Fackham Hall – This Fast-Paced, Witty Takeoff on Downton That's Refreshingly Lightweight.
Maybe the feeling of end times in the air: subsequent to a lengthy span of dormancy, the parody is enjoying a return. The past few months witnessed the revival of this playful category, which, when done well, lampoons the pretensions of overly serious genre with a torrent of heightened tropes, sight gags, and stupid-clever puns.
Unserious eras, it seems, give rise to deliberately shallow, joke-dense, welcome light fun.
The Latest Offering in This Absurd Wave
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 opulent British period dramas. Co-written by UK-Irish comic Jimmy Carr and directed by Jim O'Hanlon, the film finds ample of source material to mine and uses all of it.
From a absurd opening to a ludicrous finish, this amusing silver-spoon romp packs every one of its hour and a half with jokes and bits that vary from the childish to the genuinely funny.
A Pastiche of Aristocrats and Servants
Similar to Downton, Fackham Hall offers a spoof of very self-important the nobility and overly fawning servants. The narrative centers on the feckless Lord Davenport (played by a wonderfully pretentious Damian Lewis) and his book-averse wife, Lady Davenport (Katherine Waterston). Following the loss of their four sons in various tragic accidents, their aspirations now rest on marrying off their offspring.
The younger daughter, Poppy (Emma Laird), has secured the family goal of an engagement to the appropriate kinsman, Archibald (a perfectly smarmy Tom Felton). However after she withdraws, the burden falls upon the unmarried elder sister, Rose (Thomasin McKenzie), described as a spinster at 23 and who harbors dangerously modern notions concerning a woman's own mind.
The Film's Laughs Succeeds
The parody fares much better when sending up the stifling social constraints imposed on pre-war ladies – a subject frequently explored for po-faced melodrama. The stereotype of proper, coveted ladylike behavior provides the best comic targets.
The narrative thread, as is fitting for a deliberately silly send-up, is of lesser importance to the gags. The writer serves them up coming at a pleasantly funny clip. The film features a killing, an incompetent investigation, and an illicit love affair involving the roguish pickpocket Eric Noone (Ben Radcliffe) and Rose.
The Constraints of Pure Silliness
It's all in lighthearted fun, but that very quality comes with constraints. The dialed-up silliness inherent to parody can wear over time, and the mileage on this particular variety runs out in the space between sketch and a full-length film.
After a while, you might wish to go back to the world of (at least a modicum of) logic. But, you have to respect a sincere commitment to the craft. In an age where we might to entertain ourselves relentlessly, let's at least find the humor in it.
