A disappointing film all round, surprising from an otherwise talented director ('Bridget Jones’s Diary') and a top-line cast … the problem being that it is a poorly written effort that quickly sinks into melodrama.

A funny thing happens – well, lots of funny things – when the family and friends gather for a funeral … mostly when everything starts to go wrong.

How we love our dear Miss Jane Austen … all those wonderful characters, all those balls and sly manipulation, all that romance.