Georgia Oakley's new adaptation of Sense and Sensibility brings Jane Austen's classic tale of yearning to the big screen, starring Daisy Edgar-Jones as the sensible Elinor Dashwood and Esmé Creed-Miles as the passionate Marianne. The film, in cinemas September 25, is set to delight younger audiences while still winning over open-minded Austen fans.
A Modern Take on the Dashwood Sisters
With a ghastly laugh and a slumbering pug curled up in her lap, Mrs Jennings (Fiona Shaw) teases sisters Elinor and Marianne about marriage. Such is life for the two young women of Oakley's Sense and Sensibility, and such it must be until they each find a husband.
Elinor, the sensible eldest sister, is played by Edgar-Jones, who is as soulful and expressive as ever. Opposite her, Creed-Miles brings a magnetic rawness to her portrayal of the passionate Marianne, while Hamnet's Bodhi Rae Breathnach plays their younger sister, 13-year-old Margaret, who likes to eat blackberries and complain about her sisters' suitors.
From Sussex to Devon
Forced to leave their Sussex estate after the death of their patriarch, the Dashwood family move to a modest cottage in Devon. There, Elinor inwardly pines for Edward Ferrars (a pensive George MacKay), whom she left back in Sussex, while Marianne falls for the dashing John Willoughby (a charming but creepy Frank Dillane) and is oblivious to the feelings harboured by the solemn, older Colonel Brandon (Herbert Nordrum).
Encounters with the nosy Mrs Jennings (Shaw is an absolute hoot) and many comical side characters provide some welcome belly laughs, while the sisterly dynamic pushes and pulls at the film's beating heart.
An Earthy, Modern Approach
Oakley takes a loose and earthy approach: the sisters lie in fields, run through forests and wear their hair down (not at all in the style of the time period or of Ang Lee's beloved 1995 version). That film, of course, starred Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman, and while theirs are pretty big shoes to fill, this new cast manages it with ease.
MacKay, for example, is a more reserved Edward compared to Hugh Grant's bumbling, floppy-haired version, and conveys such longing for Edgar-Jones's similarly reserved Elinor. Assisted by Roger Goula's swoony, stirring score, the film is a hopeless romantic's dream. Things are moody and at times almost Brontë-esque thanks to Arnaud Potier's autumnal cinematography and the rolling, rain-lashed hills.
Yearning for a New Generation
To be clear, this is a film about yearning, determined to bring Jane Austen to a young generation obsessed with it. Small changes to the plot are even made to facilitate this. Whether it's Conrad in The Summer I Turned Pretty, Ilya and Shane in Heated Rivalry, or even the decaying and putrid Count Orlok in Robert Eggers's Nosferatu, internet-dwelling Gen Z simply love characters who “yearn”. So, who better to turn to than the maestro of yearning herself?
For all its modernity, the spirit of the book is alive and well in her lush frames and stellar cast. Oakley's film will delight younger audiences, and it should still win over open-minded Austen fans, too.
In 1995, we had Sense and Sensibility, the definitive adaptation of Persuasion and the BBC's legendary Pride and Prejudice series with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. Now, with a new Netflix Pride and Prejudice on the horizon and this delightful addition to the list of adaptations, Austen lives on even in our senseless times.
