Although I have enjoyed most other film adaptations of Jane Austin's novels, Love and Friendship left me decisively unimpressed. Its plot is fairly silly and it contains too many poorly developed characters. Even the more important characters are merely caricatures about whose richly gilded but silly lives I came to care not at all. There were a few unexpectedly clever lines of dialogue but not enough to hold my interest for 90 minutes. We have seen the eras' manners and morals portrayed many times before and this adaptation has nothing new to offer. Had I wandered into the theater without a companion, I would have slinked out after half an hour. It is not a terrible movie but it does not live up to its literary pretensions. I suspected that Ms. Austin would have been embarrassed to learn that such a slight work has gained such attention.
Review of Love & Friendship
