One might be forgiven, upon starting Cold Comfort Farm, for thinking it to be yet another exceedingly English pre-World War II costume drama about family troubles. Instead, it rather quickly reveals itself as a delightfully absurd comedy. It’s the rare film that manages to succeed as both satire and the kind of story it is a satire of, and one that holds a great deal of affection for its outlandish characters.

Released in 1995, and based on a novel by Stella Gibbons, Cold Comfort Farm follows the adventures of Flora Poste (Kate Beckinsale) after the unfortunate deaths of her parents. Turning to a wide array of relatives for support, Flora quickly lands on the Starkadder branch of the family after receiving an intriguing but ominous letter from her cousin Judith Starkadder (Eileen Atkins) referring to old wrongs and family curses. Against the advice of her sophisticated friend Mary (Joanna Lumley, enjoying herself immensely), Flora embarks on a train ride to the country, where she finds herself settled in the gloomiest place this side of a Brontë novel. The farm is covered in filth and cobwebs, the town pub is called “The Condemned Man” and a pseudo-intellectual misogynist played by Stephen Fry haunts the local moors. It’s every stereotype about rural English life cranked up to 11, right down to the increasingly ridiculous parade of surnames as each new character is introduced.

The Starkadders themselves are a strange, rowdy bunch, all under the sway of old Aunt Ada Doom (Sheila Burrell), who never leaves her room except for the yearly Counting when they make sure no one’s fallen down a well. Judith spends her days brooding over tarot cards, and as her husband Amos, Ian McKellen appears to be having the time of his life as a fire-and-brimstone preacher bemoaning the sinful state of the world. The rest of the family includes an odd assortment of relatives of some kind, including cousins Seth and Reuben – “highly sexed young men living on farms are always called Seth or Reuben,” Flora explains – played by Rufus Sewell and Ivan Kaye, and the fanciful Elfine (Maria Miles), who spends her days dancing in the woods.

Flora, on the other hand, is the kind of young person that all young people should aspire to be: fashionable, sensible, and utterly uninterested in work of any kind, hoping to live off relatives and collect material for her novel, which she plans to publish in her fifties. Played with pitch perfect aplomb by Beckinsale, Flora settles in quickly at Cold Comfort Farm, determined to tidy up the place one way or another (she cannot endure messes, one of many traits she claims to share with Jane Austen). The Starkadders are resistant at first to this city girl upending long-standing traditions, but begin to come around as she drags them all into the 20^th century.

The book on which the film is based was itself a parody of a certain kind of novel that remained popular in the early half of the 1900’s. Stella Gibbons, who worked for a magazine at the time, apparently grew so frustrated after having to review absurd novels full of melodramatic rural life that she wrote Cold Comfort Farm in response. Proving an instant classic, the book is now better remembered than its intended targets, proving that revenge is one of life’s best motivators. Some elements of the book didn’t quite make the jump to film – although published in 1932, the book is set in 1946, with occasional references to futuristic technology. The dry humor and absurdist slant to the story remained, though, and the result is a deeply charming and funny movie. Although much of the humor stems from the oddball relatives, it never feels mean-spirited or at anyone’s expense. Flora’s efforts at tidying up have a low-key but decidedly feminist streak as well, ranging from giving instructions regarding “the precautionary arts” to her attempts towards winning over old Aunt Ada.

Directed by John Schlesinger, who also directed Midnight Cowboy and Marathon Man, Cold Comfort Farm was originally made for TV in the UK. According to an interview with McKellen, Schlesinger was forced to pay for the transfer from 16mm to 35mm himself in order to get it an actual theatrical release in the US. It was certainly worth it, though. Schlesinger directs the film with a steady, assured hand, taking advantage of the setting to sneak in more than a few lovely shots of the English countryside. It is perfectly cast, with Sewell and Beckinsale both thriving in what remain as two of their best roles to date. And the breezy plotting and offbeat, throwaway lines that make up so much of the humor make it an easy rewatch. Despite the title, Cold Comfort Farm is a perfect comfort food movie. Just don’t go in the woodshed.