Sense and Sensibility - Movie Adaptations Ranked

You can find all manner of free audiobooks including Sense and Sensibility on Librivox.org

Sense and Sensibility 

This is a delightful story about four women, the Dashwoods, who fall on hard times after Mr. Dashwood dies.  The three daughters and mother end up living in very reduced circumstances.  The story is about resilience, and the tight relationships of these four women (three ladies, one girl).  It also toys with the themes of being sensible and having wild sensibilities (or feelings/sensitivities).  In the end, you need both sense and sensibility for balance and Marianne learns sense while Elinor learns to show more of her feelings.  It's a very lovely story.

This post will contain in-depth discussions about the movie adaptations I've seen.  It will contain spoilers.  This is your chance, if you haven't seen the movies or read the books to go do so.  I recommend the 1995 Emma Thompson Sense and Sensibility for reasons I'll detail below.  Also, you can find free versions of the book in many places.  Your local library and even Kindle.  This is because all the Jane Austen novels are in the public domain.  You can also find a free audiobook of Sense and Sensibility at librivox.org, where volunteers make old classics available to you for free.

1. Sense and Sensibility 1995 with Emma Thompson

          This movie is so perfect.  From the piratical and geographical leanings of Margaret to the small details of life at home with four women this movie is perfection itself.  It has an emotional subtlety that is conveyed with grandeur and simplicity.

          The scene where Elinor sits in the stairwell and drinks the tea she has brewed for Marianne while everyone has dramatically (and with tears,) closed a different door in her face is perfect.  The loneliness and bravery to keep everything together when everyone else is so emotional is so obvious in this script.  Watching Emma Thompson portray the struggles of a sensitive but brave heart that cannot give in to any of her own sorrow is a beautiful thing.  Such nuance, such loveliness.

          It's cast beautifully.  Everything about it is lovely really.  Your heart breaks for Marianne while she quotes sorrowful poetry in the rain and for Colonel Brandon who loves her completely but has given up hope she'd ever think of him.  It's just perfect.

          The ladies do steal the show in Sense and Sensibility, I don't love the men as much as in Pride and Prejudice.  However, Emma Thompson's script is simply perfection.  I think it captures the beauty, strength, and importance of the bond between Elinor and Marianne, even when they don't understand one another.

The emotional subtlety.  The lavish scenes where a quiet romantic vignette in the far parlor where Willoughby is taking a lock of Marianne's hair is already lovely, but to be introduced to it through the eyes of Elinor who watches with such longing for a romance of her own, it becomes heartbreakingly tender.

The way we see Marianne realizing that Colonel Brandon likes her when he comes over to hand her a knife to better cut the thatch for the cottage.  So much emotion is portrayed in that moment alone.  Such a small exchange.

The moments of utter delight where Edward coaxes Margaret out from under the table by pronouncing wrong geographical facts with Elinor and later when he was teaching Margaret to fence and she smacks him in the stomach with a wooden sword.  So cute.  The way that Elinor and Edward talk together about the things that society expects from them, and how it limits them.  The mentions of Margaret and her piratical leanings are all perfect.

The "I'm as silent as a grave" moment right before she starts screaming and attacking Lucy on the balcony.  It's amazing.

Perhaps it is the fact that Emma Thompson apparently spent five years writing her screenplay that it turned out to be so brilliant.  It was not only myself that noticed, for it also happened to be Oscar-winning.  I love that it ends with both of the couples together.

2.  Sense and Sensibility 2008

This is not my favorite.  Doesn't quite have the nuance or tone of Emma Thompson's script.  But it has something.  The rug beating scene being very excellent indeed.  The little boy who is the "reason" the spineless elder stepbrother can't give up any money, who sits around eating and being pudgy, is a cute but random edition.

It's a lovely adaptation.  The men in some ways steal this mini-series.  Maybe that's why it's not my favorite, I think of it as a story that is so much more women-centric.  Don't get me wrong, the men are an important part of it.  I just didn't love all the women in this one quite as much as the 1995 Sense and Sensibility.

  I do like this Elinor.  You definitely see her struggling with her emotions, but I feel as though she is too placid and quick to recover in some scenes where she should be a little less at ease.  When Marianne starts sobbing after Willoughby is to marry a rich lady and yells at Elinor that she is happy and doesn't suffer, Elinor just sits down and drains a glass of wine.  That felt appropriate.  The rug beating scene, where Elinor is venting some frustration and meets Edward Ferrars, is very excellent indeed.

          The movie opens with the seduction that Willoughby has committed against Colonel Brandon's ward.  Later there is a duel between Colonel Brandon and Willoughby.  Colonel Brandon draws first blood and then storms off.  So, that's kind of fun.  But I don't warm to Marianne quite as much in this version.  It's a perfectly decent adaptation.  But it just doesn't have the same magic for me as the script by Emma Thompson.

          Perhaps it's the fact that all of Marianne's most dramatic moments are sort of cut short and taken over by the men.  Marianne goes to Allenham Court and we mostly dwell on Willoughby and see him exercising considerable restraint, knowing that he's a scoundrel and a rake.  At an early dance, we don't see Elinor telling Marianne to restrain herself, we see Colonel Brandon take Willoughby aside to ask his intentions towards Marianne.  Is he just being jealous?  Or does he already know of Willoughby's character and affairs?

          Later, in Lonon, Marianne's meeting with Willoughby and his cold greeting to her, is again over-shadowed by the men.  She does start to faint, but then we no longer focus on her, or her suffering.  We are shown Colonel Brandon's face, as he holds her and glares at Willoughby, who shows a modest amount of concern but not enough emotion.  We do, of course, see Marianne crying, but we don't dwell on it as much as how the other men feel about the situation.  In the 1995 Sense and Sensibility, we dwell on Marianne and Elinor's response to all of this.  It's from their point of view because it is their story.

          This Willoughby is handsome enough and we believe him to be a seducer of course.  But I have a harder time believing he is really in love with Marianne.  When he leaves for London he is not emotional, upset, discomposed.  He just seemed vaguely frustrated.  He should be heart-broken knowing what this is costing him and knowing this is goodbye.

          The Miss Steele's are irritating, especially Anne.  Lucy seems sufficiently conniving.  Mr. Palmer has absolutely no redeeming qualities about him whatsoever.  I prefer his portrayal as a beleaguered but not unkindly man in other versions.  Sir John Middleton is cute, less jovial, but cute in this version.

          I do love this portrayal of Margaret, or Meg.  I like that she asks if they will have to live with the gypsies and threatens to poison Fanny if they have to live with her under the same roof.  I love that she does her doll's hair as her hair gets done.  I love that they travel all the way to Devon with a goldfish on their laps for her.  I love that towards the end she asks if Willoughby is a scoundrel and declares that "if I were a brother instead of a sister I would fight Willoughby and kill him with my sword." To which her mother replies.  "Well then, it's a good job you're not.  For I would hate to see you hang for murder."  And then Meg, bless her, unphased by this says "I wish I was a man.  Girls can never do anything.  Men can ride about the country and do things.  And girls just sit and wait for things to happen."  Mother and daughter just look at each other both thinking silently about that thought that defines them so. 

          I appreciate that Edward gives Elinor a parting gift of a book of flowers of Devon and she is confused and hurt that it's signed as a friend.  I enjoy that we see Edward being reflective when he comes to visit the Dashwoods later.  We see him being happy with Elinor and then very unhappy.  Thinking about his visit to Lucy Steele makes him deeply unhappy.  I wish we saw a few more moments of unhappiness from Elinor at the end.  It doesn't make sense to me that hearing about the wedding of Mr. Ferrars, that they assume to be Edward, makes Marianne more upset than Elinor at that moment.

          I like the way the movie wraps everything up.  I like that Marianne has a falling in love sequence while Elinor still waits and forlornly by the sea for something to change.  I like that Elinor describes Marianne and Colonel Brandon's courtship as that of a wild horse and a great tamer.  "I have heard that the Great tamers of horses do it by being gentle and then walking away.  Nine times out of ten the wild horse will follow".  I like that he leaves her in the library to play and read as she wishes without requiring her company.  It feels like a Beauty and the Beast moment and I can't help but adore it.

          I love that the movie ends with both couples together.  Colonel Brandon is carrying Marianne across the threshold of Delaford and Elinor is laughing happily while Edward chases chickens around the yard of their small living.

3. Sense and Sensibility 1981

I've seen this one, it's fine but I didn't like it terribly much.   It was my first introduction to Sense and Sensibility and I just didn't take to it.  I didn't want to watch it again.  It wasn't until I found the Emma Thompson Sense and Sensibility that I really fell for the story.  And it's such a great story.

Margaret is left out of this version entirely.  But we do briefly meet Flynn, a very cute pointer of Willoughby's out in the woods.

Fanny is tremendously awful.  In this version, Fanny is uncompromisingly rude.  She belittles Edward in front of everyone and constantly says horrifying things.  Right before Mrs. Dashwood and Elinor and Marianne move to the north she tries to get them to leave all their things behind.  I will paraphrase but she asks "Must you take your breakfast set when you move?  Even though your husband left it to you with other furniture, it belongs here at Norland in this great estate. What will you do with them in a cottage?  It seems unfair to John, as the heir, for you to take them."  Not only does she convince John not to give them any money, but she also tries to deprive them of the things that are rightfully theirs.  All the things they take belonged to Mrs. Dashwood before her marriage.  But Fanny tried very hard to deprive her of them.

Mrs. Jennings is fairly useless but she's sweet.  I love that she stays in the house to tend to Marianne, that she won't leave.  They conclude that she is severely under-nourished and bleeding her would be pointless.  I love how worried she is when Marianne is seeming to sleep "pray God that she is, but I fear he will break your heart with hope."  It's so sweet that both Elinor and Mrs. Jennings stay with Marianne and makes sure she is taken care of.  This version nearly brought me to tears.

I really appreciate this portrayal of Marianne.  She's very young and sensitive.  I love seeing her tell the trees at Norland goodbye and run away from Elinor at several points telling her how "unfeeling" she is.  I love that she decides before they leave Norland that she will never meet a man she can really love because she requires so much.  I love that Elinor tells her she needn't despair quite so early as she's only 17.  And she plays a very lovely Marianne, sensitive, emotional, high-spirited, and young.

Willoughby is believable.  I love that he and Marianne sing together.  I do like that he pursues Marianne and Elinor to the Palmer estate in order to explain what happened in London and that he still loves Marianne.  It's some comfort that he wasn't playing a part that whole time and that he had the guts to tell her so.

Tom and Susie, the servants that wait on the Dashwoods are super cute.  They listen to Marianne playing piano and smile out the windows and from the garden at each other as they hear Willoughby singing with her.

Miss Lucy Steele is amazingly bitchy.  She's much less artful in her wicked triumph over Elinor.  I love that Elinor says a few things back at her to put her in her place.  I do love that it's Lucy's dim sister who reveals the secret engagement.  The screaming that ensues is amusing but over the top and not believable.  I think it's silly that they ask the Miss Dashwoods to pretend that Edward is dead.  However, it does gives Elinor the opportunity to defy John Dashwood and claim Edward as a friend.

I like that Col. Brandon selects a book for Marianne to read and introduces her to Shakespeare and Milton.  I like that Mrs. Jennings says Mrs. Dashwood is as good at matchmaking as I am and Elinor just smiles.  I also like that Marianne is making an effort to read and be friends with Colonel Brandon but is still a little heartbroken about Willoughby.  It makes more sense this way.

I'm not a huge fan of Elinor in this version.  She seems a little more haughty, not as emotional while still being under tight control.  There is something cold about her performance to me.  And it doesn't end with the weddings, just the proposal for Elinor and the implied eventuality for Marianne and Col. Brandon.  I want the end to include both couples being together, not just implied that it will happen.  It's not a bad version but it's truly not my favorite.

I have not seen the following versions:

Sense and Sensibility 1971
nor the 1948-56 series version
nor Scents and Sensibility a modern retelling

To see my ranking of Every Jane Austen Adaptation, go here.
For discussions on my ranking of all the Pride and Prejudice Adaptations go here.
For discussions on my ranking of all the Persuasion Adaptations go here.
For discussions on my ranking of all the Emma Adaptations go here.
For my discussion of all the Mansfield Park Adaptations, you can go here.
For my discussion of all the Northanger Abbey Adaptations, you can go here.

For my discussion of the Lady Susan Adaptation (Love and Friendship), you can go here. 

For my discussion of all the "Not-Quite-Austen's" you can go here.

I have a whole page dedicated to Jane Austen where you can find my rankings of different movie adaptations and essays etc.

All Things Jane Austen