Love & Friendship: The Long-Awaited Union of Whit Stillman and Jane Austen

By Sarah Soliman, JBFC Marketing Assistant

In Love & Friendship, the newest film from Whit Stillman (Metropolitan, Barcelona, The Last Days of Disco, Damsels in Distress), the seminal indie filmmaker’s sensibility meets its perfect match in Jane Austen. Based on a lesser known Austen work, Lady Susan, Love & Friendship sees Stillman delving into a period piece for the first time in his career, but his earlier films—witty social commentaries often touching on class structure and social hierarchy, following the ever-evolving romantic entanglements of college students and 20-somethings—have always had the air of updated Austen.

Stillman’s films are populated with characters as sharp as Elizabeth Bennet, as misguided as Emma Woodhouse, as caddish as George Wickham, and as droll as Austen herself. His debut feature, Metropolitan, a comedy of manners set in the upper class world of Manhattan socialites, draws from Austen, even referencing her in several scenes between socialist and semi-reluctant partygoer Tom (Edward Clements) and debutante Audrey (Carolyn Farina). While Audrey identifies with Austen heroines and cites the writer as a favorite, Tom dismisses the novels: “Nearly everything Austen wrote is near ridiculous from today’s perspective.” Stillman himself is of course conscious of the debt he owes Austen, and in Tom’s skewering of the author he is in fact skewering himself, his own newly found circle of friends, and the film itself. Damsels in Distress, Stillman’s 2011 film, stars Greta Gerwig as Violet, an Emma-like character who devotes herself to other people’s happiness (while Emma makes matches, Violet teaches tap to depressed students on her college campus), despite being oblivious to what those people—or herself— truly want or need.

These winking homages to Austen, along Stillman’s trademark sharp dialogue and his fascination with the undertakings of the upper class, make Lady Susan a perfect fit for the filmmaker. Scheming widow Lady Susan (Kate Beckinsale) arrives for a visit at her in-laws, determined to find a husband for her daughter, and one for herself, while also continuing a relationship with her married lover. A hit out of the Sundance Film Festival, Love & Friendship opens Friday, May 20 at the Jacob Burns film Center.

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