Rent Love and Friendship (2016)

A New, and Different, Jane Austen - Love and Friendship review by MD

Just when you thought it impossible that any further ORIGINAL Jane Austen work could be put on celluloid, this turns up. And not only is it new, it's also very different.

Okay, so the period setting is the same, and the recognisable Austen characters are not too far away, but both the story itself and the manner of telling it are far from what we have come to expect of Austen adaptations. This is a fast-paced tale, full of almost soap opera-like content, which focuses on a leading lady who is anything but an Elizabeth Bennett or Emma Woodhouse. In fact, she's a bitch. And a brilliantly played one, too, the surprising casting of Kate Beckinsdale working a treat.

I loved the script, which is both literate and very witty, and the fact that even the more minor characters are given reasonable roles makes for a satisfyingly complete experience, all the more so because many of them, and the situations they find themselves in, are still very relevant to our world today.

Of course, it will not be to everyone's taste, but I think both Austen fans and those new to her work can find a great deal to admire and enjoy in this refreshing 'update' to her filmed works.

Too many characters and a dull plot - Love and Friendship review by Harry

We lost interest pretty close to the start. Too many characters and a hard to fathom setup meant we gave up trying and were disappointed at the way this movie had been represented to us.

Clever and amusing - Love and Friendship review by SA

I really enjoyed this adaptation of Jane Austen s unfinished book. We will never know how the author herself would have developed but it had the makings of something very special and new from her other works. This film brings it to life very enjoyably and is superbly cast and acted. Great fun.

Austen Powers? - Love and Friendship review by Mehitabel

I admit, I was a bit confused by this film, all the more so by other reviews. I took it to be an Austen spoof. I'm not an Austen fan (all that "sly wit" seems more like statin' the bleedin' obvious , but in arch early 19th c tones) so the idea of a spoof was very attractive. And the opening scenes did indeed seem to be sending up the genre (descriptive subtitles with character low-downs were a nice touch), most enjoyably.

But then the parody trickled away and it seemed to turn into an earnest story about the misadventures of our antiheroine - played with gusto by Kate Beckinsale, another phenomenon I've always suspected was over-rated. But not any more; she's delightfully deadpan in this.

Still, spoof or not, it's good fun. Most of all, I liked Tom Bennett as the idiotic but rather adorable Sir James Martin (as another nervous chatterer who has had some agonising social moments, I could actually relate to the poor, hapless soul...) And the settings are glorious.

One thing struck me as odd: The editing. Characters repeat themselves (a joke about the ghastly Lady Susan not "insulting" her impoverished companion with payment is good....... But not good enough to need telling twice..) and scenes jump abruptly; at one point, we discover that a couple who had been Just Good Friends - have become engaged. But there's been no lead-up to this. A potential bit of good drama is just ignored. It makes the overall effect jarring, when, with a film like this, you want to be carried along on a smooth, enjoyable ride.

Definitely worth a look, whether you love or hate Austen. But it's not the blast of fresh air (send-up or not) the rave reviews led me to expect..

Period peace of worth - Love and Friendship review by jw

Ever since BBC's Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth, I've followed many period pieces wth my tongue hanging out. Eager to revisit the hankering I had for P and P. This film is the most satisfying since. I don't know how the makers do it, but it works for me.

Boring - Love and Friendship review by BE

Not all that enamoured with the writings of Jane Austen. This film did nothing to enhance my opinion. Difficulty in relating to the historic life of the idle rich with their arrogant and unreal perspective of life in those times. Not for me.

Empty am-dram - Love and Friendship review by Alphaville

This cod-Austen shenanigans has less substance than the emperor’s clothes. The cast do their best with the stilted dialogue but can do little with their stylised characters, which have the depth of cardboard. On wishes devoutly that they wouldst vouchsafe their smug opinions less and do something interesting.

In any case, the film opens with so many confusing characters, whose relationships are indicated by brief subtitles, that many viewers will soon give up caring. This difficulty is even hinted at by one of the cast on the ‘Making Of’ DVD extra. Jaded critics found the stilted dialogue witty. The viewer is more likely to find it wince-inducing.

The film is based on an early Austen novella but it plays like a misconceived am-dram concocted by a talentless Austen wannabe who just doesn’t get her. The culprit is writer/director and arthouse favourite Whit Stillman, whose visual sense is as perfunctory as ever. Point the camera and shoot. The whole adds up to a stagey exercise in emptiness. It even makes Pride and Prejudice and Zombies seem like a masterpiece. One star for the production values and costumes.