Love & Friendship (2016)

A witty script with Lady Susan deftly moving the other characters around seemingly to her will like chess pieces. Susan is impeccably played by Kate Beckinsale with plenty other fine performances, standouts perhaps Chloe Sevigny and Tom Bennett. A short and sweet treat.

When I discovered that Austen's novel, Lady Susan, was finally adapted to the screen, I felt really happy, because is one of my favorite works by the author, and it is very underrated. When I've read the cast that would be in this film, i knew it was a dead cause before start to watching. I wished to be wrong, but I was right. It was so mediocre and it made the original plot so flat, so incoherent that at the end I was angry, really angry. The characters were reduced almost to extras (specially the Vernon family) and even Lady Susan became a weak character in this film ( Kate Backingsale was a poor choice, it felt like they were aiming Catherine Zetta Jones but only could pay for Backingsale). Lady Susan is originally seductive, smart, mean , very manipulative and with a strong presence. All the time in this movie she was just a mature good looking woman with terrible arguments to assure her fame. Sevigny was also a terrible choice, her acting was the worst! Her character was supposed to be as mean and manipulative as Susan Vernon, extremely frivolous, not only someone saying lines with barely no expression. The plot rushes in such a way that it makes impossible to believe in some of the characters choices and feelings and becomes completely boring after 20 minutes. It was a mess, i do not recommend this one, go read the book.

I don't usually consider to leave midway through a film in the cinema, a lesson learned from "Lucky Number Slevin" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0425210) which, in case you haven't seen yet rush to do so."Love & Friendship" though, had me seriously thinking "what am I doing here?" halfway through. Heck, I am sure that even the film title was decided based on the fact that it's hard to understand what it's about.Early on, it is hard to follow, as it throws names and faces to you (in a cute, supposed-to-be-funny manner) and you eventually realize that you actually DO have to remember all these names and faces.The plot unravels very slowly: you soon have the impression that "something will happen". And it never does.In my humble opinion, Kate Beckinsale is not fit to play the cunning lady Susan. She is an elegant yet cute (if not hot) presence, that doesn't come through as a manipulative widow.All in all, I would say that transferring a novel to the big screen is not merely using nice costumes and scenery. Cinema is a different art - aiming to stimulate different feelings. It shouldn't feel like someone is reading dialogues to me.

What I got to say about "Love & Friendship" is a good movie full of amazing grace. "It's a triumph and a delightful of a movie." The performances by the cast is really good. "Kate Beckinsale gives her best performance of her career." Whit Stillman's directing is good alongside his adaptation of author Jane Austen's novel was pretty good for my opinion. The cinematography is good. The choreography is good. The score in this film was so breathtaking to listen to. Finally, the effects are good as well.So incredibly smart and very very funny. I love Jane Austen but this is so different to a lot of her more well known work; not necessarily better but definitely not worse. It feels as though some of the charismatic but conniving side characters she has in her novels have now become the main character. Lady Susan is definitely not a moral or always likable person but she is engaging and I did find myself rooting for her. Also it was beautifully filmed; the music created just the right atmosphere, the acting was superb. Overall I have only good things to say about this film, I adored it.Love & Friendship is a movie that truly deserves its rotten tomatoes score. ---Yidioo