If I couldn't decide between my two favourite Emma's, I have no chance of deciding when it comes to Sense and Sensibility. So the only thing to do is to tell you about each one. For this post, I'll concentrate on the most famous.
The first one I saw was the 1995 version with Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet. It's quite possible I saw this before I saw Pride and Prejudice but I had no idea it was from a Jane Austen novel. Please excuse me, I was young and ignorant. The screenplay was written by Thompson herself and won her an Oscar. There is something about this movie that is able to tell a very twisty story and also capture the wit of Austen. Certainly not an easy feat! Every time I see an Austen film or read an Austen book there is always a character that reminds me of myself or of someone I know. I think that this is the reason why 200 years later, Austen is still popular. Because, while society has changed, she wrote stories about people and relationships we all know.
In this particular story, it is Elinor that I feel the most similarity. The oldest, most responsible sibling who is concerned about propriety and practicalities. She does not understand her sister and her mother's way of emotionally responding to every situation. She does what she needs to do. That does not mean that she does not have very strong feelings, it just means she is more capable of controlling them and keeping them to herself. I'm not going to bother going in to the rights and wrongs of this, I just need you to know that I 'get' Elinor. I might wish I could be as witty and forthright as Elizabeth Bennet, but in my heart, I am much more like Elinor Dashwood.
Anyway, back to the movie! Reading the cast list for this movie is like reading a British actors hall of fame. Emma Thompson, while a lot older than the book Elinor, is fantastic. There really is no doubt that she is an accomplished actress. This film is credited with making Kate Winslet a recognisable film star and it's easy to see why. It is so easy to get wrapped up in her romantic emotions and then feel absolutely heartbroken with her when it all comes tumbling down. Along with Emma and Kate, we also have Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman, James Fleet, Imelda Staunton and Hugh Laurie amongst many others. Although criticised as too handsome for this role, Hugh Grant makes the perfectly awkward Edward Ferrars. Marianne might not have been swept off her feet by Colonel Brandon, but I think Alan Rickman plays him superbly. You can just tell there is a romantic heart beating under his smooth, guarded exterior. Staunton and Laurie play the Palmer's with hilarious results. Grumpy Hugh Laurie is always a favourite with me!
There are some notable exceptions from the book including Lady Middleton and her children, and Lucy's sister Anne Steele. Anne is the one who inadvertently reveals the secret engagement, thus disinheriting Edward, but Thompson manages to make it like it never happened that way. There is also an addition of the youngest Dashwood sister. Margaret does not really have much of a role in the book but Thompson creates a lovely interpretation of her. While this has been criticised I think it adds beautifully to the closeness of the family and makes the story more realistic.
Some of my favourite scenes involve Emma Thompson and Alan Rickman discussing first Willoughby and then Edward Ferrars. They are such great actors and they work so well together. My very favourite scene though is when Edward comes to see the family at home and they do not know he is not married. The whole family's reaction is priceless and no one can forget Elinor's outburst on receiving the news. Dawn French parodied it hilariously in the Vicar of Dibley.
I really do love this film. I find myself squirming in all the scenes Willoughby and Marianne are together. I want to slap Lucy Steele whenever I see her gloating over her engagement to Edward Ferrars (as if she didn't know Edward loved Elinor!). Mrs John Dashwood always has me seething. Everything like it does in the book. Which is certainly a sign of perfection!
So, this film about a story about two very close, very different sisters is a wonderful part of my Austen collection. Do you love it as much as me?
Finally, because these things make me giggle... in Love Actually, Emma Thompson and Hugh Grant play siblings and Emma's character is married to a character played by Alan Rickman!
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