Fackham Hall Review – A Brisk, Funny Downton Abbey Spoof That's Pleasantly Ephemeral.
Maybe the feeling of an ending era around us: following a long period of quiet, the parody is making a return. This summer witnessed the rebirth of this lighthearted genre, which, at its best, mocks the self-importance of overly serious dramas with a torrent of heightened tropes, sight gags, and dumb-brilliant double entendres.
Frivolous periods, so it goes, give rise to self-awarely frivolous, gag-packed, refreshingly shallow amusement.
A Recent Addition in This Absurd Resurgence
The newest of these silly send-ups comes in the form of Fackham Hall, a Downton Abbey spoof that jabs at the easily mockable airs of opulent English costume epics. Co-written by UK-Irish comic Jimmy Carr and directed by Jim O'Hanlon, the movie has plenty of material to draw from and uses all of it.
Opening on a ridiculous beginning and culminating in a outrageous finale, this amusing aristocratic caper crams every one of its hour and a half with puns and routines ranging from the juvenile up to the truly humorous.
A Send-Up of The Gentry and Staff
Much like Downton, Fackham Hall presents a pastiche of overly dignified rich people and very obsequious staff. The narrative revolves around the feckless Lord Davenport (played by an enjoyably affected Damian Lewis) and his book-averse wife, Lady Davenport (Katherine Waterston). Having lost their male heirs in a series of tragic accidents, their plans fall upon marrying off their offspring.
One daughter, Poppy (Emma Laird), has achieved the family goal of betrothal to the appropriate close relative, Archibald (a perfectly smarmy Tom Felton). However after she withdraws, the burden shifts to the unmarried elder sister, Rose (Thomasin McKenzie), described as a spinster of a woman" and who harbors radically progressive ideas about a woman's own mind.
The Film's Humor Lands Most Effectively
The film achieves greater effect when sending up the stifling expectations forced upon Edwardian-era women – a topic often mined for self-serious drama. The trope of proper, coveted femininity supplies the richest punching bags.
The storyline, as one would expect from an intentionally ridiculous send-up, is of lesser importance to the bits. Carr serves them up arriving at an amiably humorous pace. There is a murder, a farcical probe, and an illicit love affair featuring the roguish thief Eric Noone (Ben Radcliffe) and Rose.
The Constraints of Frivolous Amusement
The entire affair is for harmless amusement, however, this approach has limitations. The heightened absurdity of a spoof may tire over time, and the mileage in this instance runs out in the space between sketch and a full-length film.
At a certain point, one may desire to return to stories with (at least a modicum of) coherence. Yet, you have to respect a genuine dedication to the artform. Given that we are to amuse ourselves to death, let's at least see the funny side.
