Fackham Hall Review – A Fast-Paced, Witty Takeoff on Downton That's Refreshingly Ephemeral.
Maybe the notion of end times around us: subsequent to a lengthy span of inactivity, the spoof is making a return. The past few months saw the re-emergence of this playful category, which, when done well, skewers the self-importance of pompously earnest dramas with a barrage of exaggerated stereotypes, sight gags, and ridiculously smart wordplay.
Frivolous eras, it seems, beget self-awarely frivolous, laugh-filled, pleasantly insubstantial amusement.
The Newest Entry in This Silly Resurgence
The newest of these goofy parodies arrives as Fackham Hall, a takeoff on the British period drama that pokes fun at the highly satirizable self-importance of gilded British period dramas. The screenplay comes from UK-Irish comic Jimmy Carr and overseen by Jim O'Hanlon, the film finds ample of material to work with and uses all of it.
From a ridiculous beginning to a ludicrous finish, this entertaining upper-class adventure fills every one of its hour and a half with puns and routines ranging from the puerile up to the genuinely funny.
A Pastiche of Aristocrats and Servants
Similar to Downton, Fackham Hall presents a caricature of overly dignified rich people and very obsequious staff. The story revolves around the feckless Lord Davenport (brought to life by a wonderfully pretentious Damian Lewis) and his anti-reading wife, Lady Davenport (Katherine Waterston). Having lost their four sons in a series of calamitous events, their plans are pinned on securing unions for their offspring.
The younger daughter, Poppy (Emma Laird), has secured the family goal of betrothal to the suitable first cousin, Archibald (a perfectly smarmy Tom Felton). However once she backs out, the burden falls upon the single elder sister, Rose (Thomasin McKenzie), who is a "dried-up husk of a woman" and and possesses radically progressive ideas about female autonomy.
The Film's Laughs Works Best
The film achieves greater effect when joking about the suffocating norms forced upon Edwardian-era ladies – a subject often mined for earnest storytelling. The stereotype of idealized femininity provides the best comic targets.
The narrative thread, as one would expect from an intentionally ridiculous parody, is of lesser importance to the gags. The writer serves them up arriving at an amiably humorous rate. There is a homicide, a bungled inquiry, and a star-crossed attraction featuring the roguish street urchin Eric Noone (Ben Radcliffe) and Rose.
A Note on Pure Silliness
It's all in the spirit of playful comedy, but that very quality comes with constraints. The dialed-up foolishness of a spoof might grate after a while, and the entertainment value in this instance runs out in the space between sketch and a full-length film.
At a certain point, you might wish to return to the world of (at least a modicum of) logic. But, you have to respect a wholehearted devotion to the craft. If we're going to entertain ourselves unto oblivion, we might as well laugh at it.
