8/10
Adapting Jane Austen is no simple feat. Despite all odds, Sense and Sensibility, directed by Georgia Oakley, meets expectations and is a charming success. Its highlights: a cast brimming with chemistry, stunning scenery, and sporadic yet effortless humor. Though the adaptation may not measure up to the highly awarded 1995 version, it’s pretty close.
The film follows the Dashwood family, centered on the two eldest daughters Marianne Dashwood (Esmé Creed-Miles) and Elinor Dashwood (Daisy Edgar-Jones), where Elinor represents sense and Marianne represents sensibility. They are accompanied by their vivacious younger sister Margaret Dashwood (Bodhi Rae Breathnach) and their nurturing mother Mrs. Dashwood (Caitriona Balfe).
The Dashwood family loses its home to the sisters’ older half brother, John Dashwood (Tom Brooke), and his wife, Fanny Dashwood (Stacy Martin). As a result, the Dashwoods are forced to relocate to Barton Cottage in Devonshire.
There, Elinor meets Edward Ferrars (George MacKay), Fanny’s far more likable brother, and the pair spend a summer together, falling in love before circumstances force them apart. Though Edward promises to visit, his obligations in London prevent him from keeping his word. Meanwhile, Marianne falls in love with John Willoughby (Frank Dillane) after he carries her home. However, Willoughby soon disappears to London without even a letter to Marianne.
Meanwhile, the ever-devoted Colonel Brandon (Herbert Nordrum) patiently pursues Marianne, even though she doesn’t notice him.
The sisters travel to London together to pursue their love interests. Naturally, things get complicated. Edward is hiding an inconvenient secret: He has been engaged to Lucy Steele (Ceara Coveney) for years. Willoughby is caught by Marianne at a party with his new fiancee (shocker, we know). Apparently communication was just as much of a problem in the 18th century as it is today. Despite the plot’s occasional predictability, phenomenal performances compel the audience to root for the characters, rendering the ending all the more satisfying.
The film’s greatest strength lies not in any single portrayal, but rather in the relationships that develop between characters. The youthful romances capture the vulnerability and exhilarating uncertainty of first love, leaving the audience yearning for their own. The tender affection between MacKay and Edgar-Jones creates a romance that keeps viewers genuinely invested.
These relationships are what make the film work.
Edgar-Jones and Creed-Miles work together flawlessly, effortlessly portraying the bond of sisters. Their contrasting characters complement each other as they laugh together, build each other up, and push each other down—just as real sisters would do. It honestly seems as if they’ve known each other their whole lives, which, considering they’re supposed to be sisters, is probably a good sign.
It’s classic Austen. In a film about romance, the sisters’ relationship feels the most enduring. The men provide romantic complications, but the women provide the substance.
There are a whole host of side characters and almost no lowlights. Mrs. Jennings (Fiona Shaw), who acts as a maternal figure for the sisters, is endlessly hilarious, The colonel is devoted and sweet, Margaret is a perfect, mischievous younger sister, and Fanny is seamlessly obnoxious.
Mrs. Jennings adds comic relief to the otherwise emotionally taxing film, and her laugh (more of a cackle) compels the whole audience to follow suit. Her playful jokes and pointed personal attacks make her character even better and add to her perfect portrayal of a biting yet loving motherly figure.
Margaret plays the other generation of comedic relief and perfectly complements the adults’ humor with one from a younger generation. Her cluelessness and dry humor make her cameos unforgettable.
Dillane, however, is the lowlight. His character, Willoughby, who has already lost favor for betraying Marianne, only gets worse as the movie progresses. It’s love at first sight, and regret at second, third, and fourth. He seriously underdelivers, failing to portray genuine remorse even as the script gives him the perfect opportunity for a redemption arc. His lack of emotional depth makes his redemption underwhelming and leaves the audience even more appalled. Willoughby, sorry, we think not!
The film is also completely stunning, with breathtaking sets of the rustic English countryside. The beautiful setting is complemented by late-18th-century costumes that make the movie all the more realistic. Hairstyles are just as accurate to the time period, except that of Fanny, whose ugly wig matches her ugly personality.
Cinematographers Arnaud Potier and Tasha Back bring the movie to life, capturing the film in the cloudy moors of southwest England, a visually brooding atmosphere. The grounded realism of the setting makes Sense and Sensibility different. The camera work embraces a lived-in and realistic tone to fit the internal hardships of the sisters and the intimate framing causes the audience to sit within the landscape rather than gaze from a distance. Some seriously elegant synchronized dancing makes the most of the film’s overflowing chemistry.
More than anything else, the highlight of the movie is the heart-wrenching fight between the sisters. Marianne and Elinor yell at each other in a moment of distress, and Elinor’s silent pause before leaving the room really sticks. This scene is relatable, reminding you that it is the sisters who are at the center. Their bond feels so real that anyone with a sibling will have an unwanted flashback.
The film culminates with a cliché romantic gesture as Elinor runs across the moors to Edward, a satisfying release of emotion that breaks her typically rational exterior, sealing the deal with a long-awaited kiss. Marianne, on the other hand, has a bittersweet ending, promising a potential relationship with the Colonel. It’s a fitting moment for a girl who lost interest in Willoughby almost as quickly as she fell for him in the first place.
Though it’s an adaptation, the movie centers on a theme still relevant today, and Oakley captures it flawlessly. The film explores themes that remain relevant today, particularly feminism, female solidarity, and the trust that sustains sisterhood.
Unlike many traditional romance films, Sense and Sensibility breaks the mold and focuses on a sororal love rather than a romantic love. It’s about how women can help each other develop their identities, even when facing societal pressure surrounding marriage and financial security. By emphasizing sisterhood and romance, the film presents a different perspective on what makes a relationship meaningful. Apparently, women can function without men—who knew?
For all its romantic longing, beautiful scenery, and questionable male behavior, Sense and Sensibility makes its strongest case for a different kind of happily ever after: someone who will stand by you long after the dance is over.
