the veddyBritishsense
of pride that swells within them
throughoutthe experience.Withthe
exception, perhaps, of Irish chauf-
feur-turned-aristocrat Tom Branson
(Allen Leech) — but his evolving poli-
tics are thoughtfully reexamined
here,as is the peace he’s made with
his widower status.
While“Downton” is of course
handsomelydesigned, a military pa-
rade led by the kingis amongscenes
that are light on spectacle.There’s
nothingas expansive as, say, season
two’s tour of the Great War trenches.
Instead, truly cinematic production
values are reserved for glossyestab-
lishing shots of the manor, and for

u‘‘DOWNTONABBEY’’
Continued fromPageG1

close-ups of antiquetureensand oth-

er special-occasion silver that make

them look like they couldsink the Ti-

tanic.

Butthe modest scaleworks.

There’s a wonderfully captured sweet-

ness to Lord Grantham (Hugh Bonn-

eville) and his wife, Cora (Elizabeth

McGovern), quietly sharing theirstar-

struck excitement. And when a chunk

of the household is confronted with

the distressing possibility of missing

out on a royal audience, their depth of

feeling for the sovereigns drivesthem

to somediverting, spoiler-proof ex-

tremes. (The movie doesn’t connect

any dots, but we can see why the pro-

spective diss wouldbe especially gall-

ing to the Downtonset, withall the

hang-ups they’ve already got about

being shunted aside by the times.)

The biggest narrative justification

for “Downton” getting feature treat-

ment mightbe the sweepingquality

to all the character developments and

showcase moments being juggled

here.The intricacy is managed with-

out ever playing like Fellowes took a

couple of routine postscriptepisodes

and simply stitchedthemtogether.

The scriptalso does nice workget-

tingthe band back together. Only

head cook Mrs. Patmore (Lesley Ni-

col) appearsto be chuckingcontinu-

ity, and that B&Bshe started. But if

that’s what it takes to get her sassy dy-

namic with Daisy (Sophie McShera)

back on the menu, so be it.

Otherwise,it’s all organic enough,

fromthe un-retirementsof Carson

and jittery formercharge Molesley

(comic-relief MVPKevin Doyle) to

forever-overlooked Crawley daughter

Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael)pop-

ping back in for the big ’do. Edith also

does some racy bloomersmodeling,

whichmight be our ooh-la-la Mr. Pa-

mukMoment, if not for a sequence

withidentity-tormentedThomas Bar-

row (Robert James-Collier) going

clubbing. But, oh, let’s not be glib —

James-Collier delivers his most affect-

ing scenes yet as a gay man of the day

searching to find himself.

Violet and Isobel (PenelopeWil-

ton), her earthy cousin and social

sparring partner, are likewise gamely

back at it, with another relation, Lady

Bagshaw (Imelda Staunton), joining

the fray in a slightlyconfusinginheri-

tance squabble. We’ve never beenso

thankful for drawing-roomexposi-

tion. We also appreciate the casting

boost that Staunton (“Vera Drake”;

Dolores Umbridge, in the “Harry Pot-

ter” movies) lends the proceedings;

character actors SimonJones and

Geraldine James have the bearing for

George V and his queen,but they

hardly provide the oomphthat, say,

Shirley MacLaine brought to her sea-

son-three stint as Cora’s mother.

But then, Dame Maggie just gets

that muchmore opportunity to shine.

Oneof the film’s most poignant

scenes is a final-act tête-à-tête be-

tween moderngal Mary and her dear

granny aboutall that the two have in

common.It’s a comforting end note

aboutwhat mightlie ahead, both for

Downton the house and “Downton”

the franchise.

Tom Russo canbe reached at

[email protected].

MOVIEREVIEW

YYY½

DOWNTONABBEY

Directedby MichaelEngler.

Writtenby JulianFellowes.

StarringHughBonneville,Jim

Carter,MichelleDockery,

ElizabethMcGovern, Maggie

Smith,ImeldaStaunton,

PenelopeWilton.At Boston

theaters,KendallSquare,

CoolidgeCorner,Somerville,

suburbs.122 minutes.PG

(thematicelements,suggestive

material,language).

‘Downton

Abbey’

works on

big screen

JAAP BUITENDIJK

MichelleDockery and

Matthew Goodein

“DowntonAbbey.”

Pumpkinsprovidedfor Kusama a
refuge. “Such tender things to touch,
so appealing in colourand form,” she
wrotein her autobiography. “I would
confront the spirit of the pumpkin, for-
getting everythingelse and concentrat-
ing my mind entirelyon the formbe-
fore me,” she wrote. Kusama, it hardly
needs be said, had great motivation to
forget as muchas possible,all the
time.
That might not be the story at the
top of your mind standing in line to see
“Love Is Calling,” Kusama’s 2013 infin-
ity mirror roomrecently acquiredby
the ICA. But maybe it should be. (And
therewill be lines, though no longer
thanhalf an hour, the museumprom-
ises; it learned from “Yayoi Kusama:
Infinity Mirrors,” the traveling Kusa-
ma extravaganza of last year, where
waiting hours for a mere 20 seconds in
each of the six roomswas the norm.

uKUSAMA
ContinuedfromPageG1

“Love Is Calling” is on view for a solid

18 months.)

As Kusama-mania blossomed in re-

centyears,fueledby the roomsand

theirradically-Instagrammablepoten-

tial — searchthe #yayoikusama

hashtag and you’ll find some 836,000

images, mostly cheery selfies shot in

these endlessly repeatingmirror

worlds — the depthof the artist’s vi-

sion and history has beenlargely sub-

sumed.

A nonagenarian nowconfluent

with social media, she’s simultaneous-

ly one of its biggest stars and most sig-

nificant casualties. Blithe, distracted

superficiality is what social media does

best, and the sparkly realms Kusama

beganbuilding in 1965 as deeplyper-

sonal refuge now seem to serve mostly

as backdrops to a narcissistic, look-at-

me world.Kusama has livedin a Japa-

nese institutionsincethe 1970s due to

crippling anxiety and othermental

health issues. Whatever the social me-

diaspheremay look like, a candy-col-

ored carnival her life has not been.

I saw “Infinity Mirrors”on its tour

last year, mostly to my disappoint-

ment.Depthand context — her tragic

upbringing, her struggles with mental

health, her stamp on art history (Kusa-

ma presaged Minimalism in the 1950s

with her Infinity Net paintings, and pi-

oneered performance and art-as-activ-

ism, too) — were tucked off to the side,

clearly subordinate to the cheery fun-

house main event. Whilethe show

helped make Kusama ever more fa-

mous, it also diluted her raw, emotion-

al honesty and towering influence. It

surely cemented an indelible legacy for

an artist now nearing the end of her

life, but for what?

In the aftermath of all that, for an

institutionlike the ICA, an infinity

mirrorroomis ripe withtantalizing

opportunity — for brand-namedraw

outsidethe typical art-going audience,

I doubteven AndyWarhol compels

ticket sales quite like Kusama — and a

weighty responsibility. To the latter,

the ICA has risento the occasion.

“Love Is Calling” is large — big

enoughto accommodate six people,

and comfortably, which allows discrete

experience but also a shared, reflective

joy (Kusamais aboutnothingif not

connection,finding our way through

the cosmos to universal shared solace).

Its snaking tendrils dangle from above

and curl up fromthe floor, glowing in

soft pastel colors and festooned with

polka dots.They’re organic, soft; bodi-

ly, but kind. They disappear in every

direction aroundyou, maskingthe

edges of the space to which you’re con-

fined.They prompt, as Kusamahad

hoped, a contemplation of transcen-

dence — an imagined glimpse of the

unknowable, of what may lie beyond

the confines of this earthly plane.

Which is all fine,though you’ll

bringto the experiencewhat you like.

The rooms,like theirmaker, are open

in that way; they’re an invitation, not a

prescription. But still, let’s not miss the

point. On the wall near the room’s exit

— you’ll also see it while in line, unless

you’re too busyscanning #infinitymir-

rors — is Kusama’s poem “Residing in

a Castle of Shed Tears” (while in the

room for your 120 seconds — the allot-

mentcalculated to allow both contem-

plation and fluidqueuemovement —

the artist herself intones it aloud, in

Japanese).

In it, Kusama — isolated, anxiety-

wracked, in the finalstages of her en-

duringstruggle to reconcilethe trau-

ma of her life — contemplates the end.

It embodies muchof Kusama’s work,

and life: A yearningfor connection, a

hyper-awarenessof death, a fervent

desirefor an existencebeyondthis

harshrealmof violenceand pain.

“Overmany longyearswithart as a

weapon/ I have treaded the path in

searchof love,” she writes.“Devoting

all my heart to you, I have lived

through to this day/ Hopingto leave

beautiful footprints at the end of my

life.”

Just beyond, the ICA offers Kusama

in deeper art-world context. Canny

pairings — with Ana Mendieta’s bodies

imprinted on buildings, alongside doc-

umentation of Kusama’s naked-and-

body-painted antiwar happenings; one

of NickCave’s “Soundsuits”another

kindof armoredretreat fromthe vi-

cious reality of the everyday — help sit-

uateherinfluence,herstamina,and

her indomitable world view.

But what’s the thingthat sticks?

Kusamahas spent a lifetime crafting

her own escapeto a placebeyondthe

beyond, where cruelty and pain are va-

porizedamida cosmiconenessof

beauty and love.Her invitation — to

join her, to see beyond ourselves (self-

ie-seekers, take note)to a higherplane

— is her enduring gift to us all. By all

means,take a picture.Showyour

friends. But allowyourselfa moment

to contemplate something larger than

what the screen in your hand can con-

tain.

Murray Whyte canbe reached at

[email protected]. Follow

himon Twitter @TheMurrayWhyte

LANE TURNER/GLOBE STAFF

ART REVIEW

YAYOIKUSAMA:LOVEIS CALLING

andBEYONDINFINITY

At the Instituteof Contemporary

Art, 25 HarborShore Drive, through

Feb. 21, 2021.617-478-3100,

http://www.icaboston.org

Her enduring gift: an invitation to a higher plane

A pre-showpresseventfor

YayoiKusama’s “LoveIs

Calling” at theICA.