MovieChat Forums > Love & Friendship (2016) Discussion > What was the point of this movie?

What was the point of this movie?

posted 8 years ago by tdaugherty2005
10 replies | jump to latest

Critics love this movie. I gave it a try and I just don't it. what was I suppose to walk away from this movie with?

I was told it was suppose to be a comedy only laugh once or twice at this movie. Once when that one guy didn't know what peas were then when he thought there were 12 commandments...

The premise is that Lady Susan is looking for a rich husband or one for her daughter but there is no scenes of either of them dating or courting a spouse.

I'm not so sure this is even a climax in the third act. All Lady Susan does is ride around in a carriage and socialize with Alicia and Reginald. That's it.

The film looks beautiful and the actors are terrific. I just don't get it. What am I suppose to walk away from this movie with?

[–] yunie1281 8 years ago

I thought it was quite funny. Given this was adapted from the writings of Jane Austen two centuries ago, perhaps it's not surprising some of the humor doesn't translate across time.

You didn't really "date" back then. Lady Susan wasn't really interested in getting married because she enjoyed her independence too much (note her remarks to her miserably married friend), was making due living on friends and relations, and had a plan for her daughter to marry wealthy. She was happy having an affair. She only got married to the man she intended for her daughter when she got pregnant with her lover's child and had to cover it up. She did consider marrying the man who eventually married her daughter but her heart wasn't really in it and she was moving slowly so she could continue her affair in peace and then her unexpected pregnancy popped up. Getting married was a good idea for her to have stability but she didn't seem to really be all that interested in that when she put Reginald off and sent him away from London so she could continue sleeping with that guy.

If her daughter could marry a foolish and rich man then Susan would be set and that guy was caught. Literally the only thing standing in the way of that match was Frederica refusing and Susan was attempting to wear her down there.

[–] tdaugherty2005 8 years ago

I just feel like so much was left out. Everything is all talk, tea, walks and carriage rides. I thought they would be more bold with their material. Who was her lover again, Reginald?

[–] Julie-30 8 years ago

Manwaring was her lover. Reginald is Mrs. Vernon's brother (Mrs. Vernon being Lady Susan's sister-in-law) -- the man who ended up realizing what a "piece of work" Lady Susan was and who married Frederica.

Do you regularly read Jane Austen and/or see adaptations of her work? Austen didn't offer much description. Her plots are character-driven.

http://currentscene.wordpress.com

[–] tdaugherty2005 8 years ago

No I don't. But I think I see what you're getting at now.

[–] Doodlebuger 8 years ago

And what about the delicious dialogues. Charles Vernon climbing the stairs and saying : What ? Then Yes ! In reply to his wife's request to go to London. Le
À man's character explained in two words . Just brilliantly funny.

[–] PacificHeights 8 years ago

It's a character driven novella showing how shallow, shrewd, and manipulative Lady Susan is, and how people are blinded by self-delusion to defend her selfishness.

[–] wearyourlove 8 years ago

Actually, I think it's exposing the whole folly of this particular social order in general, of which Lady Susan is just a part (and a symptom).

[–] WVfilmfem 8 years ago

I loved it, did laugh a couple of times, loved the dialogue, the settings and costumes. But I too was confused. I suspect Lady Susan was looking to match her daughter with what's his name, the handsome young man who initially wanted to marry Herself.

[–] Julie-30 8 years ago

Lady Susan always wanted Frederica to marry Sir James, the man Lady Susan herself ends up marrying.

In the book, Lady Susan is not pregnant, and Manwaring never moves in with her and Sir James.

http://currentscene.wordpress.com

[–] whereismikeyfl 8 years ago

What was the point?

Just a good story with very funny dialog. I am not a big fan of Jane Austen adaptations, so the nastiness, quirkiness, and vicious humor was a welcome surprise.

You seem to leave out a lot in your synopsis. The third act is all about Lady Susan's long term affair coming to light and her having to get married quick to hide that she was pregnant by a married man.

That is a lot to leave out!