I hate to say it, but I’ve never been much of a “Pride and Prejudice” fan. I like “Emma,” but I’ve never been head over heels for a Jane Austen novel. Then the trailer for Georgia Oakley’s new “Sense and Sensibility” came out, and I was hooked immediately by navigating what we’d now call truly horrible “situationships.” I first read the book over the summer and spent the months since on the edge of my seat waiting for the film adaptation, which opened in the U.S. on October 16. It met every expectation I had, bringing the characters tenderly to life within a carefully condensed plot.
The film has a surprisingly modern feel, bringing to life an era much foreign to our current day and age, but deeply relatable through how vivid the characters are. After their father dies, sensible Elinor Dashwood and passionate Marianne Dashwood are pushed out of their family estate by their half-brother and his wife, Fanny Dashwood, and move with their mother and younger sister to a modest cottage in Devonshire, where both sisters fall for men who turn out to be far less available than they seemed. I’m much more of a Marianne myself, but I think Elinor’s sense, and the civility she forces on herself, is what makes the story great.
Daisy Edgar-Jones is phenomenal as Elinor. She has exactly the restraint and quiet emotion the role demands. Like Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi in Wuthering Heights, her name probably pulled in plenty of new viewers, but I was most delighted by the less familiar faces around her. They were talented and believable, and not one of them had an Instagram face (the phenomenon where everyone is starting to look like the same Instagram model).
Costume designer Grace Snell skipped the frills and capped sleeves of typical Austen adaptations in favor of hand-sewn dresses in antique fabrics. I loved the fun hats, the lace details, and the messy updos. The sisters re-wear and swap clothing, bringing a lived-in intimacy to their relationship. Unlike other recent adaptations, such as 202o’s “Emma” and 2022’s “Persuasion,” the film feels organic, steering away from candy-colored aesthetics and excessive humor.
Some critics have complained that the movie takes itself too seriously and loses the book’s comedy and self-satire. I’d argue the opposite: Mrs. Jennings’ push-up corset, Lucy Steele’s social climbing, and Fanny’s controlling, cutting remarks are funnier and more digestible to modern viewers, as the film presents them.
And besides, why can’t “Sense and Sensibility” take itself seriously? Yes, it’s a story about marriage, impossibly high standards, attraction and breakups. But it’s also a story about happiness and financial independence. To us, marriage is simply a matter of finding love. To Marianne and Elinor, it was a matter of survival. We still understand their sensibility, but we’ve lost touch with the sense that forced them to compromise. I’m glad this adaptation takes them seriously and gives these sisters’ lives and loves the emotional weight they deserve.