NEW YORK (OSV News) – It is a truth universally acknowledged that a Jane Austen property that hasn’t been brought to the big screen in decades must be in want of a fresh adaptation. And so we get director Georgia Oakley’s lyrical and often amusing “Sense and Sensibility” (Focus).
Oakley and screenwriter Diana Reid skillfully transmit the insights into human nature that have made Austen’s work perennially popular. They also reflect the polite refinement of the social sphere within which her characters dwell, making their film a suitable treat for a broad range of age groups.
The plot and themes of Austen’s debut novel, first published in 1811, are familiar to many. As its title suggests, the story contrasts the temperaments of two loving – but very different – sisters. Elinor Dashwood (Daisy Edgar-Jones), the elder, is restrained and prudent. Her junior by a couple of years, Marianne (Esmé Creed-Miles), is exuberant and headstrong.
Following the death of their father, the duo, together with their mother (Caitríona Balfe) and their youngest sibling, Margaret (Bodhi Rae Breathnach), find themselves uneasily sharing their stately home with its new owners, their henpecked half-brother John (Tom Brooke) and his selfish, scheming wife Fanny (Stacy Martin). The arrangement is not destined to last.
Fanny, for all her faults, has a gentlemanly brother, Edward Ferrars (George MacKay), for whom Elinor falls more or less at first sight. Their attachment, however, leads to family conflict. So when a distant relation, the kindhearted but giddy Mrs. Jennings (Fiona Shaw), offers the dispossessed ladies the tenancy of a distant cottage, the widowed matriarch quickly accepts.
If this move puts a strain on Elinor’s heart, it opens up fresh possibilities for Marianne. In fact, it’s not long before she has two men pining after her.
Marianne's first conquest is handsome, impetuous John Willoughby (Frank Dillane). But she also wins the heart, more or less inadvertently, of the subdued, somewhat world-weary army veteran, Col. Brandon (Herbert Nordrum).
Some of the dialogue makes reference to past events that are not appropriate for little kids. There’s also a scene in which one of the main characters is seen bathing, though this is handled very discreetly, with only her back visible.
Thus teens as well as grown-ups can comfortably pay a visit to Austen’s delightful and cleverly discerned world. It’s an environment Oakley recreates with an assured touch while the societal constraints that bound its inhabitants lead to some subtly effective acting as Austen’s characters wrestle, in a generally subdued way, with a variety of romantic vicissitudes.
The film contains mature topics and brief images of partial nudity in a nonsexual context. The OSV News classification is A-II – adults and adolescents. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG – parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.
(John Mulderig is media reviewer for OSV News.)
