Review of Sense and Sensibility (1995) by Michael Y — 18 Mar 2011

Adapted from the mind of the ever praised, Jane Austen, this adaptation of Sense and Sensibility is fittingly made, hitting both the drama and comedy very nicely. And it's directed by Ang Lee of all people.

Sense and Sensibility is a bit of a downer of a story actually. A mother and her 3 daughters get booted out of their estate. But because of this the two older daughters, Elinor and Marianne fall in love with two promising and charming men. (well... I wouldn't consider Hugh Grant's character in this movie to be charming. He's actually quite annoying, but that's up for you to decide) But as the girl's time pass by with heartfelt wishes, their hearts will soon be ripped out of their ass when they find out the truth about their beloveds. (but of coarse this is Jane Austen, so my description is a bit more dramatised) This story is sad at a lot of times, but it's not all tears and drama. Sense and Sensibility is often quite funny and very romantic. Emma Thompson plays the role as the unemotional Elinor very well, but my favourites are definitely Kate Winslet and Alan Rickman who are much more enjoyable characters. And there's even quite a bit of Hugh Laurie adding to the comedic value very well.

Looking at this movie you don't really expect Ang Lee. But then again Ang Lee does have a reputation of making completely different films. But I do think that he made this movie a bit too suttle than it should have been. The direction of a lot of scenes are very good, but the rest could of been better. But none the less the costumes and set designs are absolutely georgeous, and there's some very nice natural looking light that fills the rooms of the scenes. The cinematography is suttle, but brings out the very warm and romantic essence that Jane Austen stories are made of.

I was quite surprised with the drama in this story. Very interesting work. But this movie flows very well when balancing the drama, romance and comedy of the situations. Definitely for Austen fans, but if you have a taste for the romantic dramas in period films then this great adaptation is sure to please that fix.