Love & Friendship

Love & Friendship

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Whit Stillman
Produced by
  • Whit Stillman
  • Katie Holly
  • Lauranne Bourrachot
Screenplay by Whit Stillman
Based on Lady Susan
by Jane Austen
Starring
Music by Mark Suozzo
Cinematography Richard Van Oosterhout
Edited by Sophie Corra
Production
companies
  • Blinder Films
  • Chic Films
  • Revolver Films
  • Westerly Films
Distributed by
Release dates
  • January 23, 2016 (2016-01-23) (Sundance)
  • May 13, 2016 (2016-05-13) (United States)
Running time
93 minutes[1]
Country
  • Ireland
  • France
  • Netherlands
Language English
Budget $3 million[2]
Box office $19.1 million[3][4]

Love & Friendship is a 2016 period comedy film written and directed by Whit Stillman. Based on Jane Austen's epistolary novel Lady Susan, written ca. 1794, the film stars Kate Beckinsale, Chloë Sevigny, Xavier Samuel, and Stephen Fry. The film follows the exploits of the wry and calculating Lady Susan as she pursues the wealthy and hapless Sir James for marriage originally intended for her daughter, though she eventually marries him as her own husband for purposes of wealth and profit. Although adapted from Lady Susan, the film was produced under the borrowed title of Austen's juvenile story Love and Freindship [sic].

The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2016. Theatrically released on May 13, 2016, by Roadside Attractions and Amazon Studios, the film received critical acclaim and has been a box office success in North America.[3]

Plot

In the 1790s, the recently widowed and relatively young Lady Susan Vernon seeks to find a suitably wealthy match for her sole daughter Frederica, and a similarly wealthy husband for herself, in order to renew the state of her fortunes. After being unceremoniously turned out of the Manwaring estate due to her dalliance with the married Lord Manwaring (pronounced "Mannering"), she and her widowed companion Mrs. Cross head to Churchill, the country home of her brother-in-law, Charles Vernon and his wife, Catherine Vernon (née DeCourcy).

Catherine and her brother, Reginald DeCourcy, are aware of Lady Susan's long-standing reputation as a determined and accomplished flirt. But under the influence of the amiable but dull Charles, Reginald agrees to keep an open mind, and soon finds himself enchanted with Lady Susan. When Reginald's father, Sir Reginald DeCourcy, catches wind of this, he travels to Churchill to warn Reginald against marrying Lady Susan lest the family name be sullied. But Reginald says their relationship is not romantic.

Lady Susan's daughter, Frederica, attends a boarding school which Lady Susan cannot afford, but she runs away and is then expelled. Frederica arrives at Churchill and, shortly thereafter, is followed by Sir James Martin, who is very wealthy, sometimes well-meaning, and extremely foolish. For example, upon arrival at Churchill, he explains that he struggled to find the estate as he had been looking for "church hill", a church and/or a hill. Later, he mentions the "Twelve Commandments" and when told there are only ten, he wonders which two should be disregarded.

While in London, Lady Susan's relationship with Lord Manwaring suddenly explodes into scandal. Lady Manwaring becomes outraged by the lack of propriety the brashly indiscreet and flirtatious couple are showing in public. Lady Susan makes use of her many charms to convince everyone that a new plan is best for all parties. When the very wealthy and hapless Sir James visits Lady Susan in London, she convinces him that they are a match made in heaven, and that he should abandon his proposal to her daughter Frederica, and marry her, the mother, instead.

Sir James agrees, and instantly marries Lady Susan. Meanwhile, still in the country, Frederica has fallen in love with Reginald DeCourcy, and the two are also married. But the joy of the occasion is further enhanced by the announcement that Lady Susan is with child during the first two days of her marriage to Sir James. Sir James is filled with happiness at the prospect of becoming a father.

Apparently, Lady Susan had previously invited Lord Manwaring to be a house guest at her new home with Sir James, and Sir James speaks fondly of his new found friend. Sir James says that Lord Manwaring is someone whose friendship and love of hunting are interests that they both share, and this is especially pleasing to Sir James in his newly formed home with Lady Susan. After all, explains Sir James, Lord Manwaring is a fine chap to stay as a long-term guest at his new home with Lady Susan. Lord Manwaring, adds Sir James, is someone who always enjoys hunting game of whatever merit, both "large and small".

Cast

Production

Conception and development

Location filming took place at the Newbridge Estate in Ireland.

In May 2013, Whit Stillman announced his plans to shoot a period comedy.[5] In July, it was confirmed that Stillman was filming an adaptation of Jane Austen's Lady Susan, titled Love & Friendship. Stillman hoped to shoot the film in Britain or Ireland.[6] Unlike other Austen novels, Lady Susan has rarely been adapted for the screen.[7] Stillman discovered Lady Susan in the late 1990s. After he had finished reading Austen's Northanger Abbey, Stillman found Lady Susan was included in the same edition and he became "fascinated" with the story, believing it "was too good not to be known."[8] Stillman thought that the novel had some good features, but was inaccessible, causing it to be overlooked by filmmakers.[8] During interviews at the Rotterdam film festival screening of the film, Stillman stated that although the literary influences for the film were clearly taken from Jane Austen, the cinematographic influences for the film were developed from the Michael Caine and Steve Martin film Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.[9]

Casting

In February 2014, Amanda Dobbins from New York reported actress Sienna Miller had been cast as Lady Susan, while Chloë Sevigny would play Susan's close friend Alicia.[10] Miller later left the project to join the cast of American Sniper.[11] The following year, it was announced that Kate Beckinsale had replaced Miller as Lady Susan. Xavier Samuel and Stephen Fry also joined the cast as Reginald and Mr. Johnson respectively.[12] Beckinsale and Sevigny previously worked together on Stillman's The Last Days of Disco.[12] Other cast members include Emma Greenwell as Catherine Vernon, Morfydd Clark as Frederica, Jemma Redgrave as Lady DeCourcy, James Fleet as Sir Reginald DeCourcy, Tom Bennett as Sir James Martin and Justin Edwards as Charles Vernon.[13][14] Stillman later confirmed that Clark was the first actor to be cast, followed by Fleet and Redgrave. The director also said he met with two other actors for the part of Sir James Martin, before Bennett was cast in the role.[13]

Todd Van der Werff writing for Vox referred to the successful aspects of Stillman's casting for the film stating: "Love & Friendship is filled with (casting) ringers. Stephen Fry pops up in what amounts to a one-scene cameo, and he's wickedly funny. Chloë Sevigny is great as his wife, Susan's American friend who finds herself constantly dealing with the protagonist's latest schemes. And Xavier Samuel is deliciously oblivious as the young man Susan tries to wed. But even the actors you've never heard of give wonderful performances. Love & Friendship marks one of Morfydd Clark's first film roles, and as Frederica she manages to transform the character's innocence into the basis for comedy instead of just a metaphor for everything Susan might destroy. That same level of skill is evident in every member of the ensemble."[15]

Filming

The film received funding from Arte, the Irish Film Board and the Netherlands Film Fund.[16] Principal photography was originally scheduled to begin in the summer of 2014,[17] but later started on February 2, 2015 in Dublin.[18][19] Filming also took place in the coastal town of Donabate,[20] and at Russborough House, which was used as the exterior for two different residences in the film.[21] For three weeks, scenes were shot on-location at the Newbridge Estate.[22] On 16 March 2015, it was announced that filming on the production had wrapped.[23] In a thirty-minute interview for AOL Build released on May 12, 2016 on YouTube between Stillman and Beckinsale, Beckinsale indicated that the entire filming was completed in 27 days.[24] The film's assembly edit took place at the EGG Post Production house in Dublin, and continued in France and the Netherlands.[25]

Costume design

Irish costume designer Eimer Ní Mhaoldomhnaigh designed the clothing for the film.[26] Mhaoldomhnaigh used bold colours to show Lady Susan's transition from a widow in mourning to "a confident society lady".[26] When the character is in the countryside, she wears mostly black, grey and mauve clothing, matching the mourning clothes of the period, but once she is in London, the colours become brighter and she wears more corseted dresses.[26] The bold hues used for Lady Susan contrast with the more subtle blues, gold and bronze colours of Alicia Johnson's clothing. Mhaoldomhnaigh used the colours to show that Alicia is not fully comfortable with country living, as she comes from the city.[26] The designer also wanted Alicia to appear "quite ornamental" and as if she spent a long time choosing what to wear.[26] Mhaoldomhnaigh stated "The brilliant thing about this film – because all the characters are heightened versions of themselves, it gives you leeway to be bold and use color and texture ... so the costumes can be heightened as well."[26]

Music

On December 29, 2015, a contributor to Film Music Reporter confirmed the film's score was being composed by Mark Suozzo, who has composed the music for all of Stillman's previous films.[27] French composer Benjamin Esdraffo wrote additional pieces, including the opening harp theme.[28] The score was recorded in August 2015 at the Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin, with Suozzo conducting the Irish Film Orchestra.[28] Film editor Sophie Corra was involved in selecting the music, while Etienne Jardin, an expert on period music, helped with the musical research.[28] Stillman commented that while Austen's novel was written during the 1790, they felt earlier music appeared to reflect "the spirit of the piece" better.[28] Suozzo added that "the music of Love & Friendship brings the Georgian era to life through a variety of musical styles".[28] The soundtrack includes original compositions and well known and obscure classical pieces by William Boyce, George Frideric Handel, Henry Purcell, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Vivaldi.[28] The score was released on May 6, 2016.[28]

Release

UK sales agency Protagonist Pictures represented the film at the European Film Market during the Berlin International Film Festival.[16] Amazon Studios acquired the North American rights to the film,[29] and teamed up with Roadside Attractions for its theatrical release.[30] While Curzon Artificial Eye will handle the film's UK release.[31] Love & Friendship had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2016.[32] The film received a limited release in the United States on May 13, 2016 playing in 4 theaters, before going wide on June 10, 2016 to 826 theaters.[33]

A short six minute documentary of the making of the film titled Behind the Scenes was released in May 2016 including interviews with the director, and the film's leading and supporting actors including Stephen Fry.[34]

Home media

The DVD and Blu-ray release of the film was released on 6 September 2016.[35]

Novelization

A novelization of the film written by the director Whit Stillman was announced for publication to coincide with the general release of the film on May 13, 2016.[8] Alexandra Alter of The New York Times states in her 2016 interview article with Stillman, describing the novelization: "In the novel, Mr. Stillman takes the characters and plot from Austen's fictionalized letters and narrates the tale from the perspective of Lady Susan's nephew, who hopes to counter criticism of his maligned aunt. The 41 letters from Austen's Lady Susan are included in an appendix."[8] Stillman told Alter that he felt Lady Susan was not quite finished and thought the form of the book was "so flawed".[8] After realising that there was another story to be told, he convinced the publisher Little, Brown and Company to let him write the novel.[8]

Reception

Box office

Love & Friendship earned $133,513 from four theaters during its opening weekend in May 2016.[36] As of August 20, 2016, the film has grossed over $18 million, against an estimated production budget of $3 million.[3][4]

Critical response

The film received acclaim from critics. It has a "certified fresh" approval rating of 98%, with an average rating of 8.3 out of 10 based on 154 reviews, according to review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes. The site's consensus states, "Love & Friendship finds director Whit Stillman bringing his talents to bear on a Jane Austen adaptation – with a thoroughly delightful period drama as the result."[37] Metacritic gave the film an average score of 87 out of 100, based on 36 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[38]

A.O. Scott, in his review for The New York Times, gave high praise to Stillman as director of the film: "Mr. Stillman, who started out (with Metropolitan in 1990) as an anatomist of the manners and mores of the young American “urban haute bourgeoisie” and returned to filmmaking with the campus comedy Damsels in Distress (2012), is perfectly at home in Austen’s world. He approaches his literary source not with the usual reverence but with an appreciation for its freewheeling sense of fun. At times, most often when Mr. Bennett is onscreen, Love & Friendship is howlingly funny, and as a whole it feels less like a romance than like a caper, an unabashedly contrived and effortlessly inventive heist movie with a pretty good payoff."[39] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian, in a rave review, described it as "a hilariously self-aware period comedy polished to a brilliant sheen," with particular praise reserved for Beckinsale and Tom Bennett, whose Sir James character "comes very close to pinching the whole film, with his gormless, grinning comedy."[40] Kim Newman at Empire magazine awarded it 5 stars.[41]

Writing for The New Yorker, Richard Brody found the film to be "deeply satisfying". In his summary of the film, Brody stated that: “Love & Friendship is both a worldview in motion and the story of how it crystallized; its portrait of a society changing suddenly, drastically, and gloriously through the delicate strategies and bold tactics of a woman who’s honest with herself about what she wants and what she’ll do to get it is strangely, deeply personal."[42]

A contributor to the British news weekly The Economist praised Beckinsale's acting stating: "Lady Susan, who Ms Beckinsale brings to life with magnetism and charisma, masterfully uses her charm and wit to thrive in any situation. Even when an intercepted letter exposes her love triangle, she feigns outrage and offence at the breach of her privacy—DeCourcy ends up apologising to her. She is a beguiling woman in full control of her own allure, and uses her 'uncanny' understanding of the men’s natures with much success." The contributor added "Despite some flaws, Love & Friendship is a welcome addition to what we have come to know as the Austen adaptation canon. The film is rollicking, visually stunning and light. Lady Susan is an easy-to-love anti-heroine, a far cry from the rather dull Elizabeth Bennet or the irritating Dashwood sisters."[43]

Writing for TheWrap on January 24, 2016, Alonso Duralde commented on the Sundance premiere of the film stating: "In the same way that Stillman has brought the courtliness of another era to his modern stories, in Love & Friendship he puts a contemporary twist on venerable material, down to a third-act twist that suggests behavior that's anything but chaste. Were she around today, Miss Austen would, I think, smile upon this adaptation. And then she might add the upcoming Blu-ray of Stillman's Barcelona to her Amazon wish list."[44]

Justin Chang of Variety described Beckinsale's role as "one of the most satisfying screen roles of her career.... Beckinsale magnetizes the screen in a way that naturally underscores how far ahead of everyone else she is: an effect that doesn't always work to the movie's advantage."[45] Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter remarked, "There aren't great depths to the role, but Beckinsale excels with the long speeches and in defining her character as a very self-aware egoist."[46]

Peter Bradshaw writing for The Guardian highlighted Bennett's acting as leading to a "colossal cuckold". As Bradshaw states: "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. 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. He almost overbalances the picture, especially with the daft way he claps along at the obligatory ball scene. But Stillman keeps him under control, in check for a colossal cuckold joke later on."[47]

Accolades

List of awards and nominations
Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref(s)
Critics Choice Awards December 11, 2016 Best Actress in a Comedy Kate Beckinsale Pending [48]
Best Costume Design Eimer Ní Mhaoldomhnaigh Pending
Evening Standard British Film Awards December 8, 2016 Best Actress Kate Beckinsale Pending [49]
Best Supporting Actor Tom Bennett Pending
Gotham Awards November 28, 2016 Best Actress Kate Beckinsale Nominated [50]
Best Screenplay Whit Stillman Nominated
Rotterdam International Film Festival February 7, 2016 Big Screen Award Whit Stillman Nominated [51]
Satellite Awards February 19, 2017 Best Costume Design Eimer Ní Mhaoldomhnaigh Pending [52]
Seattle International Film Festival June 12, 2016 Best Actress Kate Beckinsale Nominated [53]

References

  1. "Love & Friendship (U)". British Board of Film Classification. March 7, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  2. Phillips, Michael (May 12, 2016). "Director Whit Stillman on adapting Jane Austen for the big screen". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 "Love & Friendship (2016)". The Numbers. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  4. 1 2 "Love & Friendship (2016)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 12, 2016.
  5. Sun, Rebecca (May 14, 2013). "Filmmaker Whit Stillman Signs With UTA (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  6. Jagernauth, Kevin (July 18, 2013). "Whit Stillman Gearing Up Next Film 'Love And Friendship,' An Adaptation Of Jane Austen's 'Lady Susan'". Indiewire. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  7. Kang, Inkoo (February 3, 2015). "Kate Beckinsale and Chloe Sevigny to Star in Adaptation of Jane Austen's 'Lady Susan'". Indiewire. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Alter, Alexandra (May 2, 2016). "Whit Stillman Discusses Austen's Sense and His Sensibility". The New York Times. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
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  10. Dobbins, Amanda (February 10, 2014). "Sienna Miller, Chloë Sevigny Join Stillman's Love and Friendship". New York. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  11. Shakespeare, Sebastian (April 15, 2014). "Sexism row over Zac's rippling torso". Daily Mail. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  12. 1 2 McNary, Dave (February 2, 2015). "Kate Beckinsale, Chloe Sevigny Reunite in 'Love and Friendship'". Variety. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
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  14. Rosser, Michael (February 3, 2015). "EFM: Kate Beckinsale, Chloe Sevigny reunite for Love & Friendship". Screen International. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
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  47. Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian. Review of Love and Friendship. May 26, 2016.
  48. "La La Land Leads with 12 Nominations for the 22nd Annual Critics' Choice Awards". Critics' Choice. December 1, 2016. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  49. Moore, William (November 17, 2016). "Evening Standard British Film Awards - The Longlist". London Evening Standard. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  50. Cox, Gordon (October 20, 2016). "Gotham Awards Nominations 2016: 'Manchester By The Sea' Leads with Four". Variety. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
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  52. Kilday, Gregg (November 29, 2016). "Satellite Awards Nominees Revealed". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
  53. Huey, Sara (June 6, 2016). "Captain Fantastic, Gleason, Girl Asleep Win Top Awards At The 42nd Seattle International Film Festival". Seattle International Film Festival. Retrieved June 29, 2016.

External links

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