Love and Friendship - Review
Director: Whit Stillman
Cast: Kate Beckinsale, Chloe Sevigny, Xavier Samuel, Emma Greenwell.
Whit Stallman may not be a name you recognise in the realm of filmmaking, but after the overwhelming critical acclaim lavished upon Love and Friendship, expect his presence around Hollywood to explode.
In 18th century England, the underhand and manipulative, albeit appeasing, Lady Susan Vernon (Kate Beckinsale) sets her sights on the eligible Reginald De Courcy and proves to be unafraid to use every devious trick in her arsenal to secure his romantic companionship.
Love and Friendship is based on Jane Austen's Lady Susan, a novel not published in the author's lifetime and is one of her last works to be adapted to the big - screen. With the novel written in the unique epistolary form, one can only imagine the challenges of adapting the material into a feature - length film. However, the material is deftly guided and crafted by writer/director Stallman as he creates an entirely accessible narrative that grips and entertains a modern day audience from start to finish. This, in a large part, is due to the one-liners that namely Beckinsale's Lady Susan spits out - in reference to her sidekick Alicia Johnson's (Chloe Sevigny) dismissive husband (Stephen Fry), Lady Susan remarks that he is "too old to control, too young to die", a line delivered so matter - of - factly that it's incredibly amusing.
Beckinsale delivers lines of such a nature with dryness throughout as she clearly thrives on the opportunity to perform devilishly divine comedy. A recent appearance on BBC's The Graham Norton Show proved that Beckinsale harnesses a wicked sense of humour whilst simultaneously being very charming - two traits that effortlessly help inform the scheming and charismatic Lady Susan. Even though the character's actions are undoubtedly selfish and scandalous (especially when considering the time period), she is still thoroughly likeable and a disarming and unexpected protagonist. Although the role isn't one with great depth of mysterious allure, Beckinsale give arguably the best performance of her career. The performances of the other cast members are equally impressive, but Lady Susan rightfully so, steals the show.
Overall, the tone of Love and Friendship feels completely unique and original, and unlike anything you may have seen in recent memory - it's vastly incomparable.
EB
Cast: Kate Beckinsale, Chloe Sevigny, Xavier Samuel, Emma Greenwell.
Whit Stallman may not be a name you recognise in the realm of filmmaking, but after the overwhelming critical acclaim lavished upon Love and Friendship, expect his presence around Hollywood to explode.In 18th century England, the underhand and manipulative, albeit appeasing, Lady Susan Vernon (Kate Beckinsale) sets her sights on the eligible Reginald De Courcy and proves to be unafraid to use every devious trick in her arsenal to secure his romantic companionship.
Love and Friendship is based on Jane Austen's Lady Susan, a novel not published in the author's lifetime and is one of her last works to be adapted to the big - screen. With the novel written in the unique epistolary form, one can only imagine the challenges of adapting the material into a feature - length film. However, the material is deftly guided and crafted by writer/director Stallman as he creates an entirely accessible narrative that grips and entertains a modern day audience from start to finish. This, in a large part, is due to the one-liners that namely Beckinsale's Lady Susan spits out - in reference to her sidekick Alicia Johnson's (Chloe Sevigny) dismissive husband (Stephen Fry), Lady Susan remarks that he is "too old to control, too young to die", a line delivered so matter - of - factly that it's incredibly amusing.
Beckinsale delivers lines of such a nature with dryness throughout as she clearly thrives on the opportunity to perform devilishly divine comedy. A recent appearance on BBC's The Graham Norton Show proved that Beckinsale harnesses a wicked sense of humour whilst simultaneously being very charming - two traits that effortlessly help inform the scheming and charismatic Lady Susan. Even though the character's actions are undoubtedly selfish and scandalous (especially when considering the time period), she is still thoroughly likeable and a disarming and unexpected protagonist. Although the role isn't one with great depth of mysterious allure, Beckinsale give arguably the best performance of her career. The performances of the other cast members are equally impressive, but Lady Susan rightfully so, steals the show.
Overall, the tone of Love and Friendship feels completely unique and original, and unlike anything you may have seen in recent memory - it's vastly incomparable.
EB
Comments
Post a Comment