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Sense And Sensibility is out for a 30th Anniversary jaunt in cinemas, and this time, it opens with an intro from star/screenwriter Emma Thompson writing the script for her next film with a quill pen, amongst her BAFTA and Oscar awards…
She then mentions actors in the film who have since passed away, such as Alan Rickman, before moving on with how this film shows: “Kate Winslet before Titanic… Ang Lee before Brokeback Mountain… Hugh Grant before.. Paddington 2… Gregg Wallace before…” (she tails off)
Then someone offscreen starts dusting the awards in front of her, who is later revealed to be Greg Wise, who’s also in the film, and they later married in 2003.
But onto the plot, and Tom Wilkinson is dying*… okay, he’s already passed away, sadly, but here, it’s his character, Mr. Dashwood, and he’s giving his whole estate of Norland Park to his son, John (James Fleet – and doesn’t everyone look so young!), but alas, this leads to sisters Marianne Dashwood (Kate Winslet) and Elinor (Thompson – Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy) having to move out, and find somewhere new.
In Jane Austen‘s world, we first have Kate Winslet fancying Hugh Grant (as Edward Ferrars), but before long, everyone else seems to fancy each other, and these relationships swap over at a moment’s notice, with some planning to get married, then it all falling apart at the last minute, to the point where I either couldn’t keep up, or felt like drifting off, as this onscreen tome drones on for over two hours.
I couldn’t get a handle on the 20th Anniversary for 2005’s Pride and Prejudice, hence no review of that one, but as I tried to get a handle on this version of Sense And Sensibility – and both are my first time’s viewing of either film – I understand this is meant to be a comedy, but there’s scant humour in it. What is there is fine, but it’s very few and far between.
(*although Mr W didn’t get a namecheck as one of Emma’s list of late actors)
As an aside, although the novel is set around 1792, horseshit is shown on the road, but this could also be modern-day Stockport, with all the gypsies! Why don’t they scoop up their excrement? At least, I presume it’s from the horses…
Plus, while there’s a few amusing scenes from Hugh Laurie (All the Light We Cannot See) as the sarcastic Mr. Palmer, elsewhere, young brat Margaret Dashwood (Myriam Emilie Francois) exclaims about Hugh Grant’s character, “He said he’d come, so WHY DIDN’T HE COME?!!!”… Erm… perhaps ask his GP?
Plus a spoiler as to who ends up with who, but it really makes no sense…
NOTE: There are no mid- or post-credit scenes… not that you’d expect them with this film.
Sense And Sensibility is in cinemas now for its 30th Anniversary, and oddly, there’s no decent separate release for it for home viewing. You get a choice between an old DVD or over £150 on the Columbia Classics Collection Vol 2 4K Ultra-HD Collection, which contains this film in 4K, as well as Anatomy of Murder, Oliver!, Stripes, Taxi Driver and The Social Network.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 136 minutes
Release date: August 8th 2025
Studio: 1.85:1 (35mm)
Cinema: Odeon Trafford Centre
Rating: 4/10
Director: Ang Lee
Producer: Lindsay Doran
Screenplay: Emma Thompson
Novel: Jane Austen
Music: Patrick Doyle
Cast:
Marianne Dashwood: Kate Winslet
Elinor Dashwood: Emma Thompson
Edward Ferrars: Hugh Grant
Colonel Brandon: Alan Rickman
John Willoughby: Greg Wise
Robert Ferrars: Richard Lumsden
John Dashwood: James Fleet
Mr. Dashwood: Tom Wilkinson
Fanny Dashwood: Harriet Walter
Mrs. Dashwood: Gemma Jones
Margaret Dashwood: Myriam Emilie Francois
Mrs. Jennings: Elizabeth Spriggs
Sir John Middleton: Robert Hardy
Thomas: Ian Brimble
Betsy: Isabelle Amyes
Charlotte Palmer: Imelda Staunton
Lucy Steele: Imogen Stubbs
Mr. Palmer: Hugh Laurie
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.