Austen’s unfailing wit at poking the little hypocrisies of plain society are so acute and masterful that even today it stands out, one generation after another. Jane Austen was only 21 when she started writing the first draft of Sense and Sensibility, but it was only at 35 when she would finally publish it in 1811. Those years shaped her life entirely. It was her first book, one brimming with the rich complexities of early adulthood, of slowly revealing what it means to occupy the world as a woman. So, with every new adaptation of her work, a new generation comes to see her anew, as a writer writing about what she knew best, to be a woman in a man’s world.
Closely watching these lovebirds is Colonel Brandon (Norwegian actor Herbert Nordrum, a role made unforgettable by the late Alan Rickman in the 1995 version), who is a man of few words, and as Marianne puts it, rather dull. The only girl who is still hopeful is Marianne (an incredible turn from Esmé Creed-Miles, daughter of Samantha Morton). It is with great hope she will then meet a gallant Mr Willoughby, who is played sharply by Frank Dillane. Marianne’s headstrong energy infuses tremendous energy into the scenes as she readily occupies every space she walks into. As the film progresses with steady attention to detail, Creed-Miles is able to draw out Marianne’s arc from an infallible girl waking up to see a world with maturity- with extraordinary control. The intense turmoil alongside her profound sense of self-respect are her own, but she must learn too. She must learn that love is not everything, that it will not suffice. Her scenes with Nordrum are the film’s most finely judged exchanges, one filled with romantic resilience and hope. And Fiona Shaw is very much a scene-stealer as Mrs Jennings, laughing like an owl at the dinning table and effectively making a case for a survivor amongst them all.
