Story

Following the unexpected death of her father, Mr Dashwood, Elinor Dashwood (Daisy Edgar-Jones) becomes her family’s rock. She manages the meagre finances they are left with, helps to tutor her youngest sister Margaret (Bodhi Rae Breathnach) and gently guides both her mother (Caitriona Balfe), who has little idea of how the world works, and her high-spirited sister Marianne (Esme Creed-Miles), who has impassioned opinions about how the world should work. While navigating their grief, Elinor, her mother and her sisters must also deal with the arrival of Mr Dashwood’s son, John (Tom Brooke), and his awful wife, Fanny (Stacy Martin), who have come to take over their home.

As the Dashwood sisters try to come to terms with their new situation, Elinor begins a friendship with Fanny’s kind-hearted brother, Edward Ferrars (George MacKay). The relationship is interrupted by Fanny’s hostility and Mrs Dashwood’s acceptance of a modest cottage in Devonshire.

In Devonshire, Marianne falls in love with dashing rogue John Willoughby (Frank Dillane), ignoring all warnings about his character. Meanwhile the older and more serious Colonel Brandon (Herbert Nordrum) harbours a quiet love for her from afar. Elinor follows her head instead of her heart when she learns that Edward is constrained by secret obligations he made to a young lady years earlier.

As each sister experiences her own romantic trial, a graver reality reminds them that no matter where life leads, they’re lucky to have each other. They come to realise the importance of balancing emotion and intellect in the pursuit of happiness.

Themes

Grief; loss of fortune; betrayal; injustice; illness; gender inequality; social ambition; the pursuit and perils of love in English society of the late 1700s and early 1800s

Violence

Sense and Sensibility has some mild violence. For example:

• Margaret plays with a child who accuses her of stabbing him with a toy sword.
• One man drags another from a room in a rage.
• A man is challenged to a duel. They fire pistols, but no-one is injured.

Sexual references

Sense and Sensibility has some sexual references. For example, a woman is described as a ‘worldly woman’ by someone who’s trying to justify his affair with her. We learn that the woman was abandoned while pregnant and that both she and the child died.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

Sense and Sensibility shows some use of substances. For example:

• People drink wine at dinner, and wine is often served or seen in the background during social visits.
• A character offers Marianne a bottle of wine to ease her sorrow.
• Elinor takes the bottle when Marianne refuses it and drinks a liberal amount. She has a hangover the next morning.
• Marianne drinks brandy near a fireplace to warm up.
• A drunken Willoughby arrives to visit Marianne.

Nudity and sexual activity

Sense and Sensibility shows some nudity and sexual activity. For example, Elinor and Edward kiss.

Product placement

There’s no product placement in Sense and Sensibility.

Coarse language

Sense and Sensibility has some name-calling and insults. For example, a character is called a ‘vain, manipulative panderer’.

Ideas to discuss with your children

Sense and Sensibility is a romantic drama based on the classic 1811 novel by Jane Austen. It features striking nature-based cinematography, stunning outdoor scenery and period dialogue. The movie is suitable for families, but it will probably lack interest for children aged under 11 years. Mature audiences and Jane Austen fans are likely to enjoy it.

The main messages from Sense and Sensibility are that neither emotional restraint and logic nor impulsive passion and vulnerability lead to happiness. Rather, both intellect and emotion are needed to navigate life’s uncertainties. This experience is often the source of true wisdom and personal growth.

Values in Sense and Sensibility that you could reinforce with your children include empathy, compassion, integrity, honour, love and resilience.

Sense and Sensibility could also give you the chance to talk with your children about real-life issues. For example:

• Passion without wisdom or boundaries can lead to self-destructive decisions.
• Toxic social pressures and greed can mean financial gain is valued more than human worth.
• A person’s actions can tell you more than their words.
• Historically, laws favoured men and women had few means of supporting themselves, which often left them dependent on male relatives.