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Sense and Sensibility Review
Image Credit: Focus Features
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Directed By: Georgia Oakley
Written By: Diana Reid; Based on the Novel by Jane Austen
Runtime: 132 minutes
MPA Rating: Rated PG for some thematic elements, partial nudity, and brief violence.
Daisy Edgar-Jones – Elinor Dashwood
Esmé Creed-Miles – Marianne Dashwood
Caitríona Balfe – Mrs. Dashwood
Bodhi Rae Breathnach – Margaret Dashwood
George MacKay – Edward Ferrars
Herbert Nordrum – Colonel Brandon
Frank Dillane – Willoughby
Fiona Shaw – Mrs. Jennings
Turlough Convery – Sir John Middleton
Tom Brooke – John Dashwood
Stacy Martin – Fanny Dashwood
Ceara Coveney – Lucy Steele
Director Georgia Oakley brings the classic Jane Austen novel, Sense and Sensibility, to life in a new motion picture. Obviously, Austen’s seminal book has been adapted to the screen multiple times. Nevertheless, Oakley brings a unique sensibility, as it were, to the source material and delivers a solid adaptation, buoyed by strong performances.
The story concerns the Dashwood sisters. Unfortunately, the inheritance of their father’s estate falls to their older half-brother, John Dashwood (Brooke), and his less compassionate wife, Fanny (Martin). Soon after their father’s death, the sisters arrive at the estate, with Fanny asserting her control over the property.
Eventually, Fanny’s brother, Edward Ferrars (MacKay), visits the estate and quickly develops romantic chemistry with the eldest Dashwood sister Elinor (Edgar-Jones). Elinor is the sensible, practical, and reserved daughter of the Dashwoods, in contrast to her younger sister, Marianne (Creed-Miles), a desperate romantic at heart, who believes in living openly and honestly in expressing her passions.
Eventually, the Dashwood women relocate to a cottage in Devonshire with help from another relative, Mrs. Jennings (Shaw), and her son-in-law, the jolly, jovial Sir John Middleton (Convery).
Following the move, Marianne encounters two potential suitors: the stoic and stern Colonel Brandon (Nordrum); and the young and handsome Mr. Willoughby (Dillane). For the deeply romantic and fanciful Marianne, her meeting with Willoughby feels like fate, as he rescues her after she trips and injures her ankle on the beach.
Their meeting appears to spark a star-crossed courtship, but Willoughby’s business takes him back to London. Unfortunately, as the Bard once wrote, “the course of true love never did run smooth,” characterized by an era when people were not always allowed to marry whomever they wished for the sole reason of love.
Georgia Oakley brings a rustic, appealing quality to Jane Austen’s novel. The focus on rural locations and the British countryside imbues the movie with a charming warmth.
That said, the movie’s color palette often looks too understated, drab, and washed out. A brighter, richer, warmer, more vibrant color palette in select scenes would have paired well with the movie’s overall rustic look and tone.
Stars Daisy Edgar-Jones and Esmé Creed-Miles exceptionally tap into their characters, and the actors beautifully showcase Elinor and Marianne’s sisterhood. They perform splendidly well as the Dashwood women, bringing an emotional sincerity and believability to their characters. Oakley also excels in portraying the Dashwood sisters’ romantic yearning for the men they love, yet always seem out of reach because of circumstances or familial obligations.
Fiona Shaw as Mrs. Jennings easily provides the movie’s standout performance, stealing every scene she’s in with her warmth, presence, and charisma. The rest of the supporting actors throughout Sense and Sensibility convey their characters well with minimal screen time. Herbert Nordrum skillfully asserts himself as the stoic Colonel Brandon, whose veneer of stoicism hides his true sadness, along with his unrequited yearning for Marianne.
While not a pure comedy, the movie’s sparing moments of mirth bring much-needed relief from the plot’s romantic melodrama and liven up the experience. Although the story is not a rom-com, the bits of levity provide the movie an almost prototypical rom-com sensibility, especially the moments of misunderstandings, which often become the basis for many a romantic comedy.
The movie could have benefited from further development in its exploration of the subplot involving Edward Ferrars and his relationship with Lucy Steele (Coveney), which would have better showcased that dynamic, considering its significance. The movie merely glosses over and hints at the eventual outcome.
Willoughby and Colonel Brandon also have a shared backstory that feels woefully underdeveloped. Sometimes the background stories and explanations sound overly verbose. It would have been preferable to witness these circumstances unfold, rather than characters overly explain them.
Overall, Sense and Sensibility provides a solid period romantic drama and adaptation of Jane Austen’s text, elevated by strong acting performances.
Where To Watch Sense and Sensibility
Focus Features releases Sense and Sensibility in theaters on October 16. Ticket and showtime information can be found at the movie’s website.
