It is a truth universally acknowledged, as somebody once wrote, that a Jane Austen novel is a precursor to the modern rom-com.
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novel → acknowledge → com
And so we find ourselves, in a new adaptation of “Sense and Sensibility” starring Daisy Edgar-Jones, rooting for one thing: a kiss.
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we → find → thing
Of course, we get it.
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we → get → it
Elinor locks lips with her Edward, out there in the grassy Devon fields, just as Bridget Jones did with Mark Darcy, in the snowy London streets.
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Jones → lock → streets
It’s a lovely kiss, and worth the wait.
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It → ’ → ?
But then … we get something better: A hug, between sisters, even more joyful.
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we → get → sisters
And that’s what we remember as the credits roll.
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credits → ’ → what
They’re not exactly “doing it for themselves” in this new version directed by Georgia Oakley — we’re still in 18th-century England, after all, and young women need to find husbands.
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women → do → husbands
But Oakley, seeking a 21st-century approach to the Austen classic, finds a way to subtly shift the weight from romantic chemistry to the more profound chemistry between no-nonsense Elinor (Edgar-Jones, in the “sense” role) and turbulent Marianne (Esmé Creed-Miles, in the “sensibility” role.)
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Oakley → seek → role
And this alone — well, and two killer dance scenes — seems reason enough to revisit the story, three decades since Ang Lee’s 1995 version won Emma Thompson a screenplay Oscar.
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version → seem → Oscar
Oakley also brings a welcome naturalistic feel to a script by Diana Reid, with a strong sense of nature itself but also the reality of economic hardship — or what stands for economic hardship in an Austen novel.
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what → bring → novel
When Elinor and her mother (Caitriona Balfe) and sisters are relegated to a small cottage upon their father’s death, they’re hardly starving — they still have a servant, after all.
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they → relegate → servant
But they share clothes, their hair is unkempt, they perform country chores.
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they → share → chores
We begin with some bad news.
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We → begin → news
Marianne is lying in the grass, with the caterpillars, waiting for the day’s letters.
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Marianne → lie → letters
Their father has left his wealth to a son from a previous marriage, meaning John Dashwood and his insufferable wife Fanny (Stacy Martin, amusing) will be moving into their sprawling country estate.
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Dashwood → leave → estate
Mom and sisters soon decamp to a much smaller cottage – only one servant – in Devon, thanks to the help of Mrs. Jennings, “mother of your mother’s cousin’s cousin’s wife,” as she announces herself (a delightful Fiona Shaw).
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she → decamp → herself
But not before Elinor has fallen in love with Edward Ferrars (George MacKay), Fanny’s handsome and upstanding brother, during a family visit.
It seems these two are perfect for each other, both honorable and sensible but also just a little sexy underneath — Edgar-Jones and MacKay are well-matched here.
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Jones → fall → other
Complications arise, though — duh, this is an Austen novel!
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this → arise → ?
Elinor learns this on a trip to London, from the fiancee herself.
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Elinor → learn → fiancee
It will take the rest of the movie for this to be ironed out.
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this → take → movie
Meanwhile, Marianne is going through her own romantic journey.
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Marianne → go → journey
There’s no need to count the times Marianne is tasked with explaining here that she’s the passionate one, more in touch with her turbulent emotions, and expects the same from a partner.
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she → ’ → partner
But Creed-Miles, whose mother, Samantha Morton, is having a scene-stealing moment herself in “The Odyssey,” gives an exhilarating turn as the sister who, yes, seems to wear it all on her sleeve, making it totally believable when she screams into the rain or laughs with delirium.
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she → have → delirium
Or falls head-over-heels with Willoughby, a handsome rake (deliciously played by Frank Dillane) who swoops in to save her when she turns her ankle on a beach.
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she → fall → beach
These two, also, seem perfect for each other — especially when dancing.
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two → seem → other
Kudos to choreographer Holly Blakey, who makes the most of two social dance scenes: the exuberant “hop” in the countryside (what fun the actors seem to be having), and the more refined but still creative London ball.
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actors → make → fun
But Willoughby, as Austen’s readers know, will prove an even more elusive catch than Ferrars.
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readers → know → Ferrars
Meanwhile, waiting in the wings is a man of few words — and initially, few feelings, or so thinks Marianne — the steadfast Colonel Brandon (Herbert Nordrum).
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Marianne → wait → words
Will he find a way to her heart?
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he → find → heart
It’s hardly a spoiler to reveal the end of a novel published centuries ago, but more importantly, we know how all rom-coms end — with the “rom” part working out, somehow.
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part → ’ → novel
We’re happy for the sisters, of course.
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We → ’re → course
They landed a couple of nice guys.
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They → land → guys
We’re happy they have each other.
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they → ’re → other
“Sense and Sensibility,” a Focus Features release, has been rated PG by the Motion Picture Association “for some thematic elements, partial nudity and brief violence.”
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Sense → rat → elements
The Aporia
