Erica Siaulinski, Staff Writer
Good news for Jane Austen fans! Just in time for fall, a new Sense and Sensibility adaptation movie hit the theaters. The 1811 novel, and Jane Austen’s first published novel, the fan favorite about the two very different, very charismatic Dashwood sisters, Elinor and Marianne after their fathers death and uprooting of their lives.
Set to release on October 16th, the film was released early in the United Kingdom on September 25th. The film stars George MacKay as Edward Ferrars, Daisy Edgar-Jones as Elinor Dashwood, Esmé Creed-Miles as Marianne Dashwood and Herbert Nodrum as Colonel Brandon.
Director Georgia Oakley began working on the movie in 2024, a big fan of the original filmed in 1995 starring Kate Winslet as Marianne Dashwood, and Emma Thompson as Elinor Dashwood, she joked in an interview that “no one’s saying this is the definitive version, though — that takes some of the pressure off,”
The movie focuses on more of the sudden poverty that the family faces, as well as the two very different approaches that the sisters have to marriage. Something very prevalent but not always so openly talked about in the early 19th century. Even in the 1995 adaptation of the book, the topic of poverty wasn’t as noticeable.“I think the fact that that first film was made 30 years ago has left space for another exploration of the story,” said Oakley.
To accomplish this Oakley stated that she directed the hair and makeup team to “make sure that the makeup is as minimal as possible. I wanted to tell a relaxed, understated version of the story,” she explained of her vision for the movie’s aesthetic. The characters are frequently dressed in a less “acceptable” and complete way. Another thing that Oakley wanted when envisioning her version of this movie. Explaining that a family who just lost their father, wouldn’t be dressed perfectly every day, with their hair done, which often can be seen in a lot of period movies. “When I’m watching Austen adaptations, I sometimes feel a bit at arm’s length from the characters because of the way they wear their hair or the way their costumes are all so pristine,” she explained. “So I wanted to tap into something a bit more earthy and raw.”
This even involved hiring a nature team that found areas in the middle of Southwest England that could be filmed on, and that looked like Oakley wanted. These teams camped out for hours upon hours in the middle of Southwest England searching for untouched areas of grass, similar to what the area would have really looked like 200 years ago.
When asked about her adaptation of the movie, and how it might connect to the original story all Jane Austen fans love, Oakley had this to say. “You can still deeply connect with them and find their stories resonant and truthful.”
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