Love & Friendship (2016)

Lady Susan Vernon takes up temporary residence at her in-laws' estate and, while there, is determined to be a matchmaker for her daughter Frederica -- and herself too, naturally.

Director:

Whit Stillman

Writers:

Whit Stillman, Jane Austen (based on her novella "Lady Susan")

Stars:

Kate Beckinsale, Chloë Sevigny, Xavier Samuel

7 wins & 51 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kate Beckinsale	...	Lady Susan Vernon
Morfydd Clark	...	Frederica Vernon
Tom Bennett	...	Sir James Martin
Jenn Murray	...	Lady Lucy Manwaring
Lochlann O'Mearáin	...	Lord Manwaring (as Lochlann O'Mearain)
Sophie Radermacher	...	Miss Maria Manwaring
Chloë Sevigny	...	Alicia Johnson
Stephen Fry	...	Mr. Johnson
Jordan Waller	...	Edward, Head Footman (as Jordan S. Waller)
Ross Mac Mahon	...	Owen
Frank Prendergast	...	Approaching Gentleman
Xavier Samuel	...	Reginald DeCourcy
Emma Greenwell	...	Catherine DeCourcy Vernon
Justin Edwards	...	Charles Vernon
Kelly Campbell	...	Mrs. Cross

Storyline

Set in the 1790s, Love and Friendship centers on beautiful widow Lady Susan Vernon, who has come to the estate of her in-laws to wait out colorful rumors about her dalliances circulating through polite society. Whilst there, she decides to secure a husband for herself and her rather reluctant debutante daughter, Frederica.

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Plot Keywords:

1790s | friendship | 18th century | period piece | costume drama | 

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Taglines:

A lady never reveals her tactics.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some thematic elements

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook (US) Official Facebook [UK]

Country:

Ireland France Netherlands

Language:

English French

Release Date:

3 June 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Lady Susan

Filming Locations:

38 North Great George's Street, Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland

Box Office

Budget:

$3,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$133,513, 15 May 2016, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$14,013,564, 16 September 2016

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$13,848,959, 4 August 2016

Company Credits

Production Co:

Westerly Films, Blinder Films, Centre National de la Cinématographie et de l'Image Animée

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Is the first cinematic adaptation of Jane Austen's epistolary novel "Lady Susan", first published in 1871, which uses a name from Austen's other novel "Love and Friendship".

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Goofs

One of the pieces of music - Beethoven's cello sonata 3 in A major was composed in 1808, so a decade after the time the film was set.

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Quotes

Lady Susan Vernon: Ah, mortality. Our mortality and that of others, but most particularly our own, is the hardest and most intractable hand life can deal us.

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Crazy Credits

At the conclusion of the end credits, there is a line encouraging viewers to read the novel, "in which Lady Susan Vernon is thoroughly vindicated."

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Connections

Featured in Late Night with Seth Meyers: Kate Beckinsale/Colin Hanks/Allison Miller (2016)

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Soundtracks

Love and Friendship Harp Theme
Composed by Benjamin Esdraffo
Featuring Dianne Marshall (harp)
(P) 2016 Sony Classical

User Reviews

"Facts are horrid things"

There's something very satisfying about a period piece that actually feels like a film that lives in another time and place. While Love & Friendship certainly isn't the thinker or entertainer that most of the films released in May, it has its fair share of laughs and uses its gorgeous locales and famous source material to its benefit as much as it can.

I don't consider myself the avid Jane Austen reader or fan of the media adaptations. In fact, I usually don't care for them much at all, but with rave reviews and a heavier reliance on comedy than romance, I decided to give Love & Friendship a shot. For the most part, it's an enjoyable film. I don't know how closely the writers attempted to stay to Austen's work, but one of the main issues to the film is the overabundance of characters. We are introduced to almost every single character within the first few minutes via opening credits, and it became overwhelming as a viewer.

I caught on to the characters after a while, but trying to remember everyone's names was quite the challenge, especially when they all talk, dress, and look relatively the same. With that said, it's far and away Kate Beckinsale's film as she plays the infamous Lady Susan Vernon. The story mainly focuses on Vernon's attempt to give her daughter and herself a new match, after being recently widowed. If not for anything else, Love & Friendship is entertaining just to purely watch Lady Susan manipulate just about everyone she crosses. The beauty being that you don't truly know if she's being manipulative or sincere, which is why the abundance of characters actually works in the film's favor.

Distracting the audience with new characters scene to scene keeps our attention away from what Susan is up to, hence surprising us with the next reveal. I can't say I was all that invested in the story itself, as it sometimes falls under the clichéd-romantic genre, but watching Beckinsale and the others have fun with the source material proved to be worth a viewing.

I also appreciated the film's keen sense of humor at just the right moments. There are moments when the comedy could steer towards over-the-top, but veteran director Whit Stillman kept it from getting out of hand. In all, if you're into Jane Austen or period piece romantic dramas in general, Love & Friendship is probably for you. If not, perhaps the humor and performances can reel you in.

+Timely humor

+Fun performances

+Witty writing

-A lot of characters can muddle the plot at times

7.0/10