Elevating a Lesser-Known Austen Novel: Sense and Sensibility

Strongly identified today with its screenwriter and star, Emma Thompson, Sense and Sensibility began as the passion project of Lindsay Doran, a young American aspiring film producer. As Doran explains, she learned from her father, a Hollywood studio executive, ‘how to recognise the qualities in a book . . . that would translate into a film. And Sense and Sensibility seemed to have them all: wonderful characters, a strong love story (actually, three strong love stories), surprising plot twists, good jokes, relevant themes, and a heart-stopping ending.’

Doran searched for years to find a screenwriter with the right touch for her favourite novel. Thompson wrote drafts of her first-ever screenplay in between acting roles, including Howards End (1993), for which she won Best Actress at the Academy Awards. Having never intended to act in Sense and Sensibility herself, Thompson was ultimately prevailed upon to take the role of Elinor Dashwood—the elder, more sensible sister—in spite of being much older than the character. Thompson won her second Oscar in the Best Adapted Screenplay category.

Thompson’s pitch-perfect dialogue is brought to life by a stellar cast, including Kate Winslet in her breakout role, Hugh Grant at the height of his leading-man fame, and a host of magnificent British character actors. In hilarious diaries Thompson kept during production, she credits director Ang Lee, who made his previous films in his native Taiwan, for approaching Sense and Sensibility without preconceptions and for strenuously avoiding twee.

This captivating film caused many readers to seek out Jane Austen’s novel for the first time. Its success opened the door to many more Sense and Sensibility adaptations, on screen as well as in print.