Sense and Sensibility

Okay, so it's 10:30 and I just now realized that Friday is almost over and I almost let another Feature Film Friday slip by unfeatured. Then I thought, "NO! I cannot once again let down my masses of fans who will surely cry themselves to sleep tonight without my thoughts on certain cinematic productions!" So here I am, laptop in lap (imagine that), proving my dedication to all things movies. I don't wear this crown for nothin'.

As I have not recently watched anything that I feel is worthy to take up an entire post on my blog I have decided to highlight a movie that resides permanently on my Top 3 list.

SENSE AND SENSIBILITY

Oh, how I love this movie. Let me count the ways. First of all, this movie happened to come at a time (1995) when I was riddled with heartache and was one positive thing in the midst of a whole lot of crap. At the time, I had never heard of Kate Winslet, but she was the first thing that made me fall in love with this movie. I felt we had so much in common. But let me back up.

Sense and Sensibility is a film adaptation of the Jane Austen classic. (LOVE the Jane.) It was directed by Ang Lee, and I only mention this because it is so beyond me how a chinese man got 1811 England so perfect. Kinda crazy. It's about a family consisting of all women: Mrs. Dashwood (the mom), Elinor Dashwood (the oldest daughter played by Emma Thompson who actually wrote the screenplay and won an Oscar for it); Marianne Dashwood (the 17 year old daughter played by Kate Winslet); and Margaret Dashwood. When their father dies leaving all his wealth to their half-brother, as was the law back then, they are left poor as all get-out and are forced to leave their gorgeous estate and move into a cottage. ("Cottage" back then meant a 2-story, six room house. They were only able to keep two of their servants. Woe is them.) Before they move, however, Elinor meets Edward Ferrers (Hugh Grant), the brother of their half-brother's wife (everyone is related somehow in Jane Austen's books) and falls in love. After they move to the "cottage," Marianne meets John Willoughby (played by Greg Wise who is now married to Emma Thompson) and is instantly smitten. The title "Sense and Sensibility" comes from the different ways the sisters portray their undying love, with Elinor being reserved and showing sense by playing down her feelings, and Marianne being full of romantic sensibilities and holding nothing back, which proves not to be the wisest thing.

Here is where I related so much to Kate Winslet's character. As a heartbroken 17 year old, I was the same way when it came to love: passionate, holding back nothing and putting my heart out there on a platter just asking to be dropped and stomped on. We both loved beyond sense.

I won't go into the storyline anymore, one, because if there is anyone who has been, oh, I don't know, living in a cave and hasn't seen this, I don't want to ruin anything, and also because if you know Jane Austen's books at all then you know that the storylines are complicated, interwoven threads involving TONS of people and events. I'll just break down what I love about it:

• The aforementioned Kate
• Everything that made me feel as if I were back there, in England, at that time. (The music, wardrobe, setting, hair, style of speaking, dancing, etc.)
• Hugh Grant, although it is very different from anything else I've seen him do. He is not hilarious, but charming and adorable.
• The light humor that all of Jane Austen's novels have, that they fortunately worked into the movie.
• It is maybe the only movie I can watch over and over and over again and love it more each time. It always makes me feel good no matter what's going on in my life.

So that's it. My take on Sense and Sensibility. If you haven't seen it, crawl out of your cave and go watch it. If you have, watch it again, and call me so I can come watch it with you.