Last month I read Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen and I decided to rewatch the film (because I really like the film; the 1995 version) and see how the two relate to each other. Which one I like best? Does it even matter? What either medium brings to the story? And so on.
Beware, this will be a more casual review (aren't all my reviews casual?)
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| ★★★☆☆ (rating for the book) |
"I never wish to offend, but I am so foolishly shy, that I often seem negligent, when I am only kept back by my natural awkwardness."
Me too, Edward, me too!
Anyway, Sense and Sensibility. It is a truth universally acknowledged that I love Jane Austen. Like any other innocent reader I started my journey into regency with the amazing Jane Austen and then I got into the steamy regency novels (hello, Bridgerton!), but alas, let's keep this review civil as any proper young lady would. A little bit of context, before Sense and Sensibility, I've only read (and loved) Pride and Prejudice. But I did watch all of the Jane Austen films out there (including Becoming Jane, Austenland and The Jane Austen Book Club). This is because I had a book club in high school and I was an overachiever and I tried to read all her novels in one week and I failed, so I watched all the films. I am familiar with all the stories and now I am slowly working my way through her novels.
The Book: Sense and... If Only We Had Enough Money to Be an Acceptable Match
Jane Austen's way of observing the society of her time is top notch - and she can write an insult while being polite and making it sound like a compliment. She is a genius. Overall, the way she develops characters and how she writes is fantastic and I have no complaints there.
Sense and Sensibility tells the story of two sisters, Elinor and Marianne. After their father's passing, their house and fortune is inherited by their step-brother and alongside their mother and little sister, find themselves in a smaller house, in a new place with no prospects. Will they find love?
"Mrs. Jennings was a widow, with an ample jointure. She had only two daughters, both of whom she had lived to see respectably married, and she had now therefore nothing to do but to marry all the rest of the world."
The interactions in this book are fantastic. The way Austen writes is sublime. And I loved following the two sisters as they learn and change over time.
My major issue with this novel is the pacing. Some parts of the story were dragged on and on and on and on, and then some parts happened in a heartbeat that I did not have time to process them. The way we perceive a book is affected by many things that may have nothing to do with the books, so maybe I just wasn't in the mood for such a slow read. But nonetheless, I rate the experience when reading.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. The ending was rushed and it came a little bit out of nowhere, but what the book gets wrong, the film makes up for it!
The Film: It's All About the Details
I feel like the film took the lovely story that Jane Austen created and gives you more context and details where the story lacks in such a way that things that felt rushed in the book or out of thin air, now make sense!
Needless to say, I absolutely loved it. It's a really good film and a sensational adaptation. I am no costume historian, but I loved them and I also liked the crazy curls they had - if that really was the fashion back then, what were they thinking? One of the reasons I am sure I wouldn't survive in the past is the amount of care and time I would need to put into my appearance... Definitely not for me. I am a laid-back casual gal.
The cast is amazing. Best casting ever, very talented and perfect for their characters. Emma Thompson, chapeau bas! The way she conceals her emotions, her mannerism, everything she did was pure Elinor. Unsurprisingly really, because she wrote the screenplay for this film (worked on it for five years according to Wikipedia) and also won an Oscar for it. Incredible woman!
There are changes and I actually loved them. Edward is a lot more likeable in the film and seems more honourable - I am not saying he is not a nice guy in the book, he really is, I just didn't like him as much because the book spends a great deal with Edward and Elinor and when you find out stuff from his past, you cannot help buy be revolted that he wasn't fully honest. In the film they brush over that and they don't have enough time together so his betrayal (not really a betrayal per se) doesn't hurt as much. Either this or the fact that he is played by Hugh Grant. When I was younger and my friends were all head over heels with Hugh Grant (I wasn't really a fan of romance or rom-coms when I was younger) I couldn't understand why. Well, now I know! He is absolutely adorable, especially when he plays these awkward shy characters.
Hugh Laurie is in this film and he is probably my favourite character. I also really love Colonel Brandon played by Alan Rickman, but he is one of my favourites in the book too (I love that all that matters for him is that the woman he loves is happy, even with another man - but I do believe the age gap is quite high).
I could probably spend my entire day talking about the cast, but the film overall is amazing. Elinor and Marianne's contrasting personalities are enhanced in the film by the way they are present - Elinor always in reserved frames, while Marianne always near open windows or musical instruments. It's a pure joy to watch this film and observe these details.
The Two of Them Together
I will repeat myself (again), but the ending makes more sense. It is possible I may have missed these details in the book and that's why I felt the resolution coming out of nowhere. But I still feel like the film enhances the story - we see more of Margaret (it's almost completely missing from the book, she just pops up sometimes and I had to remember there is a third sister) and she has a personality! I actually wanted to see even more of her. And, of course, I hated some characters just as much as in the book, but I loved how they are ridiculed a little bit in the film using their mannerism or hairstyles - it's almost as good as Austen does it in writing.
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