Review: Sense & Sensibility (BBC TV 2008 DVD edition)
Finally got a copy of Sense & Sensibility from Netflix. This is the Jane Asten movie that we missed during public televisions The Complete Jane Austen series. Directed by John Alexander and starring Hattie Morahan, Charity Wakefield, Dan Stevens, Janet McTeer, Mark Williams and others. The screen play was by Andrew Davies who did most of the other movies featured during the series.
This is a lovely and lush film. There are some scenes that don’t exist in the book but are hinted at in the backstory or off the pages. However, I read the book so long ago now that I’m going to have to go back and reread the original story. I’ve now seen three movie versions of the film (including this one) and while the central story remains that of Elinor and Marianne some of the details change depending on the film. In fact, one film eliminated Margaret from the film entirely. While Margaret may have a small part to play, she is essential as a younger sister being taught the code of conduct that the older sisters have or should have already internalized.
This film has focused more on the differences between the family’s life at Norland and their new life in the cottage in Devonshire. There is a lot of use of the sea and the landscape in Devonshire to highlight the isolation of the Dashwoods from the life that they once had. From being women of leisure, they now live in a cottage with only two servants and must do much of the menial tasks themselves. They are learning but it’s difficult for them as they must learn to economize and yet still maintain their manners and style of living to associate with Sir John and his family and neighbors.
There’s obviously a bond between the sisters but where Elinor controls her feelings, Marianne allows her feelings free range. In fact, Marianne at times seems to glory more in showing her feeling to the world than in feeling them herself. Elinor holds her feeling close to herself as treasures, while Marianne paints them on a marquee. In a society where appearance and surface adherence to propriety is more important than the actual propriety, it is dangerous to allow oneself to show what is felt. Elinor’s mask of calm protects her from censure or ridicule but Marianne has no such protection as she hides nothing of what she feels.
Because of their character they each come close to loosing what they love. Davies may have changed, added, deleted, or emphasized some of the books scenes but he’s nevertheless maintained the heart and soul of the story. We feel for these people and because of the writing and the directing we get a feel for the rigid society in which they lived.
It’s almost impossible for those of us who have grown up in today’s vastly different society where women do have rights and can inherit or work at employment of their own choosing to understand the much narrower choices available to women of the Dashwood’s level of society. Remembering too that much of their problems came from their father’s son refusing to honor the promise he made to take care of them. Much of the movie revolves around promises made, promises kept, and promises left unfulfilled. Then, as now, a person isn’t honorable because of their place in society, the amount of money or status that they have, but because of their actions.
All in all, the film was an excellent rendition of the the novel (as I remember it). Now, I have to slip the book into my reading stack so that I can refresh my mind on the details.