There’s
not much worth seeing on the big screen this summer. Or so it would seem.
Occasional gems like Genius,
previously lauded here. But last weekend, I caught a feature which is close to ending
its limited-release distribution: Love
and Friendship, directed by Whit Stillman.
This
delightful romp is based on a Jane Austen novella, Lady Susan, and features Kate Beckinsale and a wonderful crew of
British actors, with Stephen Fry and Chloe Sevigny the best known but appearing
in modest cameo roles. The intrigue Austen was so expert in capturing concerns
a widowed lady’s machinations to find a new husband for herself and a first one
for her unmarried daughter in order to insure that they both have means of
support in Georgian society (18th century England) where fortunes,
country houses, and city residences were all solely within the control of
well-off men.
Lady
Susan is a schemer par excellence, and given the varied motivations but often
equally meretricious circles in which she travels, we end up being more
sympathetic to her as a lovable sinner than otherwise might be the situation.
The director has done a clever job of familiarizing us with the diverse cast of
characters and their motivations by presenting them in old-fashioned panels at
the start, categorized both by their location—usually, which country house where
they are located—and relationship.
We
often forget that Jane Austen was writing in the early days of the development
of the English novel. She was influenced by the very first novelists—Richardson
and Fielding—and began in the style used then: epistolary, or a novel in
letters. This novella was one of her first works, although not published for
many years, and was written in that style.
Her
perceptions of the way the different characters behave are filled with
plenteous use of irony and wit. It is not at all surprising that as is usually
the case in her works, the women almost always have a far more penetrating insight
into both character and what is actually occurring than the men, who while
ostensibly totally in charge of matters relating to fame and fortune, are
frequently clueless as to the machinations going on around them.
All
of this is beautifully portrayed in this marvelous film. Many parts of it, and
certainly many lines, are completely irresistible.
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