Movie Review: Sense and Sensibility

After the death of their father, the three Dashwood sisters and their mother lose control of their Norland Park estate to the mother’s half-brother and his hostile wife Fanny. The oldest, Elinor (Daisy Edgar-Jones), is of marriageable age. The middle sister, Marianne (Esmé Creed-Miles) would be considered young to get married nowadays, but is also considered marriageable.

Fanny’s brother, Edward Ferrars (pronounced “Farris”) (George MacKay), visits and spends much of his time with Elinor. They grow so close, they are considered to have formed an attachment, meaning he is expected to propose. But Fanny makes it clear that she does not want a woman with no wealth to ensnare her brother. Insulted, Mrs. Dashwood (Caitríona Balfe) moves her family to a small Devonshire cottage owned by a distant relative.

They are visited by Colonel Brandon (Herbert Nordrum), a friend of their relatives. He quickly takes interest in Marianne, though he is considerably older. Marianne represents sensibility, saying out loud that she expects passion from a man, passion to match her own. She finds Colonel Brandon to be lacking in passion, and is dismissive of him. However, he continues to show interest.

Meanwhile, Elinor is devastated when Edward writes to say that though he had hoped to visit soon, he will not be able to until the next year. Elinor has the sense to not say her feelings about Edward out loud.

Marianne sprains her ankle and is rescued by John Willoughby (Frank Dillane), a man closer to her age than Colonel Brandon. She finds Willoughby to be a man who shares her passions. Though Elinor advises caution, Marianne falls madly in love. She and Willoughby form a strong attachment to each other.

What will happen to these two sisters?

This 2026 version of Sense and Sensibility is a cozy adaptation. The start of the film feels rushed, but after that it only takes fair concentration to follow the complex web of characters and situations. They also do a good job of showing how saggy women’s dresses were before the invention of synthetics. I doubt modern women could dance or sprint in those. Also, we feel the claustrophobic nature of the Devonshire cottage.

They also cast women who do like they could be family members. I am glad they cast Mrs. Dashwood as a comparatively young woman. After all, the daughters are quite young.

Daisy Edgar-Jones does a fine job as Elinor, who lives a mostly restrained life, though we can see her turmoil when she is not being observed. When she does show bursts of emotion, they are consistent with the character portrayal she has crafted. And her dark eyes serve her well when she is despondent.

Esmé Creed-Miles serves well as the somewhat bratty, always brash Marianne. Her feelings are constantly on display, and her emotional highs and emotional crashes are believable. She is definitely the character without sense. Her large, expressive eyes are always interesting.

As for the men, George MacKay is fine as the not-too-handsome but gentle Edward Ferrars. I know Herbert Nordrum as Colonel Brandon is not supposed to be aggressive, but he seems to be too passive. Meanwhile, Frank Dillane as Willoughby is unimpressive at the start, and I have to suppose he was meant to be.

The film oddly focuses on physical backgrounds. There is a lot of scenery shown off, and a plethora of animals—including wild creatures and pets. Did we really need a closeup of a spider? Some of this time should have been spent on either developing more of the plot, or allowing the actors the time to further develop certain scenes.

There is also a good amount of time spent on the opulence of certain interiors. It would be much better to show the characters in motion past these features, instead of showing them as almost still life.

But the movie holds together well. We have a few scenes of couples sitting next to each other in awkward silence, one of which is quite funny. And it certainly had dance moves I had never seen before in any Jane Austen movie.

I have never seen the 1995 version of Sense and Sensibility. I consider the 2008 mini-series to be superior, which is a little unfair, since it was 3 hours long. But if you like this 2026 movie, you should look up the mini-series.