Cinemaura
6 days ago
Jane Austen is back in theaters, and this time the heart of the story is two sisters. The new "Sense and Sensibility" opened this weekend in the box office top five, and I know many mothers, daughters and sisters were planning to see it together.
The story is Austen's first novel, and the film stays close to the book. After their father dies, the Dashwood women are left with very little and have to start a new, much smaller life far from the home they loved. Elinor, the oldest, is calm and sensible and keeps her feelings locked away. Marianne, the middle sister, feels everything at full volume and falls hard for the handsome John Willoughby. Daisy Edgar-Jones plays Elinor, Esmé Creed-Miles plays Marianne, and George MacKay is the gentle Edward Ferrars. Caitríona Balfe plays their mother, and Fiona Shaw is the loud, nosy and very funny Mrs. Jennings. It is directed by Georgia Oakley, from a screenplay by Diana Reid.
What I loved most is that this version puts the sisters first. The film's tagline says it simply: no one knows your heart like a sister. Elinor and Marianne are opposites, one all reason and one all feeling, and they drive each other crazy, but in the hardest moments they are each other's home. It reminded me of my own family, and of how the person who understands us best is often the one we argue with the most.
The film is also beautiful to look at in a quiet way. It is set in the countryside of Sussex and Devon, with natural light, cloudy skies and costumes that look like real people wore them every day. The music is soft and full of strings, and when Marianne's heart breaks, you feel it. Esmé Creed-Miles is a real discovery, and critics have called her the breakout of the film.
I have to be honest, though. Many of us grew up with Ang Lee's 1995 film with Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet, and it is hard not to compare. Critics have said this new version is cooler and more serious, with less of the sweet, sparkling charm of that classic, and I understand that feeling. It takes its time, and at more than two hours some scenes move slowly. Audiences have been warmer to it than critics, and I think that is because the sisterhood feels so true.
The lesson I took from it is about balance. Elinor needs to learn that hiding her feelings does not make them disappear, and Marianne needs to learn that a heart without patience can get badly hurt. Most of us are a little of both, and the people who love us help us find the middle.
The film is rated PG, so it is a lovely choice for a mother and daughter outing, a sisters' night, or anyone who enjoys romance with real feeling. Bring tissues, and maybe call your sister afterward.
