Lily Knight Archives – CULTURE MIX

Review: ‘Fackham Hall,’ starring Damian Lewis, Katherine Waterston, Thomasin McKenzie, Ben Radcliffe and Tom Felton

December 20, 2025

by Carla Hay

Thomasin McKenzie, Katherine Waterston, Damian Lewis and Tom Felton in “Fackham Hall” (Photo courtesy of Bleecker Street)

Directed by Jim O’Hanlon

Culture Representation: Taking place in 1931, in an unnamed city in England, the comedy film “Fackham Hall” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few black people and Asians) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.

Culture Clash: An artisocratic family is in danger of losing the family’s longtime manor, named Fackham Hall, unless one of their daughters gets married, to ensure that there will be a male heir in the family.

Culture Audience: “Fackham Hall” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and movies that mix slapstick comedy with racy jokes.

Ben Radcliffe and Thomasin McKenzie in “Fackham Hall” (Photo courtesy of Bleecker Street)

“Fackham Hall” is like “Downton Abbey” meets “The Naked Gun.” Some jokes get too repetitive, but it’s an overall entertaining blend of social satire and slightly naughty comedy with word puns and sight gags. The talented cast members commit to the absurdity.

Directed by Jim O’Hanlon, “Fackham Hall” was written by Jimmy Carr, Patrick Carr, Tim Inman, Andrew Dawson and Steve Dawson. With all these credited screenwriters, the “Fackham Hall” screenplay sometimes looks like it suffers from “too many cooks in the kitchen” syndrome. However, the jokes often land on their intended targets fairly well.

“Fackham Hall” takes place in 1931, during the Great Depression, in an unnamed city in England. The movie was actually filmed in and around Yorkshire, England. Fackham Hall is the manor of the aristocratic Davenport family, which has presided over Fackham Hall for the past 400 years.

The Davenports are beholden to an archaic tradition that will allow them to keep Fackham Hall owned by the family if the family has at least one living male heir: either a son or a son-in-law. A recurring joke in the movie is that the Davenports have a tendency to marry their first cousins in arranged marriages. (Underneath the plaque on Fackham Hall’s front gate are the words “Incestus ad Infinitum,” which is supposed to loosely translate in Latin to “Incest Forever.”)

In the beginning of “Fackham Hall,” patriarch Lord Humphrey Davenport (played by Damian Lewis) and his wife Lady Davenport (played by Katherine Waterston) are relieved that one of their two daughters is engaged to be married. The couple’s fickle younger daughter Poppy (played by Emma Laird) is engaged to her first cousin Archibald (played by Tom Felton), even though Archibald is a boorish dolt.

Lord Davenport and Lady Davenport think that their older daughter Rose (played by Thomasin McKenzie) is a disappointment. Rose (who is 23 years old) is independent-minded, unconventional (she sometimes wears men’s clothes and drives cars), and is in no rush to get married. As far as Rose’s parents are concerned, Rose is an “old maid.”

Or as Lady Davenport describes Rose: “a dried-up husk of a woman: barren, desiccated, a wizened old walnut of a spinster.” As Lady Davenport gives this withering description, the camera pans away to show that Rose is sitting right next to her in the room. “Fackham Hall” repeatedly pokes fun at “upper crust” society people who can be just as crude and uncouth as the “common people” who are considered “lower class.”

It’s explained early on in the movie that Lord Davenport and Lady Davenport had four adult sons, who all died in freak accidents. John died in the Hindenburg. Paul was struck by lightening. George died on the Titanic. Ringo died from auto-erotic asphyxiation. Beatles fans will immediately get the joke about the significance of these son’s names.

“Fackham Hall” shows glimpses into the contrast between the “upstairs” aristocrats and the “downstairs” servants. The servants are mostly underdeveloped characters in the movie. However, two of the longtime employees stand out by having the most screen time out of all of the servants: uptight chief of staff Mrs. McAllister (played by Anna Maxwell Martin) and slightly goofy butler Cyril (played by Tim McMullan).

The Davenports will soon get a new employee, who joins the butler staff unexpectedly. His name is Eric Noone (played by Ben Radcliffe), whose surname is pronounced No One. Eric (who is in his mid-to-late 20s) is first seen visiting the nun-operated children’s home (Norfolks Orphanage) where he grew up.

Eric has been summoned to the orphanage by Sister Jude (played by Karen Henthorn), who introduces Eric to a mysterious man whose name is later revealed to be Austin Blaine (played by Ian Bartholomew). Austin asks Eric to go to Fackham Hall to personally deliver a sealed letter to Lord Davenport. Eric thinks the Davenports are elitist snobs, so he says “Fuck ’em all,” which is used in the movie as a play on words for Fackham Hall.

While riding his bike at Fackham Hall, Eric accidentally gets hit by a car driven by Rose. Luckily, Eric isn’t hurt. Rose makes profuse apologies. And it’s attraction at first sight for Eric and Rose. Eric is distracted by the accident and meeting Rose. The letter is almost forgotten until a turning point in the story.

Eric needs a job. And it just so happens that the Davenports need an extra butler. And so, Eric is hired for this position. He has to share a small room with five other male servants. His first big task is serving during the engagement party for Poppy and Archibald.

The engagement party is one of the weaker aspects of the movie. The only purpose of this party is to introduce several “high society” characters who are somewhat meaningless in the overall plot. Archibald’s best man is Bert Chester (played by Adam Woodward), who brings his materialistic and wealthy American lover Fifi Valentine (played by Lily Knight) as his date. Fifi wants to buy Fackham Hall, but Lord Davenport admantly tells her that Fackham Hall is not for sale.

Other party guests with speaking roles are on the fringes of the main story and don’t do much but show up in scenes and make quipping jokes. These vague supporting characters include bachelorette identical twins Mary Bechdel and Constance Bechdel (both played by Erin Austen); Lord Davenport’s attorney Darvesh Khalid (played by Ramon Tikaram), who keeps telling his World War I combat stories; and JRR Tolkein (played by Jason Done), who is an unpublished author, long before he became famous for “The Lord of the Rings.”

Another member of the Davenport family who is in the movie is Great Aunt Bonaparte (played by Sue Johnston), a foul-mouthed elderly woman, doing the tired comedy stereotype of “old ladies who curse are automatically supposed to be funny.” Phyllis Davenport (played by Lizzie Hopley) is Lord Davenport’s sister and Archibald’s mother. She’s given even less to say in the movie than Great Aunt Bonaparte.

The “Fackham Hall” trailers already reveal that Lord Davenport dies at Fackham Hall. His body is found with a knife through his chest. What the trailers don’t reveal is that this death doesn’t happen until the last third of the movie. The person who shows up to lead the investigation is Inspector Robert Watt (played by Tom Goodman-Hill), who thinks he’s as brilliant as Sherlock Holmes, but Inspector Watt is really a clumsy and bungling cop who has a habit of dropping things and overlooking clues.

“Fackham Hall” co-writer Jimmy Carr (who is a famous stand-up comedian) has a small role as a priest or minister who misreads text during church services and then has to correct himself. This type of joke is amusing but over-used in the movie. The movie’s fart jokes are predictable and get tiresome very quickly.

McKenzie, Lewis and Waterston show the best comedic timing of all the “Fackham Hall” principal cast members. Some parts of the movie fly by quickly, while other parts drag. “Fackham Hall” is nothing more than escapist comedy that doesn’t get too dark with its satire. It’s flawed but funny enough for people inclined to like wacky comedy that leans into slapstick scenarios and intentionally silly jokes.

Bleecker Street released “Fackham Hall” in U.S. cinemas on December 5, 2025. The movie was released in the United Kingdom on December 12, 2025.

Review: ‘Saint Maud,’ starring Morfydd Clark and Jennifer Ehle

February 10, 2021

by Carla Hay

“Saint Maud”

Directed by Rose Glass

Culture Representation: Taking place in unnamed city in England, the horror film “Saint Maud” features a predominantly white cast (with a few black people and Asians) representing the working-class, middle-class and upper-middle-class.

Culture Clash: A hospice nurse in her 20s is convinced that she can communicate with God, but her religious beliefs sometimes conflict with other people.

Culture Audience: “Saint Maud” will appeal primarily to viewers who like “slow burn” horror films that leave a lot that’s open to interpretation.

Morfydd Clark and Jennifer Ehle in “Saint Maud” (Photo courtesy of A24)

There’s never any question that something is very wrong with the mental state of the title character in the psychological horror movie “Saint Maud.” The problem is that Maud doesn’t see anything wrong with herself, as long as she’s getting all the guidance she needs from the deity that she thinks is in communication with her. “Saint Maud” (the feature-film debut of writer/director Rose Glass) is a haunting story about the fine line between religious fanaticism and losing touch with reality. Throughout this well-acted film, Maud often blurs those lines, sometimes to devastating effects.

“Saint Maud,” which takes place in an unnamed city in England, never reveals how or why Maud (played by Morfydd Clark) became obsessed with Christianity and the idea that she can communicate with God. The main things that viewers find out about Maud is that she’s a woman in her 20s who works as a hospice nurse, a profession she’s had for about a year. She previously worked in a hospital, where a terrible incident happened that was related to Maud having a mental breakdown. This breakdown isn’t shown in the movie, but it’s discussed by Maud and a former co-worker named Joy (played by Lily Knight), who knows some things about Maud that Maud doesn’t want other people to find out.

Maud lives a solitary life in her sparsely furnished studio apartment, where she spends most of her free time praying, reading the Bible, and engaging in other religious practices. She has a shrine that includes a crucifix of Jesus Christ and illustrations of saints and other holy people. Much of “Saint Maud” is narrated with her voiceovers, where she usually sounds meek and soft-spoken. But all is not tranquil in Maud’s world.

This chaos is clear from the movie’s opening scene, when viewers first see Maud: She looks crazy and almost like she’s in a trance. And she’s crouched on a bathroom floor with blood on her face and hands. The movie eventually shows what led her to get to this horrifying point. Until then, viewers of “Saint Maud” get taken on a ride of her slow descent into pure madness.

Near the beginning of the movie, Maud is shown as the caretaker a wheelchair-bound patient named Amanda Köhl, a former dancer/choreographer, whom Maud describes in a voiceover as “a minor celebrity.” Amanda, who is in her 50s, lives alone and has no children. There are vague references to Amanda’s past as a bon vivant with an active social life. But now, Amanda is struggling to cope with the reality that she’s dying, she can’t dance anymore, and she’s even losing her hair because of the cancer. That doesn’t stop Amanda from being somewhat of a chainsmoker.

Maud explains in a voiceover that she doesn’t care for creative types because they tend to be very self-involved. In that respect, Amanda fits that description. But it’s obvious that Amanda’s moodiness and difficult attitude has a lot to do with the pain and trauma of having stage 4 lymphoma of the spinal cord. Amanda lives in a village by the sea, in the type of Gothic mansion that’s often see in horror movies. Even though Amanda could be isolated, she welcomes having visitors.

And that’s a problem for Maud, who thinks it’s best for Amanda to live the type of quiet and hermit-like life that Maud has when she’s in her own home. Even though Maud hasn’t been taking care of Amanda for very long, Maud shows a very possessive and manipulative side in how she handles her relationship with Amanda. Maud acts inappropriately jealous when Amanda has visitors who show a sexual interest in Amanda.

One of these visitors is named Richard (played by Marcus Hutton), who dotes on Amanda and around the same age as she is. Richard used to be one of Amanda’s suitors. It’s clear that Richard still has feelings for Amanda, but there’s no romance between them. In fact, Amanda is somewhat rude to him and at one point tells Richard: “Don’t be an idiot.” When he leaves, Amanda tells Maud that Richard is a “pompous asshole,” and Amanda makes a snide comment about Richard’s hair plugs.

The other visitor is more problematic for Maud because Amanda is very fond of this person. Her name is Carol (played by Lily Frazer), who’s about 25 years younger than Amanda. When Carol comes over to visit, and she and Amanda are heard laughing in Amanda’s bedroom, Maud spies on them and sees that Amanda and Carol are lovers. It isn’t long before Maud comes up with a scheme to try to get Carol out of Amanda’s life.

Maud isn’t as uptight as she first appears to be, because there’s a scene in a bar where a very different Maud emerges. She’s literally got her hair down, she’s drinking beer, and looking for some sexual company. One night at the bar, she meets a man (played by Jonathan Milshaw), they exchange looks, and the next thing you know, she’s giving him a hand job in the bathroom. They don’t even bother to find out each other’s names.

And then on the same night, she goes home with another man (played by Turlough Convery) and has sex with him. What’s the name of the man who’s this one-night stand? Christian. Oh, the irony. During their sexual encounter, Maud starts to hallucinate, she has a little bit of freak-out, and Christian tries to calm her down, just so he can keep having sex with her.

Back in Amanda’s home, Maud projects an image of being very religious and modest, almost like a nun. Amanda even jokes that Maude could be Amanda’s “savior.” Amanda senses that Maud is a born-again Christian or a recent convert. Maud confirms that she’s recently become a devout Christian when Amanda asks her about Maud’s spirituality. And when Maud confides in Amanda that she can feel God’s presence, Amanda says she can feel it too. But is Amanda telling the truth or just playing along as a way to amuse herself?

“Saint Maud” is one of those movies where there’s an unreliable narrator, and what might be seen on screen could be a hallucination. As the story goes on, there are scenes of Maud in literal agony and ecstasy as she gets deeper into her religious obsession. Sometimes she pants heavily and writhes on the floor as if she’s in an orgasmic state. Sometimes she engages in some self-harm that might be too hard to watch for people who get easily squeamish.

Clark gives a memorable performance as the tortured Maud, who tries to appear “normal” on the outside, but is falling apart on the inside. Ehle gives a more straightforward performance as Amanda, who has a cruel streak but who also admits her flaws and tries to make amends when she can. It’s obvious from the beginning of the movie that things are not going to end well, but viewers will be curious to see how bad things get.

“Saint Maud” has its gory moments, but most of the movie’s horror has more to do with losing one’s grip on sanity rather than any violent acts that might be in the movie. Glass shows a lot of promise as a director who can tell an intriguing story. Where the movie falls short is in leaving questions unanswered about Maud’s background to give some context of what led her to this point in her life.

There was that incident in her hospital job, but it’s never explained if she discovered religion on her own or was taught. There’s no mention of Maud having any family, friends or love interests. There’s no sense of what kind of upbringing she had or how long she’s had issues with mental health. A little backstory for Maud would’ve gone a long way with this movie.

However, what will keep people interested is the fascinating range of emotions that Maud shows in her present life. She’s one of those “quiet people” whose rage comes out in flashes, from her face distortions when she’s alone, to how she lashes out when things don’t go her way. The visual effects in the movie are used sparingly, but when they’re in the movie, they make an impact.

Some viewers might be surprised by how long it takes before any real violence happens in “Saint Maud.” That would be missing the point of this horror film. This isn’t a dumb slasher flick with a killer on the loose. Sometimes the most terrifying things can happen in the trappings of a sick mind.

A24 released “Saint Maud” in select U.S. cinemas on January 29, 2021. Epix will premiere the movie on February 12, 2021. “Saint Maud” was released in Europe and Canada in 2020.