Sense and Sensibility

Rating:
Summary: Looses me in another world where "good girls finish first"
Review: Historical detail magnificient and wonderfully adapted. Jane Austin is one of my favorite authors and Emma Thompson did a great job of writing the screenplay. There is suble humor and the actors are so well cast. Not just for women. Great for anyone who enjoys this historical period. Costuming, and sets take you back and the actors place you side by side with them as you live it, rooting for the good girls to win!

Rating:
Summary: Enchanting rendition of the timeless classic
Review: After the death of their father, the three Dashwood sisters Eleanor (Emma Thompson) , Marianne (Kate Winslet) , and Margaret (Emilie Francois) , and their mother (Gemma Jones from Bridget Jones Diary) are cheated out of their home and inheritance by Fanny Dashwood ( Harriet Walter) , the evil wife of their half-brother , and are forced to live off the charity of distant relatives.

Meanwhile Fanny's younger brother Edward Ferrars (Hugh Grant) strikes up a friendship with the Dashwood girls, and loves and is loved by Eleanor, who won't admit to it though, believing it to be a marriage that cannot work. She will only refer to her feelings for Edward as ' I esteem and like him'.

Emma Thompson fits the role of Eleanor well, except is a bit old for the role.

Marianne, played by the gorgeous Kate Winslet, fits the role of the romantic and impulsive Marianne perfectly, as she is played and discarded by the detestable John Willoughby (Greg Wise). The kindly friend and mentor to the girls, Colonel Brandon (Alan Rickman) will play a key role in the outcome, without revealing tool much of the plot.

Then the youngest sister, Margaret, played by Emilie Francois, is absolutely adorable, she is a beautiful, lively and intelligent child, and adds such life to the story.

Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman too play their roles as if fit to a glove.

It is interesting to observe a time, when the whole life of the gentry consisted of socializing, an interesting time that has passed way as if it had never been.

Rating:
Summary: Watch It! Even if it's your only chic flick!
Review: As I review movies I've seen, I'm beginning to realize how many movies I have gone into reluctantly. I usually start with "I really didn't want to see this movie..."

For "Sense & Sensibility" things were a little different. I was basically against all chic flicks the first time I watched this. I had been bored out of my mind by countless Daniel Steel movies, Molly Ringwold movies, soap operas and whatever else my female friends enjoyed watching. However, out of desperation one night (as it was the only movie in the apartment I hadn't seen), I popped this one in and expected to be asleep and out of my misery shortly.

As the movie starts you are introduced to a family conflict something in the Cinderella order. A nice old man with money is dying. He is limited by the law in providing for his 2nd wife and their daughters because the entire estate needs to go to the son to be preserved. Therefore, on his deathbed, he requests that his son (from his first marriage) looks after them. However, this son has a wicked, wicked wife who talks him out of almost all support, and these gentlewoman have to pack up and live off the generosity of distant relatives.

And so sets up all the dynamics of a typical Austin work (as I have since learned): very cool gentlewomen who don't have the dowry to make them desirable matches. Will any gentlemen be willing to sacrifice monetary gain for true love or will the women end up as old maids?

While that plotline has been at the core of many boring, cliche, catty, or empty Victorian films, what Emma Thompson (actress and screenwriter) has done with this one is pure magic. Rather than focus on how different the era was (the dress, the parties, the etiquette), Thompson sucks you in to the humanity of the characters themselves. Yes, they dress differently and have different societal rules placed upon them. But they feel and love and dream as we do. She brings the whole world to life, showing how people like us express themselves though the mediums they had at the time - through music, poetry, significant looks, walks, etc.

Marianne's (Kate Winslet) story is moving and heart-breaking because of the disillusionment of her youthful confidence and trust. She represents the "Sense" in the movie - one who trusts her feelings and the feelings of her beloved. She lives how we are often encouraged to live today - to do what feels right and to express everything. Elinor's (Emma Thompson) role, on the other hand, is one of the most mature I've ever seen in a film. As the "Sensible" sister, she follows the Victorian era values when it comes to confiding in others, expressing herself, and expecting anything from her true love (Hugh Grant). Yet you see that she does this not out of mindless obedience but because she understands the wisdom behind such etiquette. When her heart finally breaks in spite of all of her carefulness and reserve, yours breaks with her and I cried for the first time in years.

I don't want to spoil the ending (and don't worry, I haven't), but Thompson wraps this movie up to perfection. She seems to have done everything perfectly in the film - from the timing, the character development, the resolution, etc. Ever since I have seen this film, I have yeared for another to bring me to that era in a similar manner but have yet to find one. There are some good ones out there, but nothing touches what was accomplished in this film!

Rating:
Summary: A Brilliant Film
Review: This film is a stroke of genius! It is more than a bunch guys in tights and speaking really long, boring dialogue. Jane Austen's classic was brought to life in an extraordinary way, so well that even guys like it! This brilliant romantic comedy has won my heart with wonderful actors, like Alan Rickman, Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, and Kate Winslet. Excellent!

Rating:
Summary: Sense and Sensational
Review: Let's face it: Jane Austen film adaptations have a reputation both for being slow and for being chick flicks. Yet here we have a male reviewer who hasn't read any one of her novels who's also telling you that this is one the finest movies he's ever watched.

I have seen a great many of Victorian-era films and I believe this picture captures the old fashioned "English reserve" better than any other. Everybody acts so decent and proper that it really makes you laugh. How did people ever express themselves and let out their true feelings in that day and age? They didn't.

As with any movie bearing costumed actors and beautiful English countrysides, it is also a great looking film. The casting is perfect, with Hugh Grant in a shining moment of his prosperous career and Emma Thompson giving an unforgettable over the top climactic performance. My advice to the men out there is to give this movie a try because you'll get more out of it than you will with Terminator 2. Yes, there really is such a thing as a chick flick for guys, and its name is Sense and Sensibility.

Rating:
Summary: Terrific film, wonderful adaptation
Review: This is a very good film; a good adaption of the novel. Terrific performances. You can hardly stand it when you think that Emma Thompson and Hugh Grant won't end up together; it's nearly more than you can bear! But, we have the appropriately happy ending that everyone deserves. Nice film.

Rating:
Summary: A classy classic's classic.
Review: A comfortable balance between the eye-catching costumes and garden lush scenery with ingenious character development - this film is a gem. Jane Austen's novel was great to begin with but Emma Thompson's screenplay transfixes a viewer with her incredible dialogues. The Dashwood sisters played by Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet are perfect dichotomies. Winslet's courtships are whimsical and superficial and Thompson cautiously plays her courtship with Hugh Grant's character. Grant absolutely turns out an astoundingly humorous performance in his typically subtle way. An ensemble performance of great proportions without going over the top. This one is a classy classic's classic.

Rating:
Summary: The Greatest Jane Austen Book on Film!
Review: Many years ago I was swept away by this enchanting movie. It has hooked me for many years since. The cast is perfectly selected and the scenary is breath taking. This movie is worth watching over and over again as I have gladly done. Emma Thompson does a wonderful job in this movie and I did not find out until much later that she wrote the script as well. I highly recommend this movie for any season and to any person willing to let these wonderful characters into their hearts. I hope you enjoy the movie half as much as I have. If you enjoyed this movie I also highly recommend the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Jane Austen's Sense and Sensiblility is literary masterpiece which I, knowing this and loving the book, thought would be impossible to be matched a film version, but I was wrong. This DVD is absolutely excellent. THe acting is wonderful, the story and elements involved is breathtaking and the directing and overall smoothness makes this a film that should not be missed.

Rating:
Summary: A great movie
Review: I love this movie. It is faithful to Austen, and a great way to spend a couple of hours.