Fackham Hall

When the orphaned “Eric” (Ben Radcliffe) is sent by his nuns to deliver a message to “Lord Davenport” (Damian Lewis) at his stately pile, he is barely through the door before he is mistaken for a job ... When the orphaned “Eric” (Ben Radcliffe) is sent by his nuns to deliver a message to “Lord Davenport” (Damian Lewis) at his stately pile, he is barely through the door before he is mistaken for a job applicant and employed as a hall-boy. He’s quite a savvy young man who can think on his feet, so before too long he is heading up the hierarchy behind the green baize door and even flirting with the daughter of the house. Now he’d already had a bit of an altercation with “Rose” (Thomasin McKenzie) on his way up the drive on arrival, so she’s feeling a little guilty and she’s also quite taken by the glint in his eye. Daddy, though, needs her to marry the wealthy “Archie” (Tom Felton) else they whole family could be turfed out on their ear - and boy, are they unequipped for that! The determined “Rose”, though, is having none of that arranged marriage malarkey and the pair even plan to elope before - yep, you’ve guessed it, there’s a body found and so curly moustachioed police inspector “Watt” (Tom Woodman-Hill) is sent to investigate this most curious of crimes. With no absence of suspects or motive, the policeman naturally alights on the handsome but poverty stricken young stranger who hopes to marry into into the family. Surely it cannot be him? Though this does have it’s moments, it reminded me too much of Dawn French’s far superior “Murder Most Horrid” (1991) with some additional bits from "Downton Abbey” and a “Knives Out” mystery thrown in for good measure. It takes a pop at the vagaries of rustic England and it’s landed gentry, their attitudes and pursuits but hardly originally and the likes of Sue Johnston (doing her best Dame Maggie Smith), Anna Maxwell Martin (think Phyllis Logan does “Supergran”) and the underused Hayley Mills don’t really have enough to work with to make anything like enough impact on a plot that does have one thing very much in common with Agatha Christie. It’s denouement comes from left field and answers questions we didn’t know to ask about people we didn't even know were in the cauldron. It’s not really a whodunnit that we can join in with, so we watch in hope that the humour will do more of the entertaining, and for me a vicar in a pulpit misreading bible verse in a sort of “phnaa phnaa” bishop and choir boy fashion just wasn’t enough. Lewis looks like he is trying to enjoy himself, but even he seems a bit bemused as to why this is funny as it began to fall away and the puerility started to take over. Of course it’s meant to be a satire, maybe even a satire of a satire, but I just didn’t really find it funny, sorry.