Movie review: 'Sense and Sensibility' a lush, earthy and embodied adaptation of Jane Austen's novel

It feels like the world is sorely lacking in romance right now, which means we’ve got to go back to the source — the queen of yearning, longing, witty banter and dramatic love confessions, Jane Austen. Many of her works have been adapted to the screen into some of our most beloved films and series; the latest is a new version of Austen’s debut novel "Sense and Sensibility," directed by Georgia Oakley.

Director Ang Lee and writer-star Emma Thompson gave us a pretty perfect adaptation of the novel in 1995, with a star-studded cast including Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman. This lush and earthy new version finds the four Dashwood women: sisters Elinor (Daisy Edgar-Jones), Marianne (Esmé Creed-Miles) and Margaret (Bodhi Rae Breathnach), along with their mother (Caitríona Balfe) in dire straits after the death of their father. In this era, the only way for women to secure a roof over their heads was to marry well, and Austen’s work is largely concerned with these financial questions and how they intersect with a young woman’s dream of falling in love.

As the practical eldest sister Elinor, lovely and intelligent, but self-effacing, Edgar-Jones is sensitive and quietly emotive, the reserved foil to her wild, tempestuous middle sister Marianne. Elinor’s timid courtship with Edward (George MacKay) grinds to a halt when the family has to move to a small seaside cottage, where her story is eclipsed by Marianne’s love triangle, between a rake named Willoughby (Frank Dillane) and the quiet passion of their neighbor Colonel Brandon (Herbert Nordrum). Elinor tries to counsel and console Marianne, who can’t help but dramatically express her outsize emotions. However, Elinor, too restrained for her own good, could stand to learn a little bit from her somewhat hysterical sister, as her tendency to always try to do the "honorable" thing leads to miscommunication and her own heartache.

Edgar-Jones and MacKay, two rising English stars, are a natural choice for this material, and the rest of the cast is made up of exciting new faces. Dillane, who had a breakout performance in Harris Dickinson’s gritty drama "Urchin," and Nordrum, a Norwegian actor whom the world discovered in "The Worst Person in the World," are interesting choices for Marianne’s suitors.

"Sense and Sensibility" is the kind of movie that will inspire laughter, cheers, gasps, squeals of delight and satisfied sighs. Edgar-Jones shoulders the Elinor role in a performance that is as delicate as it is steely, alternating both her desire for true love and responsibility to her family. If Elinor lets her moral compass get in the way of her own happiness, Austen — through Reid and Oakley — sets our heroine on the right direction, because we all deserve a happy ending.