Review: 'Sense and Sensibility' finds Jane Austen being adapted in an earthy, naturalistic telling of the Dashwood sisters' romances

In reviewing director Georgia Oakley’s “Sense and Sensibility,” one must first address the genteel elephant in the room: The Ang Lee-directed, Emma Thompson-written 1995 adaptation of Jane Austen’s first novel.

The Lee/Thompson version was a sublime adaptation, with a stately look in which every set and costume looked perfect — a lovely backdrop for Austen’s precise language and understated emotions. Nothing will dislodge that movie from my heart, but I find myself making some room for this earthy, sensual take on Austen’s tale of financial and romantic troubles.

The new film’s rugged spine remains the story of the Dashwood sisters, Elinor (Daisy Edgar-Jones in the Thompson role) and Marianne (Esmé Creed-Miles, filling the part that introduced the world to Kate Winslet). Their father have left Mrs. Dashwood (Catríona Balfe) and her three daughters — younger Margaret (Bodhi Rae Breathnach) rounds out the family — reliant on others’ goodwill for continued lodging. That goodwill falls short when Fanny (Stacy Martin), the greedy wife of their the girls’ uncle John (Tom Brooke), sets her sights on their house. 

The Dashwood women move to a more affordable cottage in Devonshire. (It’s fascinating to see how much real estate plays into Austen’s work.) Fanny’s brother, Edward Ferrars (George Mackay), is a regular visitor, and he and Elinor seem to get along well — though Fanny warns that their mother expects Edward to marry a woman with more money. Meanwhile, Marianne, whose ideas of romance are less practical than Elinor’s, finds herself drawing the attention of the much older Col. Brandon (Herbert Nordrum), but is soon smitten by the dashing John Willoughby (Frank Dillane), until he’s sent to London by his family. 

Oakley (whose previous film was the 2022 lesbian drama “Blue Jean”), working off an elegantly spare script by first-timer Diana Reid, emphasizes the Dashwoods’ closeness to the natural world around them. Oakley gives us a sense that the girls, Marianne particularly, would be as happy living in the woods around Devonshire as they would inside their cottage. 

This “Sense and Sensibility” draws its main strength from the sisterly bonds among Elinor, Marianne and Margaret — particularly in the way Elinor sacrifices her own happiness for the sake of helping the headstrong Marianne when her heart is repeatedly broken. The relationship allows Edgar-Jones (“Twisters,” “I Heard the Crawdads Sing”) to display her understated charm, but mainly gives Creed-Miles enough room to give an expressive performance I believe viewers will fall in love with.

——

‘Sense and Sensibility’

★★★1/2

Opens Friday, October 16, in theaters everywhere. Rated PG for some thematic elements, partial nudity and brief violence. Running time: 131 minutes.