MONDAY MOVIE | Sense and Sensibility

Available now to buy and rent
★★★★
Prime Video and Sky Store

Jane Austen's classic tale of the romantic tribulations of a pair of chalk-and-cheese sisters in Regency England gets a splendid retelling in this new version starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Esmé Creed-Miles.

Left penniless after their wealthy father's estate passes to their elder half-brother, reserved Elinor (Edgar-Jones) and headstrong Marianne (Creed-Miles) find themselves courted by a trio of different suitors on moving with their mother (Caitríona Balfe) and younger sister (Bodhi Rae Breathnach, appealingly sparky) to a cottage in Devon.

Elinor attracts the diffident attentions of the mild-mannered Edward Ferrars (George MacKay), while Marianne is wooed both by the dashing Willoughby (Frank Dillane) and the far more sober Colonel Brandon (Herbert Nordrum).

SENSE AND SENSIBILITY - Official Trailer 2 [HD] - Only In Theaters October 16 - YouTube

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Sisterly bond

Director Georgia Oakley's new film doesn't quite have the crisp wit of Ang Lee's brilliant 1995 adaptation of Austen's book (on BBC2, Saturday, 1.25pm), but holds up excellently on its own terms. Sense and Sensibility doesn't have the romcom spirit of Pride and Prejudice, but Oakley's film captures the story's restraint and melancholy.

Not that she ignores the moments of satirical fun (among an excellent supporting cast, Fiona Shaw particularly shines as the garrulous, good-natured Mrs Jennings), while two contrasting dance sequences – one exuberantly folky, the other formal but no less sensual – are standout scenes. But the film's beating heart is the sisterly bond so perfectly embodied by its stars.