Sense and Sensibility

Peter McGinn

I have watched this BBC version of Sense and Sensibility two or three times, so you know I like it. Like some other BBC adaptations from the 70s and 80s, the production value occasionally pales next to more recent versions, but it is rarely noticed when you are caught up in the story. It has been many years since I read the book, so I cannot comment on whether I like changes they might have made to the story, but I am never bothered by small edits they make from the book if it is well done. Video and books have different ways of telling the story sometimes. One little oddity that didn’t quite ring true for me was when Marianne, while playing the piano during her recuperation period (physically and emotionally), breaks down suddenly and cries for about 20 seconds, and then calmly announces to her sister that the outburst was bound to happen and it was behind her completely now. That seemed a rather pat way of her feeling the pain and setting it aside in an instant. But it was minor really, which illustrates that this series got almost everything else just right. The ensemble cast was very good and the story never lapsed into the melodramatic as at least one other version did. Will I watch it yet again sometime? Well, probably, but perhaps I should re-read the book first!