Editor’s note: In a casual conversation with George, it came to my attention that the man has never seen Sense and Sensibility. He has also never seen Pride and Prejudice, but that is a topic for another time. I immediately set out to amend this egregious error on his part, just in time for the film’s 30th anniversary.
For me, cinema means escapism. Films are there to help me sit back and switch off. Above all else – how they can challenge you, encourage you to see the world differently, make you laugh or cry – the big screen’s ability to take my mind off the here and now and transport it to a time, place or tale I’ve never experienced before is what keeps me coming back to the medium.
And, when watching Sense and Sensibility thirty years after its release, it occurred to me that very few areas of cinema provide that, ahem, sense of escapism to the extent of a properly authentic period film.
Now, in many ways, the nineties was the decade of the ‘modern’ take on classic works. It was the era of Romeo + Juliet, which reworked William Shakespeare; it was the time of Cruel Intentions, which took on French novel Les Liaisons dangereuses; and, perhaps most appropriately, it was the age of the indomitable Emma remake Clueless.
Yet, smack bang in the middle of that decade, there was also Sense and Sensibility, which offered a famously faithful adaptation of another of Jane Austen’s iconic novels – providing a prime example of escapism in the process.
Like a classic Disney movie, there’s something rather magical about period romances. The grand halls, the fancy outfits, it’s all very enchanting. Just like a trip to the castle in Cinderella, Saltram House and its sprawling country gardens provide an almost otherworldly setting, and a glimpse into a life that – whether I’m happy about it or not – is vastly different to my own. In being taken to this unattainable, almost unreal destination, there’s a transportiveness that whisks you away from the day-to-day.
Sense and Sensibility’s commitment to honouring Austen’s original dialogue and turn of phrase only adds to this immersion. As you sit and watch Hugh Grant’s Edward Ferrars mumble charmingly or Harriet Waltert’s Fanny Dashwood gossip incessantly in an almost poetic fashion, it’s safe to say you’re treated to dialogue you don’t often hear down the local pub.
While some faithful adaptations of classic works can leave certain viewers out of the loop, though, Austen’s writing still feels so progressive in its own right, witty and tongue-in-cheek in a way that doesn’t feel like it needs completely rephrasing to hit home. Hugh Laurie’s grumpy Mr Palmer is still funny centuries later, and Kate Winslet’s Marianne Dashwood remains captivating when she pours her heart out in the suitably pouring rain. There isn’t a need to start afresh to make things feel fresh.
In fact, there’s an extra charm to the of-its-time language being used, a charm that often isn’t present in contemporary remakes from contemporary scriptwriters. Would Sense and Sensibility’s touching final act hit home as hard if people were referencing TikTok and McDonald’s in an attempt to feel relevant to today? It’s hard to imagine so.
After all, as mentioned, the fact that these stories are completely unrelatable is perhaps the film’s biggest blessing. If Sense and Sensibility were reworked to include current real-world issues, these characters’ struggles might border on dispiriting rather than engrossing. Sure, the pursuit of love and companionship is timelessly universal, but very few in this day and age have to worry too much about whether our choice of companion will lead to the closing down of a manor house or the loss of acres of land. This extra degree of separation brings a relaxation that enhances the viewing experience, allowing the audience to engage with these characters without their struggles ever leaving their world and reminding them of their own.
For all that this cast has gone on to achieve great things in a wide range of stories, too, there’s something particularly enthralling about witnessing the likes of Grant, Winslet and Emma Thompson taking on such traditional scripts. Seeing proper theatre actors in proper theatrical roles only envelops you in their stories further, their elegant dialogue becoming almost ethereal, adding to the romanticism at play.
Of course, there are critics of period dramas, and the UK film industry is admittedly still too reliant on them to this day – do we really need another Downton Abbey film? – but the appeal of faithful retellings remains strong. They do, after all, provide that most important of cinematic qualities: they allow viewers to leave behind the challenges of modern life and immerse themselves in a completely different place and time. For that reason, right now a rewatch of Sense and Sensibility makes a lot of sense indeed.
