Fackham Hall – A Rapid-Fire, Witty Downton Abbey Spoof That's Pleasantly Ephemeral.
Perhaps the notion of an ending era around us: subsequent to a lengthy span of inactivity, the comedic send-up is enjoying a comeback. The recent season observed the re-emergence of this playful category, which, in its finest form, skewers the pretensions of excessively solemn dramas with a torrent of pitched clichés, physical comedy, and dumb-brilliant double entendres.
Frivolous times, so it goes, beget self-awarely frivolous, laugh-filled, refreshingly shallow fun.
The Newest Addition in This Absurd Resurgence
The latest of these silly send-ups comes in the form of Fackham Hall, a Downton Abbey spoof that needles the very pokeable self-importance of wealthy UK historical series. The screenplay comes from UK-Irish comic Jimmy Carr and overseen by Jim O'Hanlon, the feature finds ample of material to work with and exploits every bit of it.
Starting with a ludicrous start to a ludicrous finish, this amusing upper-class adventure crams every one of its runtime with puns and routines running the gamut from the childish to the truly humorous.
A Send-Up of The Gentry and Staff
Similar to Downton, Fackham Hall offers a pastiche of overly dignified rich people and very obsequious staff. The story focuses on the hapless Lord Davenport (played by a wonderfully pretentious Damian Lewis) and his literature-hating wife, Lady Davenport (Katherine Waterston). Following the loss of their four sons in various unfortunate mishaps, their hopes fall upon finding matches for their daughters.
The younger daughter, Poppy (Emma Laird), has secured the family goal of an engagement to the suitable kinsman, Archibald (an impeccably slimy Tom Felton). Yet after she backs out, the burden falls upon the unmarried elder sister, Rose (Thomasin McKenzie), considered a "dried-up husk of a woman" and and holds radically progressive ideas concerning female autonomy.
The Film's Humor Lands Most Effectively
The film achieves greater effect when sending up the suffocating expectations placed on Edwardian-era females – a topic frequently explored for po-faced melodrama. The stereotype of idealized femininity supplies the richest punching bags.
The plot, as one would expect from a deliberately silly spoof, is of lesser importance to the bits. The co-writer keeps them maintaining a consistently comedic clip. The film features a killing, a farcical probe, and an illicit love affair between the charming street urchin Eric Noone (Ben Radcliffe) and Rose.
A Note on Frivolous Amusement
Everything is for harmless amusement, but that very quality comes with constraints. The heightened absurdity inherent to parody might grate over time, and the entertainment value for this specific type diminishes at the intersection of sketch and a full-length film.
After a while, you might wish to return to stories with (very slight) coherence. Nevertheless, one must respect a wholehearted devotion to the craft. In an age where we might to distract ourselves to death, let's at least see the funny side.
