Downton Abbey star Michelle Dockery will star in The Sense Of An Ending, a film adaptation of the Man Booker Prize-winning Julian Barnes novel.

Michelle, who has played Lady Mary Crawley in the period drama TV series since 2010, will hit the big screen in what is described as a “tale of forgotten youth, love, and second chances”.

Michelle Dockery
Michelle Dockery (Richard Shotwell/Invision)

She joins The Iron Lady star Jim Broadbent in the cast, as well as Melancholia’s Charlotte Rampling, Atonement actress Harriet Walter, and The Newsroom’s Emily Mortimer.

Jim plays divorced retiree Tony Webster, who comes into possession of a diary which forces him to re-evaluate his memories of a friendship and a relationship from long ago.

Jim Broadbent
Jim Broadbent (Anthony Devlin/PA)

The screenplay is by Nick Payne and the film will be directed by Ritesh Batra. David Thompson of Origin Pictures said: “We are really excited about making this film, based on Julian Barnes’ remarkable book.

“We feel very lucky to have such a combination of talents which has attracted such a striking cast.”