Such a great movie! I really liked it, indeed. Although there are some boring parts and very, very long dialogues, the production carries a tone of irony such as Jane Austen would write. Still thinking about my rating. But I can assure you it's not a waste of money or time.
I find kind of difficult to understand. I will read the book and see if I can understand the storyline.
I'm sorry but Sir James Martin is delightful and HILARIOUS and he deserves the world. Best part about the film. :laughing:
I actually really enjoyed that! I tried watching Love & Friendship once when it first came out but barely made it through the first few minutes because the production and story are so different from that of Austen's other works and adaptations. I suddenly felt the urge to give this another try five years later...and find myself very impressed! Lady Susan is SO bad (take that as either a complement or a criticism) but her character and counterparts made this a very intriguing play of manipulation. I've read Lady Susan once before, albeit without much comprehension since I wasn't very interested at the time, but now I'm quite excited to delve back into the epistolary novella — hopefully with a more appreciative mind this time around. Additionally, I find it interesting that they gave this adaptation of Lady Susan the title of Love & Friendship because Jane Austen actually has written another story called Love and Friendship.
Based on a Jane Austen novella, Love & Friendship is a rather fun and witty comedy. The story follows a scandal ridden young widow name Lady Susan who goes to live with her sister-in-law in the countryside and works to get her daughter married off. Kate Beckinsale leads the cast and gives an excellent performance, masterfully delivering the satiric humor. And the director does a great job at keeping the tone lighthearted and whimsical. While not the usual Jane Austen fare, Love & Friendship has a quirky sense of humor that’s quite charming in its way.
Whit Stillman’s film is based on the short novel by Jane Austen is not billed as an all-out comedy but it certainly should make most viewers laugh from beginning to end. With Tom Bennett coming in all guns blazing as Sir James Martin a distant relative of Tim ‘Nice but Dim’ surely the laughs are guaranteed whilst everyone else from Kate Beckinsale, never better, Morfydd Clark and Justin Edwards keep the laughing bubbling away until Sir James arrives back on the screen. Every scene involving Bennett is stolen as he crafts a hilarious fool playing to his strengths as a comic actor.
This not to say other British stalwarts do not put in a good shift because they do. You do not have to like Austen or be the biggest fan of the author but it probably helps as you will instantly get ‘into’ the film from the get-go. For others, myself included, the style, language and nuances of Austen take a little while to tune into but all this requires is a bit of concentration and you are there.
The film did sag for me in the middle stretch where my attention faltered but I put that down to the viewer not the film and I have to say I was smiling throughout and trying to figure which way the story was going to run. I did call the ‘hook-ups’ and ending before the film finished – and that is without any previous knowledge.
The custom design, locations and cinematography are as good as you will see in a film of this nature and tick all the boxes.
The more interesting question Love and Friendship throws up is the view you may take of Lady Susan. Her dalliance with Lord Manwaring (Lochlann O'Mearáin) exploitation of Sir James and her own daughter, whilst making sure her circumstances stay healthy and indeed wealthy could be the scheming of a wicked and downright unpleasant woman. Indeed, by any measure Lady Susan whilst charming and attractive is manipulative and self-centred but do you judge the character by 21st century standards (well some of us have these standards) or allow her to create a safe and supported world for her and her daughter in a world where women had to rely on family, charm and a man’s wealth? In a world with so little power can we really blame Lady Susan for enjoying the ‘best of both worlds’ and ensuring her future into her older years?
It’s a question only the individual viewer can really answer but whatever you view the journey Whit Stillman and his well-appointed cast take us down is certainly enjoyable and entertaining. Hopefully this will result in more cinema work for Tom Bennett please and better more interesting roles for Kate Beckinsale that do not involve cat-suits and CGI nonsense, I feel she deserves it and this film only strengthens that feeling.
Why the bad rating? This movie is great, I didn't read this specific book of Austin, but it probably could be a quick fix for our fast-paced days when no one has the time for those "way too long of a books". Kate Beckinsale is perfect for the role, the movie is pleasantly conservative and not set for banal entertainment, some quotes about parenthood and religion were worth cherishing and the whole idea seems so positive to me - sometimes a woman just knows what's right for every one ;) Great one for our troubled times.
Only Whit Stillman can match the cynicism in Jane Austen writings. Reunited again w/kate beckinsale & chloe sevigny
Shout by Lee Brown Barrow Movie BuffVIP 3BlockedParent2017-03-23T16:15:25Z
In adapting Jane Austen's novella, director Whit Stillman brings his own brand of ironic humour to the dazzlingly sharp wit of Ms Austen. A stand out cast but Tom Bennett's aristocratic buffoon is a hoot!