Sense and Sensibility, the 1995 version directed by Ang Lee, is one of my favorites of all the Jane Austen movie adaptations. I just find it all so lovely to look at and the acting is superb and all the characters are likable in their own way. Even that super snotty Mrs. Ferrars!
I know I really quite like a movie when I like everyone in it. I mean honestly, this version is like the crème de la crème of British actors! Well, in my non-movie aficionado opinion. There’s Emma Thompson (adore her), Kate Winslet (before Titanic made her a household name), Alan Rickman (years before he would be Snape), Emma Jones (whom I adore in Bridget Jones’ Diary), and Hugh Grant… just to name a few. It’s also wonderful for me to see all the actors in this setting because I know them from so many other movies. Like Imelda Staunton who plays Dolores Umbridge in Harry Potter.
My favorite scenes of course take place in the country cottage where the Dashwood’s must now go live. I ADORE this house. I want to LIVE here. Everything about it. I kept pausing the movie to screencap different scenes. I love how all the colors are muted and faded. But not in a shabby chic sort of way. I love the quaintness of it all, the smallness. Compared to the scenes of the larger estates, I much rather prefer the country settings.
I love the mix of textiles and mostly the lack of color. As you probably have guessed, I love neutrals and soft hues. Their blue and white gingham couch in their living room I adore so much but doubt I could ever go that “country” in my own home. But if I had a room just like this one, then it wouldn’t look so country. I mean, American country, like “shabby chic” country which in my opinion when taken to a certain extent looks really terrible and gaudy.
I always find it funny when I see overly done country interiors. The whole point of country living is that everything is more simple. More sparse. And I think that’s why I adore the settings of Sense and Sensibility so much. It seems quite realistic. But, what do I know. I’m not an expert on period piece movies! Simply, a girl that loves pretty simple things.
