Fackham Hall Review – A Rapid-Fire, Witty Takeoff on Downton Which Is Delightfully Ephemeral.
Perhaps the feeling of end times pervading: subsequent to a lengthy span of inactivity, the spoof is enjoying a return. The past few months saw the revival of this lighthearted genre, which, at its best, lampoons the grandiosity of pompously earnest genres with a torrent of heightened tropes, physical comedy, and ridiculously smart wordplay.
Unserious eras, so it goes, create an appetite for knowingly unserious, joke-dense, refreshingly shallow entertainment.
A Recent Addition in This Goofy Wave
The most recent of these silly send-ups arrives as Fackham Hall, a parody of Downton Abbey that needles the easily mockable airs of opulent British period dramas. The screenplay comes from British-Irish comedian Jimmy Carr and helmed by Jim O'Hanlon, the movie has a wealth of material to mine and exploits every bit of it.
From a ridiculous beginning all the way to its outrageous finale, this amusing upper-class adventure crams all of its runtime with gags and sketches ranging from the juvenile up to the truly humorous.
A Send-Up of Aristocrats and Servants
Much like Downton, Fackham Hall presents a caricature of extremely pompous the nobility and excessively servile servants. The story 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 four sons in a series of calamitous events, their plans are pinned on finding matches for their daughters.
The younger daughter, Poppy (Emma Laird), has secured the aristocratic objective of an engagement to the right first cousin, Archibald (an impeccably slimy Tom Felton). Yet once she pulls out, the onus transfers to the unmarried elder sister, Rose (Thomasin McKenzie), who is a spinster at 23 and who harbors radically progressive notions regarding female autonomy.
Where the Comedy Succeeds
The parody is significantly more successful when sending up the oppressive expectations forced upon pre-war women – a subject often mined for earnest storytelling. The archetype of proper, coveted ladylike behavior offers the most fertile punching bags.
The storyline, as befitting an intentionally ridiculous spoof, takes a back seat to the jokes. The writer delivers them maintaining an amiably humorous pace. Included is a homicide, an incompetent investigation, and a star-crossed attraction between the plucky pickpocket Eric Noone (Ben Radcliffe) and Rose.
The Constraints of Frivolous Amusement
Everything is in the spirit of playful comedy, though that itself imposes restrictions. The amplified absurdity of a spoof can wear after a while, and the comic fuel in this instance diminishes somewhere between a skit and feature.
After a while, one may desire to go back to the world of (very slight) logic. Yet, one must applaud a wholehearted devotion to the craft. Given that we are to amuse ourselves unto oblivion, let's at least laugh at it.