Jane Austen could get more tension out of two people standing in a room talking than most writers can do with all the operatic melodrama they can muster.
So much yearning.
Austen’s timeless work lives again, as soulful and emotional as ever. I’m very familiar with Pride & Prejudice but not with Sense and Sensibility – and boy, was in for a real rollercoaster. I’ve always thought that at its heart, Pride & Prejudice is a comedy (of errors) – that being my only experience with Austen, I wasn’t expecting my heart to be broken and buffeted and filled with swoon-worthiness over and over for two hours. There’s a deep, heavy emotional weight to be found here – every frame exudes yearning, sometimes tragically and sometimes with hope. Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy made me laugh, Elinor and Edward made my heart ache.
It’s easy to get swept up in it all, because all the cast sells it so well. The central duo of Daisy Edgar-Jones and Esmé Creed-Miles are phenomenal – perfectly counterbalanced, of holding emotion in and letting it all out. Both are tremendously magnetic, and natural – none of this feels excessive or melodramatic for its own sake, rather, they make the Dashwood sisters feel like real, lived-in people with their own flaws and desires. The film lives and dies by them, and thankfully it soars. On the other end of the dramatic spectrum, Fiona Shaw is magnetically hilarious as Mrs. Jennings – such a presence, and a welcome dash of humour among all the heartache. Can you believe she was also the cruel aunt from Harry Potter and the incredible Maarva from Andor? What a talent.
A crucial part of these period dramas is that no one says what they’re really feeling until their most passionate moments – everyone’s restrained, polite, quiet, even deceitful. This restraint extends to behind the camera, in all the right ways – Georgia Oakley’s superb direction gives every scene the right kind of feeling and energy it needs. Often the camera is locked off, allowing us to focus entirely on the actors performing and emoting. Other times, the camera glides and covers wide vistas in moments of high passion – both happy and sad – but when it needs to be restrained, Oakley’s direction ensures it’s restrained. When combined with the film grain, the direction has somewhat of a 1970s feel – that and the editing even reminded me a tiny bit of Nolan, in a way?
Man, this thing is gorgeous (and I don’t just mean the cast!). Downright sumptuous. Cinematographer Arnaud Potier knocked it out of the park – using this much natural light can go wrong, but it’s perfect here. Natural light, film grain, and an expertly used muted colour palette all combine to create a textured and tangible experience – goes even further to make the audience feel the yearning when the world around the characters feels so tangible.
Meanwhile, among all the subdued performances, direction, and visuals, the score from Roger Goula is practically screaming with all the suppressed desire everyone’s feeling. Great stuff.
Happy to declare this one of my favourites of the year. Maybe I should read some of Austen’s work soon – after I get through the seemingly endless stack of comics on my shelf…