The Rotten Tomatoes score for this movie is very high. 99% of the critics liked it. The highest I’ve ever seen. 80% of the audience liked it. Very good.
So my expectations were pretty high going into this movie.
I was disappointed in the film.
First, the intro was unlike any I’d seen before. It started off with a black screen and typed out the different actors, producers, ect word by word. There was symphony music playing and the words showed up sometimes to the beat of the music. But it went on too long and they introduced too many people. If I remember correctly, they typed out the names of production people, not just actors.
I prefer no credits in the beginning of the movie and if so, only do actors and director over intro scenery, not a black screen.
What exacerbated this even more was when they did get to the movie, they did the same sort of thing with all the characters. Mostly all of the characters were introduced at the beginning of the movie in still shots. With the name of the character and a one sentence description of each character. Add the character rundown to the long opening credits, it felt like a cram session for an exam.
I was confused before the movie even started. The English accents and the subtle verbiage of old English did not help.
“It’s a Jane Austin movie, what do you expect them to talk like?”
I know, but you should make the movie simpler to understand when you have difficult accents.
The main redeeming part of the movie was the performance of Kate Beckinsale. According to wikipedia, I have somehow dodged most of her work.
That is unfortunate because she was excellent. Oscar nomination worthy. So much charm. She played the main character who was a manipulative socialite. However very likable. I was rooting for her. She was an underdog in the story, but her character was so smart and cunning that it also appeared nobody was a match for her. Reminded me of the Trump candidacy. “Did you really just turn Love and Friendship into a Trump shout out.” Sorry
So incredibly beautiful. Kate, not Donald. Her nose is like Michaelangelo sculpted it. Her lips seem too nice to be real. Her eyes….. her chestnut eyes can tractor beam a man.
She carried the film. The normally dazzling Chloë Sevigny seemed a bit out of step. She played Kate Beckinsales American friend. Perhaps playing the only character with an American accent hurt the rhythm. The overall acting was ok, some good performances, some shoddy ones. The writing was also hit or miss. There was no real notion of a build up into a climax and ending. The entire thing was sort of monotone and drab. Seemed to be more about celebrating a good genre than a good story.
Very clean movie and family friendly.
Grade: C