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Sense and Sensibility Customer Reviews (82 - 84 of 85 Reviews)

Sense and Sensibility: My Review
Sense and Sensibility is a very good movie with wonderful acting from each member of the cast. Particularly noteworthy is Emma Thompson as Elinor Dashwood, because she not only stars in the film but also wrote the screenplay! Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, and Alan Rickman are also great in their roles as Marianne, Edward Ferrars, and Colonel Brandon - and as a fan of "All Creatures Great & Small," I can't leave out Robert Hardy, who plays Mrs. Dashwood's (Gemma Jones) jovial cousin, Sir John Middleton.

If you've already seen this film and enjoyed it, you might want to check out a book, written by Emma Thompson, entitled "The Sense & Sensibility Screenplay And Diaries". It contains the entire shooting script as well as Thompson's account of what making the movie was like, and it's just as awesome as the film itself.

Watch It! Even if it's your only chic flick!
As I review movies I've seen, I'm beginning to realize how many movies I have gone into reluctantly. I usually start with "I really didn't want to see this movie..."

For "Sense & Sensibility" things were a little different. I was basically against all chic flicks the first time I watched this. I had been bored out of my mind by countless Daniel Steel movies, Molly Ringwold movies, soap operas and whatever else my female friends enjoyed watching. However, out of desperation one night (as it was the only movie in the apartment I hadn't seen), I popped this one in and expected to be asleep and out of my misery shortly.

As the movie starts you are introduced to a family conflict something in the Cinderella order. A nice old man with money is dying. He is limited by the law in providing for his 2nd wife and their daughters because the entire estate needs to go to the son to be preserved. Therefore, on his deathbed, he requests that his son (from his first marriage) looks after them. However, this son has a wicked, wicked wife who talks him out of almost all support, and these gentlewoman have to pack up and live off the generosity of distant relatives.

And so sets up all the dynamics of a typical Austin work (as I have since learned): very cool gentlewomen who don't have the dowry to make them desirable matches. Will any gentlemen be willing to sacrifice monetary gain for true love or will the women end up as old maids?

While that plotline has been at the core of many boring, cliche, catty, or empty Victorian films, what Emma Thompson (actress and screenwriter) has done with this one is pure magic. Rather than focus on how different the era was (the dress, the parties, the etiquette), Thompson sucks you in to the humanity of the characters themselves. Yes, they dress differently and have different societal rules placed upon them. But they feel and love and dream as we do. She brings the whole world to life, showing how people like us express themselves though the mediums they had at the time - through music, poetry, significant looks, walks, etc.

Marianne's (Kate Winslet) story is moving and heart-breaking because of the disillusionment of her youthful confidence and trust. She represents the "Sense" in the movie - one who trusts her feelings and the feelings of her beloved. She lives how we are often encouraged to live today - to do what feels right and to express everything. Elinor's (Emma Thompson) role, on the other hand, is one of the most mature I've ever seen in a film. As the "Sensible" sister, she follows the Victorian era values when it comes to confiding in others, expressing herself, and expecting anything from her true love (Hugh Grant). Yet you see that she does this not out of mindless obedience but because she understands the wisdom behind such etiquette. When her heart finally breaks in spite of all of her carefulness and reserve, yours breaks with her and I cried for the first time in years.

I don't want to spoil the ending (and don't worry, I haven't), but Thompson wraps this movie up to perfection. She seems to have done everything perfectly in the film - from the timing, the character development, the resolution, etc. Ever since I have seen this film, I have yeared for another to bring me to that era in a similar manner but have yet to find one. There are some good ones out there, but nothing touches what was accomplished in this film!

Enchanting rendition of the timeless classic
After the death of their father, the three Dashwood sisters Eleanor (Emma Thompson) , Marianne (Kate Winslet) , and Margaret (Emilie Francois) , and their mother (Gemma Jones from Bridget Jones Diary) are cheated out of their home and inheritance by Fanny Dashwood ( Harriet Walter) , the evil wife of their half-brother , and are forced to live off the charity of distant relatives.

Meanwhile Fanny's younger brother Edward Ferrars (Hugh Grant) strikes up a friendship with the Dashwood girls, and loves and is loved by Eleanor, who won't admit to it though, believing it to be a marriage that cannot work. She will only refer to her feelings for Edward as ' I esteem and like him'.

Emma Thompson fits the role of Eleanor well, except is a bit old for the role.

Marianne, played by the gorgeous Kate Winslet, fits the role of the romantic and impulsive Marianne perfectly, as she is played and discarded by the detestable John Willoughby (Greg Wise). The kindly friend and mentor to the girls, Colonel Brandon (Alan Rickman) will play a key role in the outcome, without revealing tool much of the plot.

Then the youngest sister, Margaret, played by Emilie Francois, is absolutely adorable, she is a beautiful, lively and intelligent child, and adds such life to the story.

Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman too play their roles as if fit to a glove.

It is interesting to observe a time, when the whole life of the gentry consisted of socializing, an interesting time that has passed way as if it had never been.

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