After watching the 2005 version of Pride and Prejudice, I was clamouring for more Austen!! I had already read Sense and Sensibility, and loved the story, so I decided to go out and get the movie.
The story is all about three sisters. Marianne [Kate Winslet], Elinor [Emma Thompson] and Margaret [Emilie François] Dashwood [though the story focuses mostly upon Marianne and Elinor]. Their Father, Mr Dashwood, has just died, leaving the family fortune and house to his only son, John Dashwood [James Fleet] and John's wife Fanny [Harriet Walter]. There are a lot of Dashwoods and it can get a bit confusing if you're not attentive!!
This means that Marianne, Elinor, Margaret, and their mother, Mrs Dashwood [Gemma Jones] must move out of the family home and find another place to live.
Fanny and John move in whilst Mrs Dashwood and her daughters are still living there. During this time, Fanny's brother, Edward Ferrars [Hugh Grant], comes to stay. He and Elinor get on well, and even appear to begin to fall in love. However, Eward is called back to his Mother in London, and soon after, Mrs Dashwood and her daughters move out.
They go to live in a cottage owned by Sir John Middleton [Robert Hardy], and become friends with both Sir John, his mother in law Mrd Jennings [Elizabeth Spriggs] and Sir John's good friend Colonel Brandon [Alan Rickman]. Colonel Brandon admires Marianne, although she spurns his advances and declares his too old for her.
Then, Marianne has an accident and hurts her ankle whilst out. Yet, a handsome young man comes to her rescue by the name of John Willoughby [Greg Wise]. Marianne quickly becomes besotted by Willoughby, and he seems to return her feelings....
This adaptation is beautiful. Filled with wonderful music by Patrick Doyle, and locations which take the breath away.
Interestingly, Emma Thompson wrote the screenplay, and she does an amazing job, further helped by the direction of Ang Lee.
As for the DVD itself, I can understand as to why there aren't any special features. The movie was filmed in 1995, but only put onto DVD in 2005. Yet, this doesn't really matter, due to the sumptiousness of the drama.
The actors are amazing. Alan Rickman has the ability to make me want Colonel Brandon to win Marianne's heart, whereas Kate Winslet allows her character to grow from silly girl at the beginning of the movie, to a woman at the end. Emma Thompson and Hugh Grant work wonderfully together, projecting the same good hearted, slightly shy personalities, and Greg Wise is a wonderful handsome rogue.
I would heartily recommend this to any lover of Austen. I think they do the book justice, and Jane Austen herself would be proud of this stunning adaptation.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 1995 - Drama - Director: Ang Lee - Original Language: English - Classification: Universal - Starring: Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, Greg Wise, Hugh Laurie, Robert Hardy
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
very helpful by (100%):
