Review of Love & Friendship (2016) by Steve S — 12 May 2016

There's hardly a more suitable filmmaker than Whit Stillman to adapt Jane Austen's endless wit. With a sardonic approach to the soap-ish contours of British high society in the 18th century, Stillman uses his trademark sophistication and wonderfully divisive writing to instigate the pleasures of manipulation whilst empowering the intellect of women in an age otherwise neglected.

Surprisingly contemporary-or perhaps not that much-Love & Friendship offers delightful comedy for those appreciative of intellectual cinema without ever disregarding the primal nature which defines Austen's themes.

Stillman appreciates the comforts of time in the quest to develop his cinema, but the wait is always worth it, as every new project brings a different dimension to the ethics he so pleasurably deconstructs.

Love & Friendship is yet another shining example of the director's views on the paradoxes and contradictions of society. Additionally, the film offers Kate Beckinsale's best performance in over a decade as well as a magnificent supporting cast.