Revisiting Ang Lee’s “Sense and Sensibility” During Quarantine

Readers of Rudyard Kipling’s “The Janeites,” a short story centered around a group of Jane Austen-reading WWI soldiers, will be entirely familiar with the link between Austen and distressing times. In real life, Austen’s novels were actually prescribed to WWI soldiers suffering from shell shock. While our present circumstances are in no way the same, we are all still dealing with a stressful, frustrating period in which we could use the comfort that her work provides. I suggest that this can come in the form of Ang Lee’s 1995 masterpiece “Sense and Sensibility,” which celebrates its twenty-fifth anniversary this year. At the height of ’90s Austen-mania, Lee brought a compelling cast together to make one of the sweetest, most humorous adaptations of an Austen novel.

“Sense and Sensibility” remains a classic for many reasons, including its careful balance of creative liberties and authenticity. Like the 1811 novel of the same name, the film follows two sisters, the reserved Elinor (Emma Thomson) and romantic Marianne Dashwood (Kate Winslet), after the death of their wealthy father. The two girls, a product of Mr. Dashwood’s second marriage, are prevented from inheriting their father’s estate because they are women. The inheritance instead passes entirely to their elder half-brother John (James Fleet). Egged on by his cruel wife Fanny (Harriet Walter), John does shockingly little to help his sisters financially, even removing them from their home. The girls and the rest of their family find their station in life changed considerable and any future romances compromised by their humble means.

Not only does Emma Thompson play Elinor Dashwood, but she also took on the challenge of writing the screenplay, for which she won an Academy Award. The result is still marvelous all these years later: she manages to boil down the novel to its essential elements. She succeeds in emphasizing the beloved characteristics of the humorous characters, in addition to bringing life to the novel’s most heartbreaking moments.

In Thompson’s hands, characters like the talkative Mrs. Jennings (Elizabeth Spriggs) and the disgruntled Mr. Palmer (Hugh Laurie) take on a new kind of drollery. While in the novel we might spend most of the time laughing at Marianne’s melodrama, the script manages to turn the tables and make us laugh at Marianne’s wittiness instead. Thompson also gives voice to the frustrations women felt at this time regarding property laws and the marriage market. She channels these perfectly through Elinor’s speech to her suitor Edmund Ferrars (Hugh Grant) during one of their frequent horse rides, at once providing historical context for the viewer and giving constructive criticism on these injustices.

Of course, nothing exemplifies Thompson’s screenwriting skill more than Edmund’s proposal scene. After many separations and endless miscommunications, he and Elinor are finally reunited. Edmund’s proposal draws her to endless tears of happiness and relief, such that some of his impassioned speech is drowned out by her heaving sobs. The result is a curious but satisfying combination of hilarity and melancholy.

Much of the film’s pathos can be attributed to its excellent cast, from the leads all the way down to the most minor of characters. Winslet is a true delight. She lends Marianne just the right amount of romance and drama without being overbearing. Grant also depicts the rather awkward Edmund with charm. Although Elinor’s lover tends to lack charisma in the novel, the actor refreshes his character through Grant’s own signature stumbling sentences and dry irony.

Mrs. Dashwood’s character is translated marvelously on screen, with her high-strung nerves and carelessness caricatured through Gemma Jones’ excellent comedic timing. Alan Rickman is another gem as the tragic Colonel Brandon. Though the character can often feel opaque and mysterious, Rickman’s performance is warm and friendly such that Brandon becomes less alienating and more of an empathic character.

More praise is owed to Thompson who not only shines in her writing, but also in playing one of the leads. Thompson makes Elinor older than in the books, such that it is easier to understand her character’s level headedness and reserve. Thompson’s face is the perfect canvas for her emotions, registering these so well that it requires a mere crumple of her face to bring the audience to tears, like in the scene of Elinor’s confession to Marianne.

While newer, more experimental adaptations of Austen’s other novels are worth watching, it does not mean that we should let go of those that have paved the way, particularly this one. “Sense and Sensibility” marries a thoughtful director and a brilliant script that amplifies just how valuable it is for a film to nail the basics.

— Staff writer Aline G. Damas can be reached at aline.damas@thecrimson.com.