There's peppy social satire in the smallest of gestures-a befuddled glance or an irritated, snooty utterance. Meanwhile, passionate Marianne opts for the dashing, too-good-to-be-true Willoughby (Greg Wise) over Colonel Brandon (Rickman), a stalwart type who can't match the pizazz of his rival.ĭirector Ang Lee, who made the upbeat 'Eat Drink Man Woman,' plays this double love story as brightly as possible. But the scheming Fanny, who has higher aspirations for her brother than Elinor, spirits Edward away to London.ĭenied her romantic destiny, Elinor languishes stoically in the country. Shortly before the move, Elinor meets and falls for Fanny's brother Edward (Hugh Grant), a foppish but charming fellow. This means the women (including younger sister Margaret, played by Emilie Francois) must move to a cousin's humble cottage in Devonshire, while their home becomes the property of the spineless Fleet and his cheap, coldhearted wife, Fanny (Harriet Walter). According to the law, the estate must go to the deceased's son by a former marriage (James Fleet). Their mother (Gemma Jones) is grieving for her late husband, Henry, whose death has suddenly left the comfortable family relatively destitute. 'Marianne,' she says sweetly, 'can you play something else? Mama has been weeping since breakfast.' You know you're in for a good time right from the start, as Elinor Dashwood (Thompson) gently urges her dour-faced sister, Marianne (Winslet) to stop playing a funereal air on the piano. 'Sense and Sensibility,' which also stars Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman and Kate Winslet, takes a breezy, playful stroll through Austen's world of pettiness, heartbreak and suppressed passions. Even without seeing the Austen adaptations still headed this way (another 'Emma' film, a BBC 'Pride and Prejudice' miniseries), it's safe to call this the 19th-century novelist's best posthumous year. Now, 'Sense and Sensibility,' which Emma Thompson adapted and stars in, has arrived.

By law, the property passes to John, his son by hisįirst wife and a henpecked boob who goes back on his promise to provide for his stepmotherĮmma Thompson Alan Rickman Hugh Grant Kate Winslet Gemma Jones Greg Wise James Fleet Elizabeth Spriggs Harriet Walter Robert Hardyįirst there was 'Clueless,' the delicious, Valley Girl satire based on Jane Austen's 'Emma.' Then came 'Persuasion,' a superb treatment of Austen's final novel, which opened in Washington a month ago. Dashwood, whose circumstances are much reduced

Opulent Georgian estate of the second Mrs. Not only laugh-out-loud funny but demonstrates how little humankind has evolved in matters ofĭecked out in silver sets and nicely trimmed topiary, the story begins in what was the Emma Thompson received an Oscar for best adapted screenplay.īased upon Jane Austen's satire of 18th-century dating games, this rapturous romance is

Pride and prejudice emma thompson