Jane Austen's Books & Adaptations discussion

1995 Movie: Sense and Sensibility



directed by Ang Lee
screenplay by Emma Thompson
starring Emma Thompson as Elinor, Kate Winslet as Marianne, Hugh Grant as Edward, Alan Rickman as Col. Brandon and Greg Wise as Willoughby

nominated for 7 Oscars, won for Best Adapted Screenplay

available on NETFLIX

🎬 1995 Sense and Sensibility Movie - Challenge Category: Adaptations

Watching schedule:

Watch anytime in February and post your thoughts here.

Hailey, I read The Sense and Sensibility Screenplay and Diaries: Bringing Jane Austen's Novel to Film by Emma Thompson last year. I'm looking forward to watching the movie and seeing it with fresh eyes. :D



BTW Welcome to the group!

I've come across this gem in The Sense and Sensibility Screenplay and Diaries: Bringing Jane Austen's Novel to Film.

One day of the shooting Emma Thompson overheard this charming conversation between Kate Winslet and Alan Rickman:

Kate: Oh God, my knickers have gone up my arse.
Alan: Ah. Feminine mystique strikes again.

LOLed so hard. I had to share.



And another one:

Kate Winslet fainted during the shoot - "[Kate was] so cold, so wet for so long. Alan Rickman found Ang Lee (the director) sitting on a box, his head low, his fists clenched.
I tortured her, he moaned.
Don't worry, said Alan. You'll have the opportunity to do it to me soon."



I love Alan Rickman as Col. Brandon. XD

S&S is not my favorite JA story, but this has always been my favorite adaptation of it. I really enjoy the whole cast, but I particularly love Alan Rickman as Colonel Brandon. He really makes the film for me. One of my favorite scenes, however, is Emma Thompson's performance near the end when she can finally give her emotions outlet. I think that is such a strong moment due to her restraint throughout the rest of the film.

I'm going to watch the movie tonight. I'll be back with some notes! :)

I've forgotten how wonderful the movie was. It's as close to a perfect adaptation as one can get. I like almost all the changes Emma Thompson made to the story. It all made perfect sense.
If I have to criticize anything that would be that she pushed ages of all the characters except for Marianne and Margaret. It's a huge difference especially for Elinor to be single at the age of 26 instead of 19. In that era at 26 she was practically a spinster. Also Colonel Brandon was supposed to be 35, the mother 40, Sir John was about the mother's age. But in the end I don't mind the changed ages as much because that way we could get the perfect casting of Alan Rickman, Gemma Jones (Mrs Dashwood), Elizabeth Spriggs (Mrs Jennings) and Tom Hardy (Sir John). I also loved Hugh Laurie and Imelda Staunton as Mr and Mrs Palmer - Dr House and Dolores Umbridge made for an entertaining married couple. Only casting choice I would have changed is Hugh Grant as Edward - I didn't feel any chemistry between him and Emma Thompson.
Loved the cinematography and music as well.

BTW Emma Thompson (Elinor) and Greg Wise (Willoughby) are partners in real life. XD

Hailey wrote: "The song lyrics Marianne/Kate Winslet sing in the beginning, when Colonel Brandon/Alan Rickman first sees her, are about weeping, sleeping, and melancholy. Towards the end of the movie, when Marianne sings the new song, the lyrics are about being awake and yearning."

Great catch, Hailey. I totally missed that.

Hailey wrote: "Elinor Dashwood in the beginning of the film, hides her emotions and she is very subdued. Marianne is bold and lets her emotions burst out without much self-restraint. At the end, the two sisters roles switch. Marianne learns to be more controlled whereas Elinor's emotions come pouring out with Marianne's illness and when Edward proposes to her."

Yes. It started in London with her outburst when she let Marianne know how unhappy she had been.
I always felt that Elinor while reserved wasn't naturally repressed - that she was indirectly forced to act that way by her sister and mother. The two of them were always so emotionally unrestrained and self-indulgent that Elinor simply had to be the prudent one.

Laurie wrote: "I particularly love Alan Rickman as Colonel Brandon. He really makes the film for me. One of my favorite scenes, however, is Emma Thompson's performance near the end when she can finally give her emotions outlet. I think that is such a strong moment due to her restraint throughout the rest of the film."

Alan Rickman for the win. :D
Laurie, I also loved that scene - the emotional release after so much unhappiness, tension and anxiety was liberating.

I did watch the Making of Sense & Sensibility documentary on YouTube. I enjoyed it quite a bit, especially the last 10 minutes (from min 29:25) dedicated to "Adapting Austen".

link: https://youtu.be/SGNPv77l9hQ

Hailey wrote: "I liked the changes they made for his character in the film vs. the novel such as taking out part where Willoughby talked to Elinor while Marianne was sick. I thought how they handled it in the movie was more realistic for the time period (him observing the wedding ceremony from a distance)."

I remember Emma Thompson commenting on how they decided to omit this scene because it didn't add anything new to the story that couldn't be conveyed by other characters - she made Colonel Brandon say to Elinor that Willoughby had been ready to propose to Marianne the very day his aunt discovered about Beth (in the book Eliza) being pregnant with Willoughby's child. Brandon admitted that he believed that Willougby sincerely loved Marianne and his intentions had been at least for a short time honorable. Also the slightly altered dialogue between Elinor and Marianne about this where Marianne reflects on Willoughby's conduct and that he didn't love her enough was a nice addition.

I believe that taking out that scene oddly enough makes Willougby seem a bit more sympathetic. In the book he reveals himself to be totally spineless and despicable when he tries to blame Eliza (a 16yo girl) for the whole situation and has the gall to ask Elinor (and through her Marianne) to pity him because he "was forced" to marry a disagreeable wife.

And yes, the chemistry between Elinor and Edward worked better in the 2008 Mini-series.

I forgot Hugh Laurie was in this! :D And I did NOT realize that was Umbridge, but yes! (I haven't rewatched it yet, or I would probably have recognized her.)

I agree with you both about Hugh Grant and the lack of chemistry.

Zuzana wrote: "I always felt that Elinor while reserved wasn't naturally repressed - that she was indirectly forced to act that way by her sister and mother. The two of them were always so emotionally unrestrained and self-indulgent that Elinor simply had to be the prudent one..."

Totally agree.

Some notes on the Making of S&S documentary:

I liked the comparison of regency England societal norms to 20th century Chinese society and how it made the director Ang Lee understand the story so much better than at first expected.

I think that's the reason that the most successful modern re-tellings of JA books are set in Asian or Middle Eastern countries or communities, e.g. Bride & Prejudice Movie, Ayesha at Last, Unmarriageable or Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors. The places where arranged marriages and strict familial hierarchy are still a thing.

I also liked the producer agonizing about the need to cut some characters and side storylines. That's why in the end they had to make these "composite" characters - Lucy Steele in the movie is combination of Lucy and her sister, the same goes for Fanny Dashwood who's Fanny and her mother Mrs Ferrars combined.

The part describing how the book was adapted is great. I didn't know that at first Emma Thompson dramatized the whole book - every scene - which produced a really monstrously thick first draft of the screenplay and then she worked on trimming it and distilling the essence of the story to come up with the final product. It took her 5 years.

There is a deleted scene of Elinor and Edward love declaration followed by a kiss.

You can check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Np9go...

It's obvious that it was meant to be in the movie instead of the off-screen proposal (Mrs Dashwood, Marianne and Margaret outside the cottage "spying" on Edward and Elinor in the parlor). I'm so glad that they cut it. The movie version is so much better.

I thought that the scene that ended up in the movie was more in sync with the humorous vibe of the story - the cut scene was just too pathetic IMO.

What should we watch next? Share your ideas in the "2021 Group Schedule" thread here.

I thought we might watch Bridgerton next month. What do you think?