A Look at Fackham Hall – A Rapid-Fire, Witty Parody of Downton Abbey Which Is Pleasantly Lightweight.
Maybe the notion of an ending era around us: after years of quiet, the spoof is making a return. This summer witnessed the rebirth of this playful category, which, when done well, mocks the pretensions of overly serious dramas with a flood of pitched clichés, physical comedy, and stupid-clever puns.
Frivolous times, it seems, beget knowingly unserious, joke-dense, welcome light fun.
The Latest Offering in This Absurd Wave
The most recent of these absurd spoofs is Fackham Hall, a takeoff on the British period drama that jabs at the very pokeable airs of opulent British period dramas. Penned in part by UK-Irish comic Jimmy Carr and overseen by Jim O'Hanlon, the movie has a wealth of inspiration to work with and wastes none of it.
From a absurd opening all the way to its ludicrous finish, this enjoyable upper-class adventure crams each of its hour and a half with gags and sketches running the gamut from the puerile up to the truly humorous.
A Mimicry of Upstairs, Downstairs
In the vein of Downton, Fackham Hall presents a pastiche of very self-important the nobility and overly fawning help. The story revolves around the incompetent Lord Davenport (portrayed by a wonderfully pretentious Damian Lewis) and his anti-reading wife, Lady Davenport (Katherine Waterston). After losing their children in a series of tragic accidents, their plans are pinned on securing unions for their two girls.
The junior daughter, Poppy (Emma Laird), has accomplished the dynastic aim of a promise to marry the right first cousin, Archibald (a perfectly smarmy Tom Felton). But after she backs out, the burden shifts to the unattached elder sister, Rose (Thomasin McKenzie), considered a spinster of a woman" and who harbors unladylike ideas regarding female autonomy.
The Film's Comedy Works Best
The spoof fares much better when sending up the stifling social constraints placed on Edwardian-era females – a subject frequently explored for po-faced melodrama. The archetype of respectable, enviable femininity supplies the most fertile material for mockery.
The narrative thread, as one would expect from a purposefully absurd send-up, is secondary to the jokes. Carr delivers them arriving at a pleasantly funny clip. There is a killing, a bungled inquiry, and a star-crossed attraction involving the charming 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 has limitations. The dialed-up foolishness characteristic of the genre might grate after a while, and the comic fuel on this particular variety diminishes at the intersection of sketch and feature.
At a certain point, audiences could long to retreat to the world of (at least a modicum of) coherence. Nevertheless, it's necessary to respect a sincere commitment to the craft. Given that we are to amuse ourselves relentlessly, it's preferable to see the funny side.
