Review: Oakley's 'Sense and Sensibility' Is Solid but Muted — SkimNews
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Georgia Oakley directed a moody, naturalistic adaptation of Jane Austen's 'Sense and Sensibility,' her first feature since the BAFTA-winning 'Blue Jean,' with Diana Reid writing the script
- Daisy Edgar-Jones plays the prudent Elinor and Esmé Creed-Miles the vivacious Marianne, opposite George MacKay as Edward and Frank Dillane as Willoughby, with Caitríona Balfe as Mrs. Dashwood and Fiona Shaw as Mrs. Jennings
- The reviewer compares the film unfavorably to Ang Lee's 1995 'Sense and Sensibility,' calling Oakley's version 'slightly muted,' 'oddly safe,' and one that strips away the wit that makes Austen Austenesque
- Frank Dillane's Willoughby is singled out as 'perhaps the only major presence in the film that brings an unstudied lightness and humor' — confirmation, per the reviewer, that his recent breakthrough was 'no fluke'
- The film pairs quivering psychological realism with earthy worldbuilding — candlelit interiors, hunted game, and 'so very many neat dogs' — alongside choreography by Holly Blakey and a wistful score by Roger Goula
- Oakley's vision sidesteps 'corny Mother Earth symbolism' by showing the 'grit and exhaustion' of 18th-century travel rather than romanticized pastoral imagery
Why it matters: For audiences weighing a new Austen adaptation, the review signals a visually textured but tonally restrained take that trails Lee's benchmark, with the trade-off between naturalistic mood and Austen's wit sitting at the center of the verdict. Frank Dillane's Willoughby emerges as the clear standout in a film the critic finds earnest but lacking star power.
Ask SkimNews
