kopec_chavez This is an amazing series: the perfect casting, the acting,the music, the script! I love it all

summeriris I watched this three times because I wanted to be sure I could make my points. For this I deserve a medal. The first time I watched it I thought it pretty good, the second time things started to bother me, the third time I felt like throwing something at the TV screen.What we have here is a very bad adaptation, very bad direction and pretty poor camera work. We have a Margaret who spouts rhetoric from 'The Female Eunuch'. A Marianne who changes her emotions on a dime while being trained to be the perfect wife for Col Brandon, who is all Regency Action Man alpha male. An Edward who really could use some lessons in handling an axe, an Elinor who also needs some lessons in beating carpets and a scriptwriter who'es earlier successes has given him the inflated opinion that he is a better writer than Jane Austen. He isn't and this pretty poor adaptation proves it.It had some good points, Anne Steele was funny even if she did have a completely different accent from Lucy.

TheLittleSongbird The book "Sense and Sensibility" is a great one. It is beautiful, poised and poignant and just a joy to read. Out of the adaptations of the book I have two favourites. One is the 1995 film with Kate Winslet and Emma Thompson, which was visually stunning and impeccably acted by the whole cast. The other adaptation is this one. I do marginally prefer the film, but this mini-series is mighty fine.This adaptation of "Sense and Sensibility" isn't without its problems though. There are some scenes that felt rushed, particularly the ending and Colonel Brandon's departure from Delaford. Also, Dominic Cooper's performance as Willoughby was uneven. Cooper is a good actor, and has charming presence, but compared to the Willoughby in the book and the Willoughby in the 1995 film, this Willoughby seemed somewhat unlikeable and arrogant and the complexity of his feelings for Marianne I felt could have been explored more.However, this is much to love about this mini-series. For one thing, it looks beautiful. The costumes are lavish, the scenery is sumptuous and the photography is crisp. I especially liked the shots of the cottage and the sea. The music is truly pleasant to the ear, romantic, lyrical and whimsical, the sort of effect Patrick Doyle's score in the 1995 film had on me. The script wasn't too bad really, it had a sense of intelligence about it even if it had some questionable modernisations on occasion.The acting, with the general exception of Cooper's Willoughby, is excellent and ideal for the characters they play. Hattie Morahan is a mature and subtle Elinor, and Charity Wakefield is beautiful, innocent and tragic as Marianne. They are solidly supported by a superb Janet McTeer as the mother, a dashing Dan Stevens as Edward Ferrars and a suitably sincere David Morissey as Colonel Brandon(an improvement over Alan Rickman, Rickman was good but Morissey fitted the character better). Overall, this is a fine mini-series, perfect to go with the 1995 film and it manages to be solid as an adaptation. 9/10 Bethany Cox

jlcdrama I just saw this mere hours ago and I couldn't get it out of my head. I'd like to start off by saying that I read the book and then saw the 1995 version of Sense and Sensibility and couldn't imagine what could top it. It's simple: this mini-series.Within minutes I was saying that I liked this adaption better than the 1995 movie. I mean no disrespect to Emma Thompson who wrote and starred in that movie, but this was a lot better. There were a few flaws in the film that I hadn't really paid attention too before until I saw this version. The main one being the age of both Thompson who played Elinor and Alan Rickman who played Colonel Brandon. Both were far too old to be playing Elinor who is supposed to be 19 and Brandon who was 35, in which Thompson was in her thirties I believe, and Rickman was 49. The problem wasn't so apparent until I saw this version.The age problem for Rickman in particular helped convey in the movie that Marianne should have wound up with Willoughby instead of Brandon. The point Austen wanted to make in the book was that Marianne's idea of Brandon being too old was silly seeing as 35 isn't that old. Shallow viewers of the 1995 version would be bothered by the more obviously older man (who looked to be in his fifties) marrying a teenager.The main thing that won me over in this movie was the portrayal of the men: Edward, Colonel Brandon and Willoughby. Hugh Grant in the 1995 film was good, but at times he seemed too awkward and insecure. Dan Stevens played Edward as having a bit of a sense of humor (like in the book) but still a private man. I instantly liked him. But honestly it was Colonel Brandon and Willoughby when stood out the most.Willoughby is often forgotten to be the villain of the story, this mini-series made it clear from the start that he isn't a good man. Purists might not like the opening scene of Willoughby seducing Eliza, but I thought it worked well particularly when Willoughby showed Marianne Allenhelm. It reminded us that Marianne is treading through dangerous waters and has no idea of who she is dealing with. In the 1995 film, Thompson left out the scene with Willoughby explaining his actions to Elinor after Marianne is jilted by him. My thought there was that Thompson felt that would draw too much sympathy for Willoughby, but I think that was a mistake. This mini-series included the scene and showed more of Willoughby's selfish character. I felt no sympathy for him at all. In fact I found it hard to believe a word he said. As it should be.Colonel Brandon is often forgotten about by scholars and that is shame because he is one of my favorite heroes. This adaption did him justice because not only did David Morrissey look the part, but Brandon was given more screen time. Unfortunately both Austen and Thompson didn't show much of Marianne's journey to falling in love with Brandon, but this one filled in that gap. At last we were finally able to see why Colonel Brandon was meant for Marianne instead of Willoughby. When she said that Brandon was "a truly romantic man" I squealed because I'm sure Austen meant the same.Beyond the men, I will say that the Elinor, Marianne and all of the other characters were done incredibly well. I found nothing lacking in any of them with the exception of Mr. Palmer who was much more amusing in the 1995 version, but since he was a minor character I wasn't offended.In short, Thompson's version was good but this one outshone hers. Sense and Sensibility had more complicated plot which is why I think a mini-series like this was better suited for it on screen since more time can be devoted to it. If you want to watch the best version of Sense and Sensibility, this is for you. I also recommend reading Colonel Brandon's Diary by Amanda Grange if you are as smitten with his character as I am.