Fackham Hall Review – A Rapid-Fire, Funny Takeoff on Downton Which Is Delightfully Lightweight.

It could be the notion of an ending era pervading: subsequent to a lengthy span of quiet, the comedic send-up is staging a resurgence. The past few months witnessed the rebirth of this unserious film style, which, when done well, lampoons the grandiosity of pompously earnest genres with a flood of heightened tropes, sight gags, and stupid-clever puns.

Frivolous periods, apparently, create an appetite for knowingly unserious, laugh-filled, welcome light fun.

The Latest Offering in This Silly Wave

The most recent of these goofy parodies is Fackham Hall, a takeoff on the British period drama that pokes fun at the very pokeable airs of gilded English costume epics. The screenplay comes from British-Irish comedian Jimmy Carr and directed by Jim O'Hanlon, the feature has plenty of inspiration to mine and uses all of it.

Opening on a absurd opening all the way to its preposterous conclusion, this entertaining upper-class adventure crams every one of its runtime with gags and sketches ranging from the childish to the truly humorous.

A Send-Up of Aristocrats and Servants

Similar to Downton, Fackham Hall offers a caricature of extremely pompous aristocrats and overly fawning help. The story centers on the hapless Lord Davenport (portrayed by an enjoyably affected Damian Lewis) and his anti-reading wife, Lady Davenport (Katherine Waterston). Following the loss of their four sons in various tragic accidents, their aspirations fall upon marrying off their daughters.

The junior daughter, Poppy (Emma Laird), has secured the family goal of a promise to marry the appropriate close relative, Archibald (a wonderfully unctuous Tom Felton). Yet once she pulls out, the burden falls upon the unattached elder sister, Rose (Thomasin McKenzie), considered a "dried-up husk of a woman" and and holds dangerously modern beliefs regarding a woman's own mind.

The Film's Humor Succeeds

The parody fares much better when satirizing the oppressive norms imposed on Edwardian-era females – a topic often mined for po-faced melodrama. The archetype of idealized ladylike behavior supplies the richest comic targets.

The plot, as is fitting for an intentionally ridiculous parody, takes a back seat to the jokes. The writer keeps them arriving at a pleasantly funny pace. The film features a killing, a bungled inquiry, and a star-crossed attraction involving the charming pickpocket Eric Noone (Ben Radcliffe) and Rose.

The Constraints of Lighthearted Fun

The entire affair is in lighthearted fun, however, this approach has limitations. The amplified absurdity of a spoof can wear after a while, and the entertainment value on this particular variety diminishes at the intersection of sketch and a full-length film.

Eventually, audiences could long to retreat to the world of (very slight) reason. Yet, you have to applaud a genuine dedication to the artform. In an age where we might to entertain ourselves unto oblivion, let's at least laugh at it.