Sense and Sensibility (1995)

This is the Emma Thompson version, for which she won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. M&V read the novel just before watching this, and we'll be watching the 2008 version soon.

V: I'm always a fan of Emma Thompson. She's a great actress and did a good job adapting the novel into a screenplay - of which, editing, seems the biggest challenge. Lots of characters were chopped, which is good in an Austen movie. (Too many Miss This's and Mr. Thats and so-and-so's cousin...) So to cut a lot and keep it cohesive is a hard task. I thought it was really good. She gave Margaret a life, who was just a footnote in the book. I liked the casting of Edward (Hugh Grant), Lucy, Marianne (Kate Winslet) and Colonel Brandon (Alan Rickman.) And though Emma Thompson did a great job, she was, I think, a little old for the part. (She was 36 at the time. Her character is in her early twenties.) One critique of the adaptation was that Colonel Brandon says he's offering Edward a parsonage in order to enable him to marry quickly, when in the book, he offers it just for some small financial support but says it's too small to allow him to marry - which was great because it gave the reader a bit of hope, before it was dashed again . . . (I'll try not to give the plot away.) I think it's tough to always be happy with an adaptation right after you've read the book. Oh well. All in all, it was a very good movie. 3 1/2 stars

M: Sense and Sensibility is not as good as Pride and Prejudice. Can you compare two books like that? I think so. Although the book is good, the characters are fairly static and the story is not as enjoyable as Pride and Prejudice (see our movie review, also right after reading the book). Still, the book is good, and this movie is even better than the book. Partially because, as V pointed out, many unnecessary characters were left on the editor's floor. Also because the characters were so well cast and the parts so well played. Also, is it fair to single out Emma Thompson as the "old" one. All of the characters in the movie were technically too old. For crying out loud, in the book, Maryanne went from 17, in the beginning, to the ripe old age of 19 by the end. So this was the 90210 of the Austin movies, thats ok. Who wants to watch adolescents act anyway. 3 1/2 stars