Jane Austen Plus Emma Thompson Equals Moviemaking Brilliance

Generally, when I see a movie based on a book which I have read, I prepare myself for disappointment. It is pretty hard to pull off a film adaptation that does true justice to a great book. Sense and Sensibility does just that. I watched a portion of this film in my Canon and Its Critics class, headed by the venerable Dr. Morris. This was maybe a month and a half into the semester, my first with him as a professor, but he had quickly made his way onto my list of favorite educators. So his ecstasy over Emma Thompson and unbounded admiration for Alan Rickman’s Colonel Brandon may have influenced me. But I was impressed enough that I later rented the film and fell in love with it. Along with The Green Mile (in which case I saw the movie before reading the book), this is probably the best book-to-film adaptation I have seen.

The cast is superb, with the afore-mentioned Thompson taking the role of Elinor, the patient, practical eldest Dashwood sister. Kate Winslet portrays Marianne, Elinor’s over-emotional, romantic younger sister. (As Dr. Morris filled us in on what we would be missing before he started the movie towards the end, he said, “And then there’s this great scene where Marianne and Willoughby are standing on the bow of this ship, and she throws out her arms, and… wasn’t in the book, though.”) The dynamic between these two sisters is the heart of the film. They are diametrically opposed, each exhibiting one end of the personality spectrum. Elinor is the heroine of the film, always a perfect model of poise and manners, selfless to the point of bursting (which she eventually does in one of the film’s best scenes). Marianne is likable enough, but she is rather flighty and self-centered and possesses some very impractical ideas about romance. In the end, both girls learn from one another, moving just a bit towards the middle of the spectrum.

Hugh Grant is utterly adorable as the bumbling Edward Ferrars, the honorable gentleman who earns Elinor’s affection at the beginning of the film. He doesn’t get much air time in the film, mainly the very beginning and end, but his appearances are both riotously comical and extraordinarily tender. I’ve seen Hugh Grant in many movies, but this performance is my hands-down favorite. I’ve already noted Dr. Morris’ opinion of Rickman’s performance, and I concur. But then Rickman has blown me away in everything I’ve seen him in. Could there possibly be a more perfect Severus Snape? His Colonel Brandon is formal, reserved, honor-bound. Shrouded in melancholy, he is a tender man bewitched by Marianne. Best line: Towards the end of the film, he paces in agitation as Marianne lies sick in bed upstairs. Upon Elinor’s entrance, he pleads, “Give me an occupation or I shall run mad!” Perfect. Greg Wise turns in a good performance as the tall, dark and handsome Willoughby, to whom Marianne’s affections belong for the bulk of the film.

More minor characters shine in their respective roles. This is a comedy, and the smaller roles tend to accentuate that. Harriet Walter is deliciously conniving as the Dashwoods’ unsympathetic sister-in-law, Fanny. Another of the film’s great scenes involves Fanny reacting to a secret told to her by Lucy Steele (Imogen Stubbs), a pseudo-friend to Elinor. Robert Hardy and Elizabeth Spriggs are amusing in their roles as the grandparently Sir John Middleton and Mrs. Jennings. In addition to being affectionate, they also have a nose for gossip, which Marianne particularly resents. Imelda Staunton and Hugh Laurie sparkle as the hilariously mismatched Mr. and Mrs. Palmer. Think Farmer Hoggett and his wife, Babe. She is a cheerful chatterbox, he a silent man with an air about him that telegraphs the fact that he finds his wife exceedingly silly. Much of the humor between these two is nonverbal, but chuckles should follow whenever these two appear. Mr. Palmer regards his wife’s frivolity with apparent indifference, and while one wonders how they ever got together, they seem pretty content with their life together. Mr. Palmer also shows himself to be gentlemanly and compassionate on several occasions.

Of all the roles here, the one that really stepped this movie up a notch for me was Margaret Dashwood (Emile Francois). In the book, this poor unfortunate third Dashwood sister is rendered practically a non-entity. She certainly doesn’t show up in the book much, and when she does she doesn’t contribute much or boast much of a personality. What’s there to say about Margaret in the book? Not much. But the film, which Thompson wrote, gives Margaret a distinct personality and an important place in the affairs of the main characters. She is a tomboy who is fascinated by geography and wants to travel the high seas as the captain of a pirate ship. This spunky gal brings Elinor and Edward together for the first time, as the visiting gentleman locates her hiding under a dresser, conceals her from Fanny and cleverly draws her out later. The two become fast friends, and Edward’s kindness to her sister wins Elinor over.

I am reminded of the book The Princess Bride with this film because the book claims to be the “good parts version” of a classic written long ago. Periodically, the author fills the reader in on all the boring stuff that he skipped. This movie does that masterfully. I loved Sense and Sensibility, but I think it was a lot wordier than it needed to be. This film takes the heart of the book, pruning and fleshing out to produce an adaptation that in some ways exceeds the novel.

In addition to Margaret, the movie filled another hole that the book left me. In this case, it was the ending. The main events of the film lead up to a certain point in the novel, but when that point is reached, it gets essentially skimmed over and we don’t get to see the glorious moment when everything comes together. In the film, this scene is accomplished with comical brilliance and heart. It’s a perfect moment worthy of the build-up of tension that precedes it.

Not everyone will love this movie. It’s set in the 1800s in England, and that means a lot of fancy talk in British accents. My grandma complained that everyone sounded the same, while my dad and brother just found the film boring. If you can get into the proper mode, however, the movie is both hilarious and touching. What’s more, its setting is so prim and proper that I can’t think of much of anything that would offend someone in this PG-rated film. It’s good clean literary fun, and it’s brilliant. Nicely done, Emma Thompson.