Fackham Hall – A Fast-Paced, Funny Downton Abbey Spoof Which Is Delightfully Lightweight.
It could be the notion of an ending era pervading: after years of quiet, the comedic send-up is staging a resurgence. The recent season observed the rebirth of this unserious film style, which, at its best, lampoons the pretensions of excessively solemn genre with a barrage of heightened tropes, physical comedy, and ridiculously smart wordplay.
Playful eras, it seems, create an appetite for deliberately shallow, gag-packed, refreshingly shallow fun.
The Newest Entry in This Absurd Resurgence
The newest of these goofy parodies comes in the form of Fackham Hall, a takeoff on the British period drama that pokes fun at the very pokeable airs of wealthy British period dramas. The screenplay comes from British-Irish comedian Jimmy Carr and helmed by Jim O'Hanlon, the movie finds ample of material to draw from and exploits every bit of it.
From a ludicrous start all the way to its outrageous finale, this entertaining silver-spoon romp fills every one of its runtime with jokes and bits running the gamut from the juvenile to the genuinely funny.
A Send-Up of The Gentry and Staff
Much like Downton, Fackham Hall offers a caricature of extremely pompous the nobility and very obsequious staff. The plot centers on the feckless Lord Davenport (portrayed by an enjoyably affected Damian Lewis) and his book-averse wife, Lady Davenport (Katherine Waterston). After losing their children in a series of unfortunate mishaps, their aspirations now rest on marrying off their offspring.
The junior daughter, Poppy (Emma Laird), has secured the family goal of a promise to marry the right close relative, Archibald (an impeccably slimy Tom Felton). But after she withdraws, the onus transfers to the unmarried elder sister, Rose (Thomasin McKenzie), considered a spinster at 23 and and holds dangerously modern ideas regarding female autonomy.
The Film's Laughs Succeeds
The parody is significantly more successful when satirizing the suffocating expectations imposed on Edwardian-era women – a subject frequently explored for self-serious drama. The archetype of proper, coveted femininity supplies the best punching bags.
The plot, as is fitting for a deliberately silly spoof, is of lesser importance to the gags. The writer serves them up arriving at a pleasantly funny pace. The film features a murder, a farcical probe, and an illicit love affair featuring the charming thief Eric Noone (Ben Radcliffe) and Rose.
A Note on Lighthearted Fun
Everything is in lighthearted fun, though that itself comes with constraints. The amplified foolishness characteristic of the genre can wear over time, and the entertainment value on this particular variety runs out somewhere between a skit and a full-length film.
Eventually, one may desire to return to a realm of (very slight) reason. Yet, it's necessary to admire a wholehearted devotion to the craft. Given that we are to amuse ourselves to death, it's preferable to laugh at it.
