He almost overbalances the picture, especially with the daft way he claps along at the obligatory ball scene. His opening speech, in which he appears unfamiliar with the word “Churchill” is a showstopper, as is the moment when he praises William Cowper for being able to write both verses and poetry, and a scene at dinner where he professes he has never seen peas before. In the outrageous role of Sir James, Tom Bennett comes very close to pinching the whole film, with his gormless, grinning comedy: the David Brent of Georgian England. Nicely judged cameo … Stephen Fry, centre, with Xavier Samuel and Jenn Murray But she has a wayward daughter, Frederica (Morfydd Clark), whom she is trying to marry off to a wealthy blockhead called Sir James Martin. Here she appears to set her cap at Catherine’s handsome brother Reginald (Xavier Samuel), to the horror of Catherine and Charles’ parents: very enjoyably played by James Fleet and Jemma Redgrave. She has already left one aristocratic house in some disorder, having apparently exerted her charms, and is now staying with her sister-in-law Catherine (Emma Greenwell) and Catherine’s biddable, bufferish husband Charles – a lovely performance from Justin Edwards. She has a scheming American confidante, Mrs Johnson, played by Chloë Sevigny, to whom she can periodically make her scheming explicit and also put the audience in the picture. She is a widow with beauty and a distinguished name, but no financial means, thus entitled to sympathy and in need of money: a dangerous combination.
Love and friendship review guardian full#
Lady Susan is the scandalous heroine, to whom Kate Beckinsale gives something predatory yet enigmatic, dressed very becomingly in full mourning black. With its wistful witticisms, its airy contrast of town and country, Love & Friendship somehow feels like an undiscovered Oscar Wilde play.
Stillman uses arch intertitles as a kind of visual archaism, almost like a literary silent movie, to introduce his characters and to flash up on screen the contents of letters. It reinvigorates the cliches, the breeches, buttons and bows, and proves you don’t need zombies to restore this writer’s carnivorous appetite. Here is a Jane Austen film that feels like a coolly measured theatrical chamber piece, rather than something from the full Hollywood orchestra. It also has a young woman talking about earning her living by taking a job: that’s a worst-case scenario that does not come to pass, but even mentioning it is interesting. Naturally, it takes place in a world where money is supremely important, but it is also a story in which women are permitted to be older, cleverer and better-looking than the men they wish to ensnare. When Lady Susan deadpans a line like “Facts are horrid things,” you can’t help but laugh.It’s a racier, naughtier piece of work than you might expect. Her energy is infectious.ĭespite its period trappings, Stillman’s film never feels stilted, largely thanks to his bracingly modern heroine who takes no prisoners, and makes no apologies for her conniving behavior. You can’t help but love Lady Susan because of the evident joy she takes in being so duplicitous. Still, it’s a joy to see the two paired together again for an onscreen reunion, 18 years in the making.īeckinsale is a hoot to watch as a character with no redeemable qualities, except for her cunning ability to get what she wants. Sevigny, who last played opposite Beckinsale in The Last Days of Disco, is afforded a smaller role than she had in that now-classic comedy. Lady Susan’s only trusted confidante throughout this is her close American friend, Alicia Johnson (Chloë Sevigny), in whom she confides all her plans. Sensing that Frederica’s presence might pose a threat to her wooing of Reginald, the ever-scheming Lady Susan arranges for her daughter to be courted by Sir James Martin (a scene-stealing Tom Bennett), an older man who can’t appear to keep his mouth shut (he’s described as “a bit of a rattle” by Catherine).Ĭhloë Sevigny and Kate Beckinsale in Love & Friendship Photograph: PR/Sundance Film Festival Her plans are thwarted, however, by the surprise arrival of her daughter, Frederica (Morfydd Clark), a timid girl who’s just run away from school. Kate Beckinsale, who he previously directed in The Last Days of Disco, effortlessly leads the film as Lady Susan Vernon, a beautiful and conniving widow: her sister-in-law, Mrs Catherine Vernon (Emma Greenwall), refers to her as a “genius of the evil kind” and “a serpent in Eden’s garden”.Īt the outset of the story, Lady Susan takes up temporary residence at her in-laws’ grand countryside estate in Churchill, with the intention of securing her financial future by marring Catherine’s handsome younger brother, Reginald De Courcy (Xavier Samuel).
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