Fackham Hall – A Fast-Paced, Witty Takeoff on Downton That's Refreshingly Throwaway.
It could be the feeling of end times pervading: subsequent to a lengthy span of quiet, the comedic send-up is enjoying a comeback. This summer saw the rebirth of this lighthearted genre, which, when done well, lampoons the pretensions of excessively solemn genre with a flood of exaggerated stereotypes, visual jokes, and ridiculously smart wordplay.
Playful times, apparently, give rise to knowingly unserious, joke-dense, refreshingly shallow entertainment.
The Newest Addition in This Goofy Resurgence
The newest of these silly send-ups arrives as Fackham Hall, a parody of Downton Abbey that pokes fun at the very pokeable airs of wealthy English costume epics. The screenplay comes from UK-Irish comic Jimmy Carr and helmed by Jim O'Hanlon, the movie has a wealth of material to draw from and exploits every bit of it.
Starting with a ludicrous start all the way to its outrageous finale, this entertaining aristocratic caper fills each of its hour and a half with gags and sketches that vary from the puerile all the way to the truly humorous.
A Send-Up of Aristocrats and Servants
Much like Downton, Fackham Hall offers a caricature of extremely pompous aristocrats and very obsequious servants. The story focuses on the hapless Lord Davenport (portrayed by an enjoyably affected Damian Lewis) and his book-averse wife, Lady Davenport (Katherine Waterston). Following the loss of their children in a series of calamitous events, their hopes fall upon finding matches for their two girls.
The junior daughter, Poppy (Emma Laird), has secured the dynastic aim of betrothal to the appropriate first cousin, Archibald (a perfectly smarmy Tom Felton). Yet after she backs out, the burden shifts to the single elder sister, Rose (Thomasin McKenzie), considered a spinster of a woman" and and possesses unladylike notions about women's independence.
The Film's Humor Succeeds
The parody fares much better when joking about the oppressive social constraints imposed on early 20th-century females – a topic typically treated for earnest storytelling. The archetype of respectable, enviable femininity offers the most fertile comic targets.
The narrative thread, as befitting an intentionally ridiculous parody, is of lesser importance to the bits. The writer keeps them arriving at an amiably humorous rate. The film features a homicide, an incompetent investigation, and an illicit love affair between the roguish thief Eric Noone (Ben Radcliffe) and Rose.
The Constraints of Pure Silliness
The entire affair is for harmless amusement, however, this approach imposes restrictions. The dialed-up foolishness characteristic of the genre may tire after a while, and the mileage in this instance runs out somewhere between sketch and feature.
After a while, audiences could long to retreat to the world of (very slight) coherence. Nevertheless, you have to applaud a genuine dedication to the artform. If we're going to distract ourselves relentlessly, we might as well see the funny side.
