Love & Friendship (2016)

People are voting emotionally.

Disturbing yet enthralling

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Love & FriendshipIt's a bit cheesy, ridiculous and ironic tale retold in a light manner and keeps it all on surface despite of possessing such a deep and layered concept. Having said that, it doesn't suggest in any way that it doesn't lacks issues; it is chalky around the edges and volatile on emotions. The screenplay is fast paced and well structured; something that is unfamiliar to such genre, and that is what hooks the audience and keeps them on the edge of the seat. The technical aspects like production, costume and make-up design along with background score, is not one of its strength. The adaptation by Whit Stillman is smart and finely edited which latter also helps him on executing the anticipated vision as it grows effortless. It is quite difficult to portray such manipulative dislikeable character (addition to that she is hilarious too in her brutal sarcastic nature) and still mark an impression; is one of the main reason why Kate Beckinsale seems an appropriate choice. The tone of the feature is poised and visually rich that may come off a bit pretentious as it lacks proper technical aspects that should have actually been supportive and instead falls against it. Love & Friendship is not so lovable but surely a trustworthy friend that has an immensely powerful central character that changes one's perspective through its twisted yet somewhat justifying act.

Love & Friendship is noted Indie director Whit Stillman's adaptation of Jane Austen's novella Lady Susan. The original manuscript was discovered among Austen's papers many years after her death and published as an unfinished work. The novella is written in the form of a series of letters written by the principal characters to one another, revealing the social mores of upper middle-class families set in late 18th century England. Stillman must be applauded for distilling the narrative (set in that different format of those series of letters) into a workable screenplay.The film can best be described as a comedy of manners. People in those times interacted with one another in a completely different manner than they do now. One can say that they were much more polite but despite the manners, the conversations were constantly infused with biting invective. The comedy stems from the all the back-stabbing and lack of moral principles that guide each character.Chief among the principle-less is Austen's protagonist, the master manipulator Lady Susan Vernon, played flawlessly by Kate Beckinsale. Lady Susan is a deliciously sympathetic character despite her lack of moral scruples. Guided by a desire for sexual self-satisfaction, the recent widow is way ahead of her time!When we first meet Lady Susan, she's just finished conducting an affair with the handsome Lord Manwaring, much to the chagrin of his heartbroken and jealous wife, Lady Manwaring. As a result, Lady Susan is forced to leave his estate and move in at Churchill, the home of her brother-in-law, Charles Vernon and his wife, Catherine Vernon (née DeCourcy). Catherine's brother, Sir Reginald, makes no attempt to hide his contempt for Lady Susan, who already has a tarnished reputation in polite society.Lady Susan's confidante is Mrs. Johnson, a transplanted American whose husband has had business in the State of Connecticut (Mrs. Johnson's American origins is Stillman's invention, making her into a Tory sympathizer, no longer welcome in her native country). Mrs. Johnson hangs on the every word of her scheming friend, and encourages Lady Susan in her calculating machinations.Soon enough the principled Sir Reginald has fallen for the charms of the new Churchill houseguest but denies any deep affection for her to his father, describing those rumors as "vile calumnies." Lady Susan also has plans for her introverted daughter, Frederica, who has just run away from a boarding school where she's been quite unhappy. Frederica's mother compounds her unhappiness by matching her up with Sir James Martin, a wealthy landowner whom his peers regard as a complete fool. (Stillman explains during the documentary about the film included in the DVD extras that Tom Bennett, cast as Martin, improvised a great deal of dialogue, handily improving the part.)Despite Lady Susan's base motives, she manages to "do the right thing" which leads to "all's well that ends well." At the suggestion of Mrs. Johnson, she ditches Sir Reginald and pawns him off on her daughter, who immediately falls for the handsome rake. Meanwhile, she surreptitiously marries goofy Sir James Martin (while having her lover, Lord Manwaring, live with her and her new husband on the Martin estate!).Love & Friendship is a delightful adaptation of an early work of a master novelist. Stillman recreates the period with aplomb resulting in what one might term a picaresque romp! The film is a hoot, relevant today in depicting human foibles as it was back then.

I was very pleased by this movie, it was simply lovely.I admit to being extremely surprised by Stephen Fry popping up on screen (I hadn't looked at the actor list prior to watching it). He was awesome, as usual, the only criticism I have of his inclusion was that he simply didn't have enough screen time...The one thing I simply don't understand is the name of the movie. Jame Austen wrote two main stories in her youth (all of these stories together are called her 'Juvenilia'). One was 'Lady Susan', the other 'Love and Friendship'. This movie is the story of 'Lady Susan', but it's called 'Love and Friendship'.It's like making a movie of 'Pride and Prejudice' and calling it 'Sense and Sensibility'. Other than that incredibly annoying point, it's a great movie and quite fun.

Yes, you guessed it; all the decent bits are in the trailer and the other 1 hour and 29 minutes is garbage.This should have been fascinating and entertaining. However, unless you have extensive knowledge of the story you would be lost in seconds. Terribly acted, terribly edited with horrible, humourless music that made my skin crawl, the only thing that was worth the watch were the ridiculous and hilarious offerings of Martin.TOTALLY disjointed, Jane Austen wouldn't have even recognised her own story.Dressed up rubbish flouting how stupid the upper classes are on a good day, let alone a bad, and how Kate Beckinsale was possibly one of the last people I would ever have cast in this role which requires clever subtlety, nuance and sauciness. She gave it plain bread roll without any butter, let alone jam.Biggest waste of money on a movie in a while, for me. Rubbish.