One of the essentially unique and appealing aspects of Jane Austen is that the hallmark of a good person is constant awareness of the feelings others are experiencing, and the desire never to cause those feelings to be painful or embarrassing. Part I of this new "Sense and Sensibility" fails to capture this important quality: there are several instances in which each of the "good" characters are profoundly insensitive to the feelings they are triggering in others. This version doesn't realize that in Austen, good manners have moral significance, because they protect feelings. Part II is better, and avoids this problem.
The first problematic moment in Part I is Edward Ferrars' abortive "non-proposal" scene with Elinor. In this scene, Edward clearly creates a moment that he must know will cause Elinor to feel she is about to receive a proposal -- and yet he disappoints her. The key error is that Margaret is in the room when he enters, and she scoots out when it appears he has come to propose. The fact that Edward lets her leave without stopping her is what ruins it: by so doing he allows not only Elinor, but also Margaret, to think a proposal is coming. By letting Margaret think this, it is inevitable that Marianne and Mrs. Dashwood will know. Thus Edward has compounded his error by making it impossible for Elinor to decide to keep the entire encounter a secret. It is inevitable that his rejection of her will be known to her mother and sisters, thereby aggravating her discomfort.
In the book there is no such scene at all, and in the 1995 film the analogous scene occurs as Edward approaches Elinor in the stable, where she is saying good-bye to a favorite horse. In that scene, just at the moment where he might be expected to indicate he is about to propose, he instead raises the subject of his education in Plymouth -- baffling, but very clearly not the beginning of a proposal.
The second is the loss of an opportunity to show that Marianne is sensitive to the feelings of Elinor. This is done in the 1995 film at the dinner at the Middletons, in which Sir John and his mother-in-law are teasing Elinor over having a beau whose name begins with F. In the film Marianne is acutely sensitive to Elinor's discomfort, and defuses the situation by abruptly offering to play music. This scene has the slenderest foundation in the book, a mere line or two in chapter 7, but it works well in the 1995 film. The Marianne in this version never shows such concern, nor demonstrates an appropriate and mature way of protecting Elinor's feelings, as does the Marianne in the 1995 film.
The third, and by far the worst, incident, is where the Dashwoods are at their cottage and Col. Brandon is seen coming up to the house. Marianne jumps up, drags Margaret out, and goes for a long walk, leaving Elinor and Mrs. Dashwood to cover for her. We are shown Col. Brandon sitting for what appears to be hours, waiting for Marianne to return, while Elinor and Mrs. Dashwood presumably tell white lies about her absence. Brandon is thus subjected to embarrassment and disrespect, as it must be very clear to him that he is being snubbed, and the other women are all dragged into aiding this. Eventually Brandon gives up and leaves. We might expect that on Marianne's return, Elinor would reprove her -- as, in Jane Austen's novel "Emma," Mr. Knightly reproves Emma for her insult to Miss Bates during the picnic on Box Hill. But in this version, Marianne's twisted ankle, and the appearance of Willoughby, are tacked onto the end of her overland excursion to avoid Brandon, so that Marianne re-enters the cottage in Willoughby's arms, and all the focus is on the new romantic young man. Marianne's misconduct to Brandon never gets reproved by Elinor or by Mrs. Dashwood, nor do either Elinor or Mrs. Dashwood complain that Marianne has not only treated Brandon badly, but also themselves, by putting them in a position where they had to pretend, falsely, that her absence was merely a coincidence.
Finally, as regards the character of Edward, the version presented here (excepting the "non- proposal" scene discussed above) is pretty much the character Austen wrote; but I have to say, that the character as presented in the 1995 film is far superior to the one in the book and in this version. In the 1995 film, from his very first entrance, Edward is acutely aware that the Dashwood girls have lost their father and must be grieving; and he is also aware of his sister's grasping, insensitive character, and he does what he can to make amends for it, by such actions (which are not in the book) as declining to take a room that is one of the girls', and by helping to restore the spirits of Margaret.
In favor of this version, the casting, the acting, and the production values are all excellent. The people are very believable. The problem is that the good people are not nearly as admirable as the people Austen created. Judging from Part I only, this version takes characters who are genuinely concerned for the feelings of others, and reduces them to people who pretty much just care for themselves, with an overlay of thinking that good manners must be performed because, well, that is the done thing.
In Part II, the characters are consistent with the way Austen wrote them, but several key scenes are cut and the feel is a bit rushed. The proposal scene at the end is very well done. Overall I recommend it but this version doesn't present the characters with the richness Austen offers.
The first problematic moment in Part I is Edward Ferrars' abortive "non-proposal" scene with Elinor. In this scene, Edward clearly creates a moment that he must know will cause Elinor to feel she is about to receive a proposal -- and yet he disappoints her. The key error is that Margaret is in the room when he enters, and she scoots out when it appears he has come to propose. The fact that Edward lets her leave without stopping her is what ruins it: by so doing he allows not only Elinor, but also Margaret, to think a proposal is coming. By letting Margaret think this, it is inevitable that Marianne and Mrs. Dashwood will know. Thus Edward has compounded his error by making it impossible for Elinor to decide to keep the entire encounter a secret. It is inevitable that his rejection of her will be known to her mother and sisters, thereby aggravating her discomfort.
In the book there is no such scene at all, and in the 1995 film the analogous scene occurs as Edward approaches Elinor in the stable, where she is saying good-bye to a favorite horse. In that scene, just at the moment where he might be expected to indicate he is about to propose, he instead raises the subject of his education in Plymouth -- baffling, but very clearly not the beginning of a proposal.
The second is the loss of an opportunity to show that Marianne is sensitive to the feelings of Elinor. This is done in the 1995 film at the dinner at the Middletons, in which Sir John and his mother-in-law are teasing Elinor over having a beau whose name begins with F. In the film Marianne is acutely sensitive to Elinor's discomfort, and defuses the situation by abruptly offering to play music. This scene has the slenderest foundation in the book, a mere line or two in chapter 7, but it works well in the 1995 film. The Marianne in this version never shows such concern, nor demonstrates an appropriate and mature way of protecting Elinor's feelings, as does the Marianne in the 1995 film.
The third, and by far the worst, incident, is where the Dashwoods are at their cottage and Col. Brandon is seen coming up to the house. Marianne jumps up, drags Margaret out, and goes for a long walk, leaving Elinor and Mrs. Dashwood to cover for her. We are shown Col. Brandon sitting for what appears to be hours, waiting for Marianne to return, while Elinor and Mrs. Dashwood presumably tell white lies about her absence. Brandon is thus subjected to embarrassment and disrespect, as it must be very clear to him that he is being snubbed, and the other women are all dragged into aiding this. Eventually Brandon gives up and leaves. We might expect that on Marianne's return, Elinor would reprove her -- as, in Jane Austen's novel "Emma," Mr. Knightly reproves Emma for her insult to Miss Bates during the picnic on Box Hill. But in this version, Marianne's twisted ankle, and the appearance of Willoughby, are tacked onto the end of her overland excursion to avoid Brandon, so that Marianne re-enters the cottage in Willoughby's arms, and all the focus is on the new romantic young man. Marianne's misconduct to Brandon never gets reproved by Elinor or by Mrs. Dashwood, nor do either Elinor or Mrs. Dashwood complain that Marianne has not only treated Brandon badly, but also themselves, by putting them in a position where they had to pretend, falsely, that her absence was merely a coincidence.
Finally, as regards the character of Edward, the version presented here (excepting the "non- proposal" scene discussed above) is pretty much the character Austen wrote; but I have to say, that the character as presented in the 1995 film is far superior to the one in the book and in this version. In the 1995 film, from his very first entrance, Edward is acutely aware that the Dashwood girls have lost their father and must be grieving; and he is also aware of his sister's grasping, insensitive character, and he does what he can to make amends for it, by such actions (which are not in the book) as declining to take a room that is one of the girls', and by helping to restore the spirits of Margaret.
In favor of this version, the casting, the acting, and the production values are all excellent. The people are very believable. The problem is that the good people are not nearly as admirable as the people Austen created. Judging from Part I only, this version takes characters who are genuinely concerned for the feelings of others, and reduces them to people who pretty much just care for themselves, with an overlay of thinking that good manners must be performed because, well, that is the done thing.
In Part II, the characters are consistent with the way Austen wrote them, but several key scenes are cut and the feel is a bit rushed. The proposal scene at the end is very well done. Overall I recommend it but this version doesn't present the characters with the richness Austen offers.