SENSE AND SENSIBILITY
A film review by Chad Polenz
Copyright 1997 Chad Polenz
Chad'z rating: **1/2 (out of 4 = OK) 1995, PG, 136 minutes [2 hours, 16 minutes] [drama] Starring: Emma Thompson (Elinor), Kate Winsley (Marianne), Alan Rickman (Colonel Brandon), Hugh Grant (Edward Ferreras), Greg Wise (Willoughby), produced by Lindsay Doran, written by Emma Thompson, directed by Ang Lee, based on the novel by Jane Austen.
I don't understand why a film made with a lot of class, and set in historical time settings are considered so great (or at least present themselves as such). "Sense & Sensibility" is another one of those films, but it's not that it's bad, it's just a soap operas set in a different time period, and a boring one at that.
This is the story of the Dashwoods, a family of women living in England sometime in the 18th or 19th century. They are an "upstanding" family that comes from a wealthy heritage. Although this is past the era of arranged marriages, the people here don't exactly marry out of love. It's as if every person is a robot going through the motions and can't really express what they feel. The dialogue is dry and almost unrealistic. They do not speak in Shakespeare-like speech, but the dialogue has an extremely highbrow, snobbish, elegant tone to it.
Emma Thompson stars as Elinor Dashwood, the oldest of three daughters who live with their widowed mother. They don't really have occupations because they inherited a fortune, but many things happen to them because of this. Elinor meets a handsome gentleman named Edward Ferreras (Hugh Grant) who she is drawn to immediately and gets along with well. Basically, it isn't any different from romance stories we see today, and it's a shame it does not become the focal point of the film because it was quite interesting.
The middle daughter, Marianne (Winsley), is attractive and the perfect age for marriage. No wonder she meets Colonel Brandon (Rickman), but is even more attracted to the rebellious Willoughby (Wise) who comes to her rescue when she sprains her ankle while frolicking in the meadows (literally). Marianne later finds out Willoughby is quite a coward (now there's a shock). In fact, most of the events are even more formulated than this.
Despite all these romantic elements and storylines, there really isn't any one plot to the film. It is just the story of a close-knit family of women who care for each other and must somehow make ends meet in this rigid society. Just when it seems that one of them has fallen in love something comes up and their lover is gone, or some other kind of tragedy ensues. We've seen all of these characters before, and they are not any more interesting or original here.
I have to give "Sense & Sensibility" credit though. It is not formulated for the sake of dramatics and sappiness, it is true to itself. This should make for some depth, but it doesn't work well here. Everything is too boring and slowly paced to maintain interest.
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