Sense & Sensibility (with Miss Austen Regrets) (BBC TV 2008)
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Movie Reviews of Sense & Sensibility (with Miss Austen Regrets) (BBC TV 2008)
Movie Review: very sweet Jane Austen film!
Summary: 5 Stars
My family loves this version of Sense & Sensibility! All the actors are superb, the music is beautiful, and the scenery is breathtaking! The only thing we did not like were the first 2 minutes or so of the film - totally unnecessary and not a family-friendly scene. Otherwise, another sweet Jane Austen film!Movie Review: Actors receive an A!
Summary: 4 Stars
I am surprised to say that this script by Andrew Davies lacks the cleverness, wit (and sometimes spirit) of Emma Thompson's version, while perhaps more literal to the novel. It has moments of stilted (and sometimes blunt & simplistic) dialogue, and both my mother and I found the flow to be a bit off. This may have a lot to do with a 3-hr running time, which frankly I found far too short for a script that does include every possible character we could have wanted it to include. Consequently, many of the important scenes and less-important characters that are included are crammed into the space, making things feel a little rushed and off-kilter. Speaking of which...don't get your hopes up about the ending! Very anticlimactic and hasty. Not at all as elegantly and evenly paced like his Pride & Prejudice script (or Thompson's S&S).
While this script certainly is not as brilliant as his P&P script, it interestingly reprises some of the sisterly scenes from P&P (such as: when Marianne announces her engagement to Colonel Brandon as she and Elinor prepare for bed, her lines copycat those of Jane's to Elizabeth. Elinor even echos Elizabeth's sentiments about finding a husband, saying something along the lines of 'I'll just have to find myself a Colonel, too!' Substitute 'Mr. Collins' and delete 'too' and it's nearly identical).
However, the actors do well, all pulling off their parts agreeably. They give this production all that it needs to end up full of heart. Elinor (Hattie Morahan) and Edward (Dan Stevens) positively shine and lead the entire cast. They absolutely make the film what it is, and constantly keep sometimes uninspired or simplistic lines from falling flat. I particularly enjoy Morahan's subtle optimism throughout the film--always with a faint, warm smile and bringing laughter to lines that could be read very dully. She is certainly much more energetic an Elinor than I have found in other productions. It is true that I still miss Kate Winslet, who, as others have said, glowed in Emma Thompson's version. But this Marianne (Charity Wakefield) was sweet, if not quite filled with the same vibrancy. I absolutely do not like Dominic Cooper as Willoughby. Not so very dashing, I think, just full of himself. However arrogant he is, he's also supposed to be dashing and charming!
Margaret is noticeably a less enthusiastically-written character here. 'Tis a pity.
I don't really like the portrayal of John Dashwood, their half-brother who, at the urging of his manipulative wife Fanny, commits the Dashwood girls and mother to poverty.
Also, a quick word of warning about the music: it is sometimes the classical version of elevator music. A particular scene comes to mind from the end of the movie, with an artistic opening shot of the crashing waves by Barton Cottage. As the scene opened, I heard the most bland, unmoving classical music I have ever, EVER heard. I miss the Pride & Prejudice music :( and Kate Winslet singing!
The actors were earnest and played their parts with feeling, though, so, all-in-all, it was a pleasant movie and I enjoyed it.
Movie Review: disappointed by the trailers in between each episode
Summary: 3 Stars
I watched the BBC production in the UK and really enjoyed it.I couldn't wait to watch it again. You can imagine how very disappointed I was to find that at the end of an episode(there are 3)and the beginning of the next,there's " previously" or "coming up next" snippets. Who edited this dvd? It's awful. I want to see the production without that. I have the dvd,why would I need that? It's lazy editing. I am requesting my money back or exchanging it for a dvd that does not have the mini trailers included. Movie Review: 4.5, really
Summary: 4 Stars
This "Sense and Sensibility" has been sometimes compared unfavorably to Ang Lee and Emma Thompson's earlier "S&S", but I personally liked it. I've always been partial to Andrew Davies, so I admit I'm biased, but then I love Emma Thompson as well.
Hattie Morahan and Charity Wakefield are EXCELLENT. Wakefield's Marianne is right on par with Winslet's; there are no complaints from me on Wakefield's performance. Her protestations when Elinor refuses Willoughby's gift of a horse and her slow-growing affection for Brandon are well done.
I loved Hattie Morahan; she carried off the complexity of Elinor wonderfully. She keeps an even keel throughout, so when Morahan delivers Elinor's angry retort to Willoughby at the end and Elinor rejoices with Marianne over Brandon's offer of marriage, it's all the more effective given the usual tight rein over her emotions. I hate to sound shallow, but I will say that Morahan's youth worked better for me. It's not that Thompson wasn't a fantastic Elinor, but when a visually young Elinor is more logical and thrifty than her own mother, the impact of her character is greater. One sees how very young Elinor is and how quickly she must grow up.
My favorite scene is at the end, where Marianne tells Elinor she has accepted Brandon's offer of marriage. Beautifully written and beautifully acted, it sums up the changed Elinor and the changed Marianne perfectly. Marianne has learned to look past herself - she sees Brandon for the excellent man he is and loves him, AND although she is bursting to tell her news, she is reluctant to hurt Elinor with her own happiness. It's a beautiful, mature Marianne. Elinor's concern for Marianne marrying for love is touching, but her humor is a fantastic touch - she jokes that "I must get myself a colonel too!"
I have to admit to being surprised with the male characters here. I didn't like them, and I don't know why; I've always admired how Davies makes Austen's men very three-dimensional. Davies' "Northanger Abbey", "Emma", and of course "Pride and Prejudice" did the men very well, I think. It can't be the acting, at least not with David Morrissey as Brandon. I just didn't quite get them, and I can't put my finger on why. For some reason, the Bosco Hogan 1981 Edward Ferrars sticks in my mind. These three, not so much.
A very high point - this Edward is written MUCH better than the 1995. Sorry, Ms. Thompson, but Edward was not a Regency version of the sweet, bumbling Hugh Grant. (But that's a rant for another time.)
I LOVED John Dashwood and his wife. That comical opening where Fanny Dashwood talks John Dashwood down from his plans of generous help to his half-sisters is funny, and Davies does a fantastic job doing that couple. It's clear that John does care very much for his half-sisters, but he's basically a spineless twit dominated by his wife - and what a wife! Mark Gatiss is just so amusing to watch, and Claire Skinner is just so brilliant at being snide and rude.
Miss Lucy Steele was done well, but it was her sister, Miss Steele, I remember when she accidentally blurts out that Lucy is engaged to Edward. The entire scene is just brilliant - Fanny's furious, Mrs. Ferrars is furious, Miss Steele is blubbering away. I laughed out loud - it was just too ridiculous and it was fantastic to see Lucy get her comeuppance in a major, public way.
So, all in all, a very enjoyable production and the one I'd personally keep on hand.
Movie Review: An Epiphany
Summary: 5 Stars
For someone who hasn't seen or read but trivial bits of Austen since
undergraduate days, this was an Epiphany. I expected Austen's imagination and skills, but I am glad to have re-discovered this later in life, especially the civilized discourse, the concepts of politeness, discretion, kindness, etc.