Jane
Austen Movie Review: Sense and Sensibility (1995, dir. Ang Lee)
PART ONE
Jane Austen is a name that has been
spoken of time and time again. She was and still is, known as a woman who wrote
as a woman, created famous works such as Pride and Prejudice as well as the
novel Emma, and was generally known for her more outspoken personality and
satirical nature. Much of this is seen in her works and continued throughout
each novel or short story she created, from her early works such as Catherine
and onward. However, this review will not so much as focus on the books
themselves but more on the various adaptations of her works through media,
mainly how her novels and short stories have translated into cinema, and how
one story in particular is what I and my partner will discuss.
In the movie Sense and Sensibility,
based upon Jane Austen’s novel of the same name, it centers on two sisters,
each with their own distinct personalities and motives. Marianne for instance,
is the middle child and the younger sister of Elinor, and unlike her older
sibling, she is passionate, a Romanticist at heart, and spontaneous. She is the
‘sensibility’ that is mentioned in the title. Elinor, who I will speak of
specifically, is on the other hand, the opposite of her sister. She is the
‘sense’ mentioned in the novel’s title and that like how Marianne represents
the Romanticists of Austen’s time, Elinor represents the neo-classicist ways of
thinking which was also popular during this time period. This is evident within
the movie as well as the book. In my half of this review, I am focusing more on
Elinor, her character, and the effectiveness of the actress who portrays her as
the main subject as well as giving a brief summary of the movie and its events
as well as if it retained any of its Austen-like feel.
The main plotline for the movie
starts with the Dashwood sisters, Elinor and Marianne (along with their younger
sister Margaret and their mother), and the fact that they have to leave their
beloved estate, Norland Park, all on account of their half brother gaining full
inheritance upon their father’s untimely death. He has them removed and some
others of the family (Fanny for example) basically boot them from their home
while taking up resiencea fter allowing the Dashwood family to remain as guests
in the home. During this time, Elinor falls for Edward Ferrars, Fanny’s older
brother to which Fanny believes Elinor merely wants to be with him on account
of him being wealthy to which Mrs. Dashwood hastily sets out to find a new
home. They go to live with some distant relatives in a cottage in Devonshire
and eventually events spring forth in which it ends with Colonel Brandon, a
character later introduced and played in the 1995 screenplay by Alan Rickman,
marrying the character of Marianne and Elinor finally marrying Edward Ferrars.
Earlier throughout the novel, Marianne also fell for Willoughby but was later
spurned when she discovered he was engaged to another.
Elinor is portrayed by Emma
Thompson and throughout the film her personality changes but much of it remains
relatively untouched for as mentioned earlier, she represents the ‘sense’ that
is in the movie’s title while her sister represents the ‘sensibility’ aspect.
The sense she possesses comes through in a few instances such as in one scene
where she and her mother are discussing Marianne’s infatuation with Willoughby.
The former Mrs. Dashwood replies by saying “You should let her heart guide
her,” into which Elinor states “She can’t keep this up forever, Mother. Her
sensibilities are getting the better of her.” This shows that she does not
approve of the relationship between Willoughby and her sister, and that she
finds Marianne’s Romantic view of life to be something that is reckless and
indecent. I believe that the actress, Emma Thompson, portrayed Elinor in a fair
light, much like how she was in the novel and that throughout the film she
remains rather cool, reserved, and with much common sense.
For the movie, the score was nice
but to me it went largely unnoticed since I was focusing more upon the character’s
reactions than anything. I barely noticed the music but there were a few
instances in which it stood out and helped a scene or two in mood or style. The
actors however did make the movie and that they seemed quite absorbed in their
roles. The sets were nice, many having beautiful scenery, and that the movie
kept much of the spirit of Jane Austen and the novel, through there were some
changes, mainly to characters, especially with the men since Austen had Edward
and Brandon for example gone for long periods of time throughout the novel, but
in the film they make more appearances and have larger roles.
For an overall score of this movie,
I would give it about a 3 out of 4 stars for the simple fact that while some of
the characters, their actions, and some of the events are a bit altered,
perhaps even drastically; it still kept to the true heart of Austen’s work.
Emma Thompson did great in the role of Elinor, making the character believable
in her common sense and withheld personality while her sister Marianne was
played by Winslet in a brilliant way to contrast the two sisters. Overall, it
was a decent film and kept to the core of Austen’s work, even if I am not too
fond of her work myself. Thus for my part of the review, I would have to give
the movie 3 stars overall as well as liking the idea that they stuck true to
the time period and that throwing in a foreign director, Ang Lee, was a nice
touch. While I would not recommend the movie to everyone, if you are a fan of
Austen’s work, then I would definitely recommend that you get the chance to
watch this movie since you’ll be in for a real treat!
PART TWO
The character known as Marianne
Dashwood within the tale Sense and Sensibility can be best described,
especially from the 1995 film adaptation, that she is a free spirited girl with
high hopes during grim times. When asked about Margaret by her sister, and
where she could be possibly hiding, she answers, “At least she can escape.”
This tells me that her free-spirited whims come from much bleaker times, she
had been oppressed, and those needs for freedom and joy come out and cannot be
held in at times. This duality of both the grim and the light can be best portrayed
through her next statement after Elinor accuses her of not speaking a single
word to Margaret. “I’ve said yes and no.” Because the need to be perfectly even
when the world could be falling apart over took the need for sense, this phrase
best describes how people during that time would be stretched between choosing
what did make sense or what would be best to not distress those around them.
Marianne looks like she wants to be free, free from all of her obligations, yet
she holds herself back within her conventions unsure what to do. Should she be
happy and gay and frolic around outside, or should she stay depressed and in
the melancholy mood she displayed during her entrance playing the piano with
dismal tunes when asked to play something more cheerful?
Because of
the restraint that Marianne must have felt during that time when women were not
allowed to really do anything, she must have wanted to fling her arms wide open
and proclaim her voice for all to hear, so that they might realize that she too
exists. She does decide to interrupt Edward while he recites a poem so she can
correct him, and let her voice bellow out with the emotion that he lacked when
the poem so desperately needed it, for it had been written to be so. “No,
Edward, listen. No voice divine the storm allayed! No light propicious shon!
When snatched from all affect your aid perished each alone. Can you not feel his despair?” Although
incredibly rude, especially to interrupt a man of all people reading, she mocks
the way that he reads and interjects her voice, her passion into the words that
which the mad had lacked. Yet, at the same time she wants others, including
Edward, to hold the same sort of free will and extremely passionate emotions,
and to fling themselves within them. So, she tells him to try again reading the
poem. Later on, Marianne wonders how possibly that Edward and Elinor could
possibly be married. While Mrs. Dashwood tries to tell her daughter that “His
reserve suits her.” Marianne replies, “Can the soul be satisfied with just
polite affections? To love is to burn, to be on fire, like Juliet or Guinevere
or Elois!... To die for love? How could you say so? What could be more
glorious?” She totally throws aside the idea that Elinor and Edward might be
good for each other on a whimsical ideas that suit neither within the possible
couple. To her, what matters is that not only that she could free Edward from
his boring appearance, but also that she could be with him instead of her
sister. Which, in both cases, proves to be quite too open and free-spirited
since she would be taking away her sister’s chance for a man, and a man that
she might get along with due to similar personalities.
Perhaps the
best display of Marianne’s spirit comes in the scene where she and her younger
sister Margaret are walking outside when it begins to rain. Margaret complains,
“I told you it would rain!” to which Marianne replies. “THERE’S SOME BLUE SKY!
LET’S CHASE IT!!!” Now, hardly anyone would dare act in such a way, and
especially not a woman of already 16 years of age looking for a husband. Yet,
Marianne, the older of the two girls, decides to act as if she were no older
than 9 years old while her sister Margaret merely looks confused when Marianne
brings up the idea and complains, “I’m not supposed to run!” Then, if she
really did not manage to hurt herself, Marianne trips and falls but a few
inches and rolls on soft grass, but complains that she sprained her ankle
during the ordeal. To most, this might seem quite silly since the fall came
from barely any height, and it was more of her tripping and then rolling a few
feet. The biggest problem most seeing such an act from not only the elder
sister telling her younger she can’t walk when she barely fell, is that her
younger sister Margaret was so sickly that she had been told it would be best
for her not to run. Perhaps, the sister was far more hurt and ill than
Marianne, but she was the one who decided to run in the rain and slip and fall,
when instead if she had walked like the younger of the sisters had wanted, she
would not have fallen at all, perhaps. Meanwhile, a stranger rides in on a
horse and checks Marianne’s leg to see if there are any breaks, and then
carries her home. However, Marianne does not put on any show that she is hurt
until she gets home, and is laid out on the sofa in front of her family. Then,
she pants and moans as if it really were hurt when the man already determined
that no harm great enough to break her bones came to her.
Soon after
Marianne is brought to her home by the mysterious strange whom we later find
out bears the name Mr. Willoughby, Colonel Brandon swings by to visit Marianne
to see how she is doing. Because Colonel Brandon clearly wants Marianne in a
romantic and affectionate way, he brings to her a bouquet of neatly cut fresh
roses of red and white bound by a white silk ribbon. Marianne does not seem
amused with this gift and hands it to Elinor for her to take care of since she
doesn’t care for the roses given to her at all. The head of the estate even
mentions to Sir Brandon that Marianne has her sights set on a Mr. Willoughby
who makes his entrance soon after Sir Brandon leaves the home rather disgusted
that his affections go unnoticed when Marianne fawns all her attention off on
Mr. Willoughby. In fact, Brandon passes by Willoughby just outside of the home
with a rather horrid sneer across his face. Nevertheless, Mr. Willoughby comes
to the home to visit Marianne anyway bearing his gift of flowers too. Instead
of something that took ages to find, cut, and even if Brandon did not select
the roses himself, he still paid a good some and looked hard to find such a
fine bouquet before paying a hefty sum for it, Willoughby enters the home with
a handful of yellow and violet weeds he happened to pluck from nearby. Dirt still
clung to the roots which showed quite obviously, and no attention to
cleanliness and care had been given to them. Marianne snatches the weeds out of
Mr. Willoughby’s hand with glee and inhales the scent as if intoxicated by it
when Willoughby tells her, “Since you cannot venture out into Nature, Nature
must be brought to you.” But then, even after she acts like she enjoys his
flowers far more than Brandon’s, she holds such audacity to insult him after
acting like she loved his gift. “These are not from the hot-house.” This line
embarrasses Willoughby greatly as he answered back when looking at the roses
from Brandon, “Ah, I see mine is not the first offering, nor the most elegant.”
That pretty
much sums up how Marianne sees the world. A swell of emotions both good and
bad, and both the good and the bad conflict with one another. Where Nature can
be found, that is where beauty can be found. For her, people such as Brandon
and his gift as well are too refined and well-cut to fit the manners of what
would be proper, when she, instead, wishes merely to be free and act however
she feels at the moment. As Marianne tells Mr. Willoughby, “I always preferred
wildflowers.” She doesn’t want the world to be cut to fit within the so-called
perfect frame that society has molded, but prefers when people act of their own
desires and act how they would act naturally.
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