Emma Thompson had been working on a script for Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility for six years by the time it was made into a film by Ang Lee. It is surely one of the best adaptations of an Austen novel that has ever been filmed.
Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet
Thompson herself plays Eleanor, the “sense” of the title, whose passionate feelings for an otherwise engaged man are kept strictly under control through most of the film. Her sister Marianne, whose eager and open affections lead her into trouble with a charming but untrustworthy young man, was played by Kate Winslet, who was only nineteen at the time. The dynamic between the pair dominates the film, and provides the subtle sense of two characters “educating” each other which underlies so many of Austen’s close relationships. It also supplied some startlingly explosive moments of emotion. Thompson and Winslet managed to be embody the polar opposites of “sense” and “sensibility” from the titles, whilst also making their parts convincing and sympathetic as people.
Hugh Grant played Edward Ferrars as an even more awkward and shy version of the type he developed for Four Weddings and a Funeral, providing a lot of social comedy. Alan Rickman was superb as Colonel Brandon, the customary touch of darkness he has become famous for (as the Sheriff of Nottingham, or Severus Snape, amongst others) rescuing the Colonel from being simply an excessively correct provincial gentlemen. His Man With A Past performance was well paired with Greg Wise’s more dashing and lightweight Willoughby, who actually looks more nuanced and interesting on repeated viewings.
Director Ang Lee's Vision Elevates Film
Ang Lee’s direction lifts what could have been an enjoyable and well-played period piece into a whole new realm. With his vision, the trappings of 1700s life look both strikingly different from our own, and able to convey their own meanings. Doorways, aprons, candles; they come close to being symbols of what is happening around them. His camera-work is beautiful without being pretty all the time, and doesn’t hurry to the usual set-piece shots of costume drama.
For a marvelous insight into the development and filming of this movie, find a copy of Emma Thompson’s Sense and Sensibility Diaries, which have not long been published. Apart from presenting some surprising glimpses of the mechanics of the project (the script alterations, the historically authentic sheep, the ribald banter amongst the actresses of the Dashwood family), it provides some thought-provoking passages on the emotional processes, and even the feminist issues, of producing a film like Sense and Sensibility.
Jem Bloomfield - Jem Bloomfield was educated at the universities of Oxford and Exeter, and is currently working on a PhD on Webster's revenge tragedy "The ...
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