★★½
Starring Kate Beckinsale, Chloë Sevigny, Morfydd Clark, Tom Bennett, Jenn Murray, Lochlann O’Mearáin, Sophie Radermacher, Stephen Fry
Directed by Whit Stillman
2016 / 92 Minutes / Mongrel Media / Roadside Attractions
I’ll be the first to admit that it takes a lot for me to sit through and enjoy a costume period piece. There have been some I have liked… hell there have been some I’ve loved, but there have been plenty I just can’t get through. I made it through this one, thankfully the running time was only 92 minutes, I could not have gone any longer. I’m not a big Jane Austin fan at all, but from the ads I thought this was going to be really good. The buzz was great, it sounded like it was funny. A smirk, that’s about all that came out of me.
I didn’t hate Love & Friendship, there are some good moments from a very talented cast. Kate Backinsale is fantastic, I’d rather see her in drama’s then action films. The rest of the cast is equally great and it’s their performances that really kept me watching this to the end. The real problem I had with this is… it’s boring.
B-O-R-I-N-G! I respect the story, I’m sure it’s brilliant and clever and witty, I just couldn’t get into it. I need something more.
If you love movies like this then you will certainly enjoy this one. Again, the performances are so good here they really make the movie, but I got nothing out of this.
Grade C-
