“Facts are horrid things”, implies Kate Beckinsale as Love and Friendship’s lead Lady Susan to her American lady-in-waiting Alicia Johnson at one point. What an appropriate life philosophy for someone who relies on her wit and charm not only to work her way around her era’s hypocrisies but also to escape the various situations she creates- both for herself and everyone else around her. (And also not sounding too different from most politicians these days, amirightguys? Heh? *badum-tish*)
But writer/director Whit Stillman’s adaption of Jane Austen’s novel “Lady Susan”(which on its own is a hilarious collection of urgent letters between the cast) initially seems darker than it actually turns out to be. And after all, the best comedy is rooted in misery, right? Well, while this film is very dry and darkly funny, there’s an undercurrent of sweetness that fits the title. A lot of the fun of the story is seeing these various eccentrics get to know and connect with each other, arguably both due to AND in spite of Lady Susan’s selfish end goals and scheming.
Her goals initially are economic based, as following the death of her then current husband she and Alicia (Chloe Sevigny) are en route to her brother in law Charles’s and his wife Catherine’s country residence. Never one to be shy with her opinions, Susan dreads having to stay at what she considers a dump, and Catherine isn’t too thrilled about the arrangement either. But if she can find an appropriately wealthy match for her daughter Frederica (a charming Morfydd Clark), and hopefully herself – in the form of Catherine’s hot brother Reginald DeCourcey (Xavier Samuel, an enjoyable straight man here), it’ll all be worth it.
The plot thickens when Frederica arrives at Charles’s place, having been expelled from her boarding school due to events that, while not shown on screen, still managed to get another laugh out of me in passing mention. She’s accompanied by Sir James Martin, played by Tom Bennett as a likable but childish idiot who mangles biblical verses and is fascinated by peas. In an understated but hilarious moment, their arrival is heralded by Stillman and composer Mark Suozzo using an ominous musical cue, indicating how Susan is probably viewing this turn of events.
In spite of his stupidity, Susan presses Frederica to marry him and preserve her accustomed state of living, but Frederica is hesitant, realizing that James isn’t a bad guy (or “The Guy”. He’s just a good guy) by any stretch, just not her ideal life partner. Eventually, Lady Susan continues her flirting, perhaps to increase her own options, and this leads to a chain reaction of a climax.
It would be easy to dismiss the Lady Susan character as an amoral gold-digger, which she certainly is, but in her own way she seems to be proud of it. Within the confines of her time period, her own infamous reputation and how women were expected to conduct themselves, her cunning and her wit help her advance up the social ladders.
Just about all of the performances are solid, including Stephen Fry as Mr. Johnson who mostly comments on all of the scandal and weirdness unfolding, and Clark as Frederica who is an innocent victim of her mother’s machinations. But Beckinsale especially makes Susan very charismatic and charming despite her lack of scruples. She’s motivated by her ego as opposed to any real malice, and in the end she’s a pretty likable scoundrel.
There’s a heavy sense of urgency behind the rehearsed formality of the characters, helping them feel surprisingly more relatable and accessible than I was expecting. I can happily recommend Love and Friendship as a smartly adapted and fun romantic comedy, even for those who normally wouldn’t be into period pieces. It’s not quite a one woman show, but Susan will probably leave the strongest impression.