Whit Stillman has always loved hustlers. They are the outliers
among his straight-laced youngsters in idiosyncratic social
circles that are themselves outliers of the larger society:
doomed, fading into irrelevance, perhaps given new life by the
rogues. Chris Eigeman's Nick Smith in _Metropolitan_ is lucid,
but is described by the women characters as a pathological liar
(quite accurately too). One of the main characters in the
"Cosmopolitan" series pilot is widely derided as a sociopath;
Kate Beckinsale's Alice in _The Last Days of Disco_ is a
self-centered, even mean-spirited manipulator. But it is
in _Love & Friendship_ that the brazen Lady Susan (also
played by Beckinsale) becomes the undisputed headliner,
gleefully scheming, seducing, and pillaging her way through
what might be called "polite society" in early 19th century
England.

It is rare that sexually confident (even predatory) bad girls
have dominant voices in films and novels, which are usually
narrated by the submissive admirer-turned-enemy best-friend.
Con-artists own the world; the quiet sidekicks in their shadows
turn to art for revenge,the write novels and screenplays. (I
just finished Margaret Atwood's marvelously energetic and
vengeful _The Robber Bride_.) While Stillman's adapation of
Jane Austen's unfinished novella has a neutral narrative
structure, Susan has so much screen time,good dialog, and
self-justification moments, that the film may as well be her
manifesto.

The problem -- and the reason that this isn't Stillman's best
film -- is that cynical rogues are all the same, while the
writer-director's brand of self-aware, principled characters
is so unique that it makes _Metropolitan_ and _Damsels in
Distress_ cinematic revelations. Here they have minor roles
(notably Xavier Samuel's Reginald, and Morfydd Clark's pure
hearted Francesca, daughter to Susan; they find true love).
Friendship and a perverse loyalty unite Susan with Alicia
(Chloe Soveigy, who advises Susan on the fine points of
rich-husband-snaring and philandering).

At least Kate Beckinsale is fascinating to watch. The actress
won poetry prizes at Oxford and is rumored to have a genius IQ.
Until recently (till _Snow Angel_), she seemed to lack the emotional intelligence/empathy to immerse herself into less hyper-articulate
roles. Her best work are arguably Stillman's devil's advocates.
The story, not written by Stillman but is adapted from Jane Austen,
also seems to liberated the director from melancholy, his usual
nostalgia for autobiographical locales. Unlike the debutant/disco
scenes of Manhattan or the expatriat enclaves in Barcelona, the
English country-house settings are treated with cynical disdain.
The running jokes about Susan wishing other women's older hushand
or father to pass on may be his sentiment about the hereditary
English patriachy too. Stillman even introduces the cast of
characters preening in front of their manors as if sitting for
portraits, while undermining them with snide subtitles. The
riderless horses and feckless birds in the oil paintings actually
hanging in their mansions are apt portraits of this privilged
class, who seem to have the intelligence bred in _Damsels in
Distress_ fratenities. They are ripe games for Susan's
financial and sexual exploitation.

The "New Yorker" review asserts that choosing the right moral
judgement to live by is the film's main philosophical point.
The characters' selective endorsement of subsets of the Ten
Commandments is cited as proof. The lampooning of religious
hyprocrisy may well be the the most relevant to today's
society. But perhaps the unintentional lesson of the film,
likely Stillman's most financial successful, is that in today's
climate, cynicism sells. _Love & Friendship_ sparkles with
wit and visual flair, but I hope Stillman gets back to stories
he writes himself and avoids the hired-gun-for-TV fate of
so many indie film directors.

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