Displaying items by tag: Anna Maxwell Martin

FACKHAM HALL

UK, 2025, 97 minutes, Colour.

Thomasin McKenzie, Ben Radcliffe, Damian Lewis, Katherine Waterston, Tom Felton, Emma Laird, Adam Woodward, Jason Done, Tim McMullen, Anna Maxwell Martin, voice of Hayley Mills.

Directed by Jimmy O'Hanlon.

The trailer offered an alert. The writers were identified as those watched the first two seasons of Downton Abbey. They had not watched in Downton Abbey with great reverence. So, what better than to parody period costume drama, heightened with melodrama, all in the spirit of spoof? And, here it is. (And the caution as to how to pronounce the title, especially if you drop h in hall).

So, a country mansion, quite splendid in its exteriors, the costumes and decor and decorations in the interiors both upstairs and downstairs. And, a parade of the upper-class, not being respectful one of the prerequisites for writing the dialogue of these characters or directing their performances. And, depending on the audience’s class upbringing, amusing, funny, or very funny. And some spoof of downstairs.

And, there is an extra introduction to the film, the 20^th century variation on Oliver Twist, a pickpocket, Eric, Ben Radcliffe, more than swift and adept with watches (and, later, trousers!), An orphanage background, with the nuns, now entrusted with the message to take to the Lord of Fackham Hall (but circumstances making him forget about the message until the end – which, of course, changes the whole narrative!).

Lord Devenport is played by Damian Lewis, taking time off from espionage and enjoying his pomposity. Katherine Waterston is the image of the concerned parent, especially in terms of property-through-valuable marriages, the aristocrat. There is sadness in the Davenport’s life, the mysterious deaths of the four sons, John, Paul, George and Ringo. Daughter, Poppy is to marry her cousin (one needs to check the Latin motto on the crest of the Hall), the obnoxious Archibald, boastfully bad shot with his rifle, and played by the original Lucas Malfoy, Tom Felton.

Eric encounters Rose, Thomasin McKenzie, pining for true love, but forthright in her opinions, attracted to Eric, saving him from being fired by the harsh servant surpervisor, Mrs McAllister (Anna Maxwell Martin) but liked by the very literal butler, Cyril, (Tim McMullen).

This is not an outloud laughter all the time comedy, though seen in a cinema, some loud laughter might be infectious. Rather, smiles, silly shenanigans, slapstick, pratfalls, innuendo, some not so innuendo jokes, puns, plus literal interpretations (“did you fight with him?”. “No, I fought alongside”!).

There are some flashbacks to action in World War I, reminding us of so many films in the trenches – but, again, with spoof.

But, for this reviewer, best of all is the simple comic device, performed by Jimmy Carr as the Reverend (and he was one of the writers) with reading texts and mistakenly omitting the full stops and having to correct the sense of what he was reading (“you may kiss the altar boys…; Correction: “you may kiss. The altar boys will  sing..). Happily, there are about five of these the film.

As they say, you get the picture. And, if you enjoy the British spoofing themselves unashamedly, by all means visit Fackham Hall.