This will certainly grab the attention of half the population. Darcy, as clueless as Emma Woodhouse and opinionated as Lady Catherine de Bourgh when it came to acknowledging Austen’s understated writing skills and message to her readers, but during the process of reading Emma, one of Austen’s most scrutinized and acclaimed novels, he had an intellectual epiphany. We realize that he is preaching to the choir here, but thought it important to point out that he started out in a much different place as a twenty-six year old graduate student who thought Austen was all girly romance and banal social drivel. In A Jane Austen Education he soundly reaffirms our opinion that the world would be a better place if everyone just paid attention and listened to Jane Austen. William Deresiewicz thinks so too, and we could not be happier.

Well done all around despite the bland storyline.We have long harbored the belief that everything worth knowing about life and love can be learned in a Jane Austen novel. It is difficult to find fault with any part of this handsomely mounted production which is graced by Jane Austen's relentlessly clever dialogue and the skilled direction of Whit Stillman ('Metropolitan', 'The Last Days Of Disco'). This is a movie for grownups in a landscape festooned with juvenile entertainment. He is an oasis in the midst of the arid screenplay, which cries for more of his bumbling presence. Midway through the film gets a needed boost from Tom Bennett, who plays the oafish Sir James Martin. Kate Beckinsale is good as Lady Susan and the rest of the cast is even better. 'Love And Friendship' sports first class production values as well as a sophisticated literary background. Lady Susan is very beautiful and flirtatious a husband is needed to achieve stability as well as position, not to mention a reliable source of income (We have to infer much of this information from the plot Lady Susan is not a flamboyant character, like Auntie Mame). So she bounces from estate to estate endearing herself to the menfolk and is notorious among the ladies. In a nutshell Lady Susan is recently widowed and now relies on the kindness of friends and relatives for shelter as she is very short of money. Our website calls it a drama/romance but those labels don't capture the essence of Jane Austen's late 18th century novella, gorgeously filmed and impeccably acted by a predominantly British cast. 'Love And Friendship' is not classified as a comedy but that's the only way it succeeds.

Friendship jane austen