Fackham Hall – A Fast-Paced, Funny Downton Abbey Spoof Which Is Delightfully Lightweight.
It could be the feeling of uncertain days pervading: after years of dormancy, the spoof is making a comeback. The recent season saw the re-emergence of this lighthearted genre, which, when done well, mocks the self-importance of overly serious genre with a barrage of exaggerated stereotypes, visual jokes, and ridiculously smart wordplay.
Unserious times, so it goes, create an appetite for deliberately shallow, laugh-filled, refreshingly shallow amusement.
A Recent Addition in This Goofy Wave
The most recent of these absurd spoofs arrives as Fackham Hall, a Downton Abbey spoof that pokes fun at the highly satirizable self-importance of wealthy English costume epics. Penned in part by UK-Irish comic Jimmy Carr and directed by Jim O'Hanlon, the movie finds ample of source material to draw from and uses all of it.
Starting with a absurd opening and culminating in a outrageous finale, this amusing upper-class adventure crams every one of its runtime with gags and sketches running the gamut from the puerile up to the truly humorous.
A Mimicry of Aristocrats and Servants
Similar to Downton, Fackham Hall presents a spoof of overly dignified rich people and very obsequious staff. The plot revolves around the hapless Lord Davenport (brought to life by an enjoyably affected Damian Lewis) and his book-averse wife, Lady Davenport (Katherine Waterston). Following the loss of their four sons in separate tragic accidents, their hopes are pinned on marrying off their two girls.
The junior daughter, Poppy (Emma Laird), has secured the dynastic aim of a promise to marry the appropriate kinsman, Archibald (a wonderfully unctuous Tom Felton). But once she withdraws, the pressure transfers to the unattached elder sister, Rose (Thomasin McKenzie), described as an old maid at 23 and and holds radically progressive beliefs about female autonomy.
The Film's Laughs Succeeds
The spoof achieves greater effect when sending up the stifling expectations forced upon pre-war ladies – an area frequently explored for po-faced melodrama. The stereotype of proper, coveted womanhood supplies the best punching bags.
The narrative thread, as one would expect from a purposefully absurd parody, is of lesser importance to the bits. The co-writer keeps them arriving at a pleasantly funny clip. Included is a murder, a bungled inquiry, and an illicit love affair featuring the plucky street urchin Eric Noone (Ben Radcliffe) and Rose.
A Note on Frivolous Amusement
The entire affair is for harmless amusement, but that very quality has limitations. The dialed-up absurdity inherent to parody may tire quickly, and the comic fuel in this instance expires somewhere between a skit and a full-length film.
After a while, one may desire to return to a realm of (at least a modicum of) logic. But, you have to admire a wholehearted devotion to the craft. In an age where we might to entertain ourselves unto oblivion, let's at least laugh at it.