A Look at Fackham Hall – This Fast-Paced, Funny Takeoff on Downton That's Delightfully Lightweight.
Maybe the sense of end times in the air: following a long period of dormancy, the parody is staging a comeback. The recent season observed the revival of this lighthearted genre, which, when done well, lampoons the grandiosity of pompously earnest genres with a barrage of exaggerated stereotypes, physical comedy, and stupid-clever puns.
Playful periods, so it goes, give rise to deliberately shallow, gag-packed, pleasantly insubstantial amusement.
A Recent Entry in This Absurd Wave
The latest of these absurd spoofs is Fackham Hall, a parody of Downton Abbey that needles the easily mockable self-importance of wealthy UK historical series. The screenplay comes from stand-up performer Jimmy Carr and overseen by Jim O'Hanlon, the film has plenty of material to mine and uses all of it.
From a absurd opening all the way to its outrageous finale, this entertaining aristocratic caper fills each of its hour and a half with puns and routines ranging from the childish to the genuinely funny.
A Mimicry of The Gentry and Staff
Similar to Downton, Fackham Hall delivers a spoof of very self-important aristocrats and excessively servile help. The plot focuses on the feckless Lord Davenport (played by a delightfully mannered Damian Lewis) and his anti-reading wife, Lady Davenport (Katherine Waterston). Having lost their four sons in various tragic accidents, their plans now rest on marrying off their daughters.
The younger daughter, Poppy (Emma Laird), has secured the aristocratic objective of betrothal to the right kinsman, Archibald (a perfectly smarmy Tom Felton). However when she backs out, the onus transfers to the unmarried elder sister, Rose (Thomasin McKenzie), who is a "dried-up husk already and who harbors dangerously modern ideas concerning female autonomy.
The Film's Laughs Works Best
The spoof achieves greater effect when joking about the stifling expectations forced upon Edwardian-era ladies – a subject frequently explored for earnest storytelling. The trope of proper, coveted womanhood provides the most fertile punching bags.
The storyline, as befitting a deliberately silly parody, is of lesser importance to the gags. The co-writer keeps them maintaining a pleasantly funny clip. The film features a homicide, a farcical probe, and an illicit love affair involving the charming street urchin Eric Noone (Ben Radcliffe) and Rose.
A Note on Frivolous Amusement
Everything is for harmless amusement, but that very quality imposes restrictions. The dialed-up absurdity inherent to parody may tire over time, and the mileage on this particular variety expires somewhere between a skit and a full-length film.
At a certain point, one may desire to retreat to the world of (at least a modicum of) logic. Yet, one must applaud a sincere commitment to the artform. If we're going to amuse ourselves to death, let's at least find the humor in it.
