Fackham Hall Review – This Fast-Paced, Humorous Parody of Downton Abbey That's Pleasantly Lightweight.
Perhaps the notion of uncertain days in the air: after years of quiet, the spoof is making a resurgence. This summer observed the revival of this unserious film style, which, in its finest form, mocks the grandiosity of overly serious dramas with a flood of heightened tropes, sight gags, and stupid-clever puns.
Playful eras, so it goes, beget knowingly unserious, joke-dense, pleasantly insubstantial fun.
A Recent Entry in This Absurd Resurgence
The latest of these goofy parodies arrives as Fackham Hall, a Downton Abbey spoof that jabs at the easily mockable airs of wealthy English costume epics. Penned in part by stand-up performer Jimmy Carr and overseen by Jim O'Hanlon, the feature has a wealth of material to mine and exploits every bit of it.
From a absurd opening and culminating in a ludicrous finish, this amusing upper-class adventure packs all of its runtime with jokes and bits running the gamut from the juvenile all the way to the authentically hilarious.
A Mimicry of The Gentry and Staff
Similar to Downton, Fackham Hall presents a caricature of very self-important rich people and overly fawning help. The story focuses on the feckless Lord Davenport (portrayed by a delightfully mannered Damian Lewis) and his book-averse wife, Lady Davenport (Katherine Waterston). After losing their male heirs in various unfortunate mishaps, their aspirations now rest on securing unions for their offspring.
The junior daughter, Poppy (Emma Laird), has accomplished the family goal of a promise to marry the right first cousin, Archibald (a wonderfully unctuous Tom Felton). However after she backs out, the burden transfers to the unmarried elder sister, Rose (Thomasin McKenzie), described as a spinster at 23 and and possesses radically progressive ideas regarding women's independence.
The Film's Humor Lands Most Effectively
The spoof achieves greater effect when satirizing the suffocating social constraints forced upon pre-war females – a subject often mined for earnest storytelling. The trope of idealized ladylike behavior offers the most fertile material for mockery.
The narrative thread, as befitting an intentionally ridiculous spoof, takes a back seat to the gags. The writer keeps them coming at a pleasantly funny rate. The film features a murder, an incompetent investigation, and a forbidden romance featuring the charming pickpocket Eric Noone (Ben Radcliffe) and Rose.
A Note on Pure Silliness
It's all for harmless amusement, but that very quality imposes restrictions. The heightened foolishness characteristic of the genre can wear after a while, and the comic fuel for this specific type runs out somewhere between sketch and feature.
At a certain point, you might wish to retreat to a realm of (very slight) coherence. Nevertheless, it's necessary to applaud a genuine dedication to the craft. In an age where we might to distract ourselves unto oblivion, it's preferable to see the funny side.