Widowed Lady Susan Vernon is rumored to be a notorious flirt who decides to visit her in-laws to win them over as she tries to set up her daughter Frederica with Sir James Martin, a quirky and aloof man, as well as settle with a husband herself. With her eyes set on both her sister-in-law’s brother, Reginald DeCourcy, and the currently married but soon-to-be divorced Lord Manwaring, will Lady Susan Vernon be able to charm one—or both— of them or will she be left a widow forever?

Based off of a Jane Austen novella titled Lady Susan, the movie adaptation, Love & Friendship, is excellent, full of wit and charm and a mixture of comedy and drama. All the actors did a fantastic job, especially Kate Beckinsale who easily stole the show in her role as Lady Susan Vernon. I also found Tom Bennett’s portrayal of Sir James Martin to be hilarious and he helped bring together the comedic and dramatic aspects of the movie.

The only problem I had with the movie is that it took me a bit to get into it. I believe it was due to a mixture of the language used and the way that the film jumped around a bit with the plot. There are a bunch of different characters to get acquainted with, which I feel was a little rushed, but once I got into the movie I was able to easily identify who was who and what was going on. The movie also seemed to end abruptly, which may be good or bad depending on how you look at it. I had expected to go on a little longer, and was slightly disappointed when it didn’t, although I feel like if it had gone on it might have ruined the movie. But by the end all I wanted to do was relax with a Jane Austen novel, which is something I haven’t done in a while. I highly recommend this movie for fans of Jane Austen or of period pieces, such as Downton Abbey.