By Rachel Curry
For many, Jane Austen’s name is synonymous with love and romance, a somewhat false representation of the author who was equally skilled at portraying the subtle power struggles among the gentry of Georgian England.
The latest adaptation of her work, Love & Friendship, directed by Whit Stillman, refreshingly eschews romance altogether to focus on the diabolical scheming of Lady Susan Vernon, introduced as “the most accomplished flirt in all of England”.
The film is based upon Austen’s epistolary novel Lady Susan, which makes the title change somewhat confusing, considering the film rarely strays from the actions of its protagonist.
Delightfully played by Kate Beckinsale, Lady Susan is a recent widow who is forced to rely on the hospitality of others until she can marry off her daughter Frederica (Morfydd Clark) to a rich suitor, thereby securing both of their futures.
At the beginning of the film, she flees the home of the Manwaring family, where she has been shamelessly flirting with a married man, to take up residence with her brother-in-law, Charles Vernon (Justin Edwards) and his wife Catherine (Emma Greenwell).
Here, she attempts to convince her reluctant daughter to accept the proposal of Sir James Martin (Tom Bennett), a wealthy, yet dim-witted bachelor, whose bumbling attempts at courtship attracted some of the biggest laughs of the film.
She also finds time to woo Catherine’s handsome younger brother, Reginald De Courcy (Australia’s Xavier Samuel), much to her hosts’ displeasure, who can see through her schemes but are hopeless to counter them.
Lady Susan is one of Austen’s most unlikeable characters, while also being one of her funniest.
Her frank discussions with her equally immoral friend Alicia Johnson (Chloë Sevigny), whose husband she describes as “too old to be governable, too young to die”, are endlessly entertaining.
Even her daughter Frederica is not out of reach, pronounced by her mother as “the greatest simpleton on earth”.
Yet Lady Susan’s blunt nature draws stark attention to the precarious situation of women in Georgian England, who were required to make a good match to survive.
When Frederica refuses to marry Sir James, Lady Susan laments that if she had only let her starve as a child, she would not be so willing to forgo a comfortable future.
It was a painful truth for the women of the period, and a common theme in Austen’s novels, which has often been glossed over in screen adaptations.
Another motif in Love & Friendship is religion, or rather the pretence of it by many of the film’s characters.
Lady Susan cynically uses the Fourth Commandment (or Fifth Commandment in the Anglican Church), “honour thy father and thy mother”, to manipulate Frederica, while Sir James embarrasses himself by confidently musing on “the Twelve Commandments”.
In contrast, Frederica and Reginald, two of the film’s more sympathetic characters, are shown to cherish their faith.
Frederica gains respite from her troubles through a visit to the local Church, while Reginald explains to Lady Susan that his father is not afraid of death, because it will lead to eternal life.
Love & Friendship does come to a rather abrupt ending – a reflection of the novel, which Austen never put forward for publication.
However, there is something to be said for leaving the cinema wanting more, and I certainly wanted to spend more time with the devious Lady Susan.
Love & Friendship is rated PG for mild themes and is in cinemas now.