As someone who loves Jane Austen, I anticipated the new adaptation of her novel “Sense and Sensibility” for months. Too often, screen versions reduce the Dashwood sisters to a tidy contrast: Elinor is reserved, Marianne is passionate. This adaptation, directed by Georgia Oakley from a screenplay by Diana Reid, both in their 30s, offers something more modern and nuanced.
Oakley’s film places the sisters’ deep affection at its heart. Daisy Edgar-Jones is a wonderful Elinor. Her mobile features animate Elinor’s strong feelings and her attempts to master them. Esmé Creed-Miles shines as the lively, romantic Marianne. The emotional weight of their conflicts are more deeply felt thanks to a script that emphasizes their closeness.
This “Sense and Sensibility” adaptation shares Austen’s preoccupation with honor, power and the impact of property inheritance laws on women. The death of Elinor and Marianne’s father causes a dramatic material change when their half-brother breaks his deathbed promise to support the family. The sisters and their bereaved mother, played by the excellent Caitriona Balfe, are forced to leave their beloved estate and move to a remote cottage owned by a distant relative.
Both sisters develop romantic attachments to men whose availability is more complicated than it first seems. Elinor and Marianne’s change in status makes securing marriage partners even more challenging. As their suitors, George MacKay’s Edward matches Elinor’s integrity and sense of responsibility. Marianne’s cherished Willoughby shares her love of poetry and music, but has difficult secrets. Colonel Brandon, meant to be reserved, is perhaps a touch too cool.
Realism and earthy beauty suffuse the film’s visual look. Arnaud Potier’s deft camera work makes the natural world a central character, from the light on a dewy spiderweb to the huge landscapes of rain-soaked fields and breathtaking seashore vistas. The film’s color palette is muted, with darker tones echoing emotional states of loss and mourning. Grace Snell’s wonderful costuming clearly delineates class lines. She suggests the family’s newly reduced circumstances while highlighting authenticity, featuring antique fabrics and natural dyes along with unadorned faces and unfussy hairstyles.
Worth noting are Bodhi Rae Breathnach as a younger sister and Fiona Shaw as Mrs. Jennings, both bringing delightful humor to their roles.
“Sense and Sensibility” is playing at the Park City Megaplex and at theaters throughout Salt Lake. It runs two hours and eleven stellar minutes.
