Fackham Hall – A Fast-Paced, Humorous Parody of Downton Abbey Which Is Pleasantly Lightweight.
It could be the notion of an ending era pervading: following a long period of dormancy, the spoof is staging a resurgence. This summer saw the re-emergence of this lighthearted genre, which, in its finest form, lampoons the self-importance of overly serious dramas with a flood of exaggerated stereotypes, visual jokes, and dumb-brilliant double entendres.
Playful times, so it goes, beget knowingly unserious, laugh-filled, welcome light entertainment.
A Recent Offering in This Silly Wave
The newest of these absurd spoofs comes in the form of Fackham Hall, a takeoff on the British period drama that jabs at the very pokeable pretensions of opulent British period dramas. The screenplay comes from stand-up performer Jimmy Carr and overseen by Jim O'Hanlon, the movie has a wealth of material to mine and wastes none of it.
Opening on a ludicrous start to a ludicrous finish, this amusing aristocratic caper fills every one of its 97 minutes with jokes and bits ranging from the childish up to the truly humorous.
A Mimicry of The Gentry and Staff
In the vein of Downton, Fackham Hall offers a caricature of very self-important the nobility and excessively servile help. The plot centers on the hapless Lord Davenport (portrayed by a delightfully mannered Damian Lewis) and his anti-reading wife, Lady Davenport (Katherine Waterston). Following the loss of their children in various tragic accidents, their aspirations now rest on marrying off their daughters.
The junior daughter, Poppy (Emma Laird), has secured the family goal of an engagement to the right close relative, Archibald (a wonderfully unctuous Tom Felton). But after she backs out, the burden falls upon the unattached elder sister, Rose (Thomasin McKenzie), who is an old maid already and and possesses unladylike notions about female autonomy.
Where the Comedy Succeeds
The parody is significantly more successful when sending up the suffocating expectations placed on early 20th-century women – a subject frequently explored for earnest storytelling. The archetype of proper, coveted womanhood offers the richest material for mockery.
The narrative thread, as is fitting for a deliberately silly send-up, is secondary to the jokes. Carr delivers them maintaining a pleasantly funny clip. The film features a killing, a farcical probe, and a star-crossed attraction featuring the plucky pickpocket Eric Noone (Ben Radcliffe) and Rose.
The Constraints of Pure Silliness
The entire affair is in the spirit of playful comedy, but that very quality comes with constraints. The dialed-up silliness of a spoof may tire after a while, and the mileage for this specific type diminishes somewhere between a skit and a full-length film.
After a while, one may desire to return to the world of (very slight) coherence. Yet, it's necessary to admire a wholehearted devotion to the artform. In an age where we might to amuse ourselves unto oblivion, we might as well see the funny side.
