Love & Friendship

Love & Friendship

Film poster
Directed by Whit Stillman
Produced by
  • Whit Stillman
  • Katie Holly
  • Lauranne Bourrachot
Screenplay by Whit Stillman
Based on Lady Susan 
by Jane Austen
Starring
Music by Mark Suozzo
Cinematography Richard Van Oosterhout
Edited by Sophie Corra
Production
company
  • Westerly Films
  • Blinder Films
  • Chic Films
  • Revolver Films
Distributed by
Release dates
  • January 23, 2016 (2016-01-23) (Sundance Film Festival)
  • May 13, 2016 (2016-05-13) (United States)
Running time
 92 minutes
Country
  • United States
  • Ireland
Language English

Love & Friendship is an upcoming romantic comedy film written and directed by Whit Stillman. It is based on Jane Austen's epistolary novel Lady Susan first published in 1871. The film stars Kate Beckinsale, Chloë Sevigny, Xavier Samuel and Stephen Fry. It centres on Lady Susan Vernon (Beckinsale), who seeks refuge at her in-laws estate while rumors about her private life circulate through society. Lady Susan then decides to find a husband for both herself and her daughter. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2016. It is scheduled to be released on May 13, 2016, by Roadside Attractions and Amazon Studios. Although it is adapted from Austen's novel Lady Susan, the film has been produced under the borrowed title of her juvenile story Love and Friendship.

Plot

Set in the 1790s, the widowed Lady Susan Vernon seeks refuge with her in-laws as rumors about her private life circulate through society. While staying at the estate, Lady Susan decides to find herself and her daughter, Frederica, a husband.[1]

The promotional announcement by Little, Brown and Company for the novelization supplemented the summary to Stillman's adaptation stating; "Recently widowed, Lady Susan arrives, unannounced, at her brother-in-law's estate to wait out colorful rumors about her dalliances circulating through polite society. While there, she becomes determined to secure a new husband for herself, and one for her reluctant debutante daughter, Frederica, too. As Lady Susan embarks on a controversial relationship with a married man, seduction, deception, broken hearts, and gossip all ensue. With a pitch-perfect Austenian sensibility, Stillman breathes new life into Austen's work, making it his own by adding original narration from a character comically loyal to the story's fiendishly manipulative heroine, Lady Susan."[2]

Cast

Production

Filming took place on-location at the Newbridge Estate in Ireland.

In May 2013, Whit Stillman announced his plans to shoot a period comedy.[3] In July, it was confirmed that Stillman was filming an adaptation of Jane Austen's Lady Susan, titled Love & Friendship. Stillman hoped to shoot the film in Britain or Ireland.[4] Unlike other Austen novels, Lady Susan has rarely been adapted for the screen.[5] Whitman discovered Lady Susan in the late 1990s. After he had finished reading Austen's Northanger Abbey, Stillman found Lady Susan was included in the same edition and he became "fascinated" with the story, believing it "was too good not to be known."[6] Stillman thought that the novel had some good features, but was inaccessible, causing it to be overlooked by filmmakers.[6]

In February 2014, Amanda Dobbins from New York reported actress Sienna Miller had been cast as Lady Susan, while Chloë Sevigny would play Susan's close friend Alicia.[7] Miller later left the project to join the cast of American Sniper.[8] The following year, it was announced that Kate Beckinsale had replaced Miller as Lady Susan. Xavier Samuel and Stephen Fry also joined the cast as Reginald and Mr. Johnson respectively.[1] Beckinsale and Sevigny previously worked together on Stillman's The Last Days of Disco.[1] Other cast members include Emma Greenwell as Catherine Vernon, Morfydd Clark as Frederica, Jemma Redgrave as Lady DeCourcy, James Fleet as Sir Reginald DeCourcy, Tom Bennett and Justin Edwards as Charles Vernon.[9][10] Stillman later confirmed that Clark was the first actor to be cast, followed by Fleet and Redgrave. The director also said he met with two other actors for the part of Sir James Martin, before Bennett was cast in the role.[9]

The film received funding from Arte, the Irish Film Board and the Netherlands Film Fund.[11] Principal photography was originally scheduled to begin in the Summer of 2014,[12] but later started on February 2, 2015 in Dublin.[13][14] Filming also took place in the coastal town of Donabate.[15] For three weeks, scenes were shot on-location at Newbridge Estate.[16] On 16 March 2015, it was announced that filming on the production had wrapped.[17] The film's assembly edit took place at the EGG Post Production house in Dublin, and continued in France and the Netherlands.[18]

On December 29, 2015, a contributor to Film Music Reporter confirmed the film's score was being composed by Mark Suozzo, who has composed the music for all of Stillman's previous films.[19]

Release

UK sales agency Protagonist Pictures represented the film at the European Film Market during the Berlin International Film Festival.[11] Amazon Studios acquired the North American rights to the film,[20] and teamed up with Roadside Attractions for its theatrical release.[21] While Curzon Artificial Eye will handle the film's UK release.[22] Love & Friendship had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2016.[23] The film is scheduled to have a limited release in the United States from May 13, 2016.[24]

Novelization

A novelization of the film written by the director Whit Stillman was announced for publication to coincide with the general release of the film on May 13, 2016.[6] Alexandra Alter of The New York Times states in her 2016 interview article with Stillman, describing the novelization: "In the novel, Mr. Stillman takes the characters and plot from Austen's fictionalized letters and narrates the tale from the perspective of Lady Susan's nephew, who hopes to counter criticism of his maligned aunt. The 41 letters from Austen's Lady Susan are included in an appendix."[6] Stillman told Alter that he felt Lady Susan was not quite finished and thought the form of the book was "so flawed".[6] After realising that there was another story to be told, he convinced the publisher Little, Brown and Company to let him write the novel.[6]

Reception

Writing for TheWrap on January 24, 2016, Alonso Duralde commented on the Sundance premiere of the film stating: "In the same way that Stillman has brought the courtliness of another era to his modern stories, in Love & Friendship he puts a contemporary twist on venerable material, down to a third-act twist that suggests behavior that's anything but chaste. Were she around today, Miss Austen would, I think, smile upon this adaptation. And then she might add the upcoming Blu-ray of Stillman's Barcelona to her Amazon wish list."[25]

In a review of the film screening at the Glasgow Film Festival, Cassam Looch stated on March 7, 2016, that: "Kate Beckinsale is outstanding in the role (of Lady Susan), carrying the smart dialogue with natural ability. From the opening moments when she hastily retreats from her latest indiscretion to a few scenes later when she essentially turns a loyal friend into a slave, we are enthralled with just how devious a character she has the potential to be. The direction and script by Stillman feels like authentic Austen with all the modern trappings you could ever wish for."[26]

Justin Chang of Variety described Backinsale's role as "one of the most satisfying screen roles of her career.... Beckinsale magnetizes the screen in a way that naturally underscores how far ahead of everyone else she is: an effect that doesn’t always work to the movie’s advantage."[27] Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter remarked, "There aren’t great depths to the role, but Beckinsale excels with the long speeches and in defining her character as a very self-aware egoist."[28]

Love & Friendship was nominated for the Big Screen Award at the Rotterdam International Film Festival.[29]

References

  1. 1 2 3 McNary, Dave (February 2, 2015). "Kate Beckinsale, Chloe Sevigny Reunite in 'Love and Friendship'". Variety. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  2. ↑ Promotional announcement for Love & Friendship. The Guardian.
  3. ↑ Sun, Rebecca (May 14, 2013). "Filmmaker Whit Stillman Signs With UTA (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  4. ↑ Jagernauth, Kevin (July 18, 2013). "Whit Stillman Gearing Up Next Film 'Love And Friendship,' An Adaptation Of Jane Austen's 'Lady Susan'". Indiewire. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  5. ↑ Kang, Inkoo (February 3, 2015). "Kate Beckinsale and Chloe Sevigny to Star in Adaptation of Jane Austen's 'Lady Susan'". Indiewire. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Alter, Alexandra (May 2, 2016). "Whit Stillman Discusses Austen's Sense and His Sensibility". The New York Times. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  7. ↑ Dobbins, Amanda (February 10, 2014). "Sienna Miller, Chloë Sevigny Join Stillman's Love and Friendship". New York. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  8. ↑ Shakespeare, Sebastian (April 15, 2014). "Sexism row over Zac's rippling torso". Daily Mail. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  9. 1 2 Mecca, Dan (February 1, 2016). "Whit Stillman Talks Jane Austen, Kate Beckinsale, Realism in Movies, and 'Love & Friendship'". The Film Stage. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  10. ↑ Rosser, Michael (February 3, 2015). "EFM: Kate Beckinsale, Chloe Sevigny reunite for Love & Friendship". Screen International. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  11. 1 2 Brosnan, Seán (February 3, 2015). "Whit Stillman's 'Love and Friendship' to be sold at Berlin Film Festival". The Irish Film & Television Network. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  12. ↑ Frank, Julia (February 14, 2014). "Sienna Miller cast in Jane Austen film". Vogue Australia. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Hollywood star Kate Beckinsale and Chloe Sevingy hit the northside in chilly shoot". Evening Herald. February 12, 2015. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
  14. ↑ "On the set for 2/9/15: Will Ferrell wraps 'Daddy's Home', Kate Beckinsale starts shooting 'Love & Friendship' & more". SSN Insider. February 9, 2015. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  15. ↑ Larkin, Laura (February 13, 2015). "One day I hope to meet 'Mattress Mick' - Stephen Fry's pillow talk with Irish bed salesman". Irish Independent. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  16. ↑ Manning, John (February 14, 2015). "Major film shooting at Newbridge House". Irish Independent. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  17. ↑ Brosnan, Seán (16 March 2015). "Shooting wraps on Whit Stillman's 'Love and Friendship'". The Irish Film & Television Network. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  18. ↑ Brosnan, Seán (February 19, 2015). "Blinder Films co-production 'Love and Friendship' begins Dublin shoot". The Irish Film & Television Network. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
  19. ↑ "Mark Suozzo Scoring Whit Stillman's 'Love & Friendship'". Film Music Reporter. December 29, 2015. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  20. ↑ Jaafar, Ali (August 7, 2015). "Amazon Close To Deal To Acquire Whit Stillman's 'Love & Friendship'". Deadline.com. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
  21. ↑ Fleming Jr, Mike (January 21, 2016). "Roadside Attractions Partners With Amazon To Release Whit Stillman's 'Love & Friendship'". Deadline.com. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
  22. ↑ Wiseman, Andreas (January 21, 2016). "Curzon Artificial Eye acquires Whit Stillman's 'Love & Friendship'". ScreenDaily.com. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  23. ↑ Walsh, Bernard (January 21, 2016). "Whit Stillman’s Long-Awaited Jane Austen Adaptation Is Here". Vanity Fair. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
  24. ↑ "Love & Friendship". BoxOfficeMojo. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
  25. ↑ Duralde, Alonso (January 24, 2016). "'Love & Friendship' Sundance Review: Whit Stillman Does Jane Austen - But Hasn't He Always?". TheWrap. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
  26. ↑ Cassam Looch. Glasgow Film Festival, March 7, 2016.
  27. ↑ http://variety.com/2016/film/festivals/love-and-friendship-review-sundance-jane-austen-1201687362/
  28. ↑ http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/love-friendship-sundance-review-858759
  29. ↑ Rosser, Michael (February 3, 2016). "Cineart acquires Whit Stillman’s 'Love & Friendship'". ScreenDaily.com. Retrieved April 13, 2016.

External links

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