r/janeausten • u/TheGreatestSandwich of Maple Grove • 3d ago
Adaptations MEGATHREAD - Sense & Sensibility (2026) October Release - "Yay!" Thread - positive vibes only - CONTAINS SPOILERS
This post is for rave reviews and generally positive discussion about Sense & Sensibility (2026), which is currently being released to theatres in Australia, Canada, US, etc.
Nuanced opinions are still welcome, but please direct generally negative reviews, complaints, etc. to the sister "nay!" megathread. Moderators reserve the right to remove overly negative or combative comments.
Questions about this format? Please see the mod announcement.
No spoiler tags required.
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u/embroidery627 2d ago
There's a nice little scene with Colonel Brandon leaning his forehead against his horse's forehead. This tells us that he is A Very Good Type.
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u/badgerthenerd 2d ago
I came away from this film with Colonel Brandon as my favorite part. I loved him! And that scene with his horse and what came after was one of my favorites in the whole movie.
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u/embroidery627 2d ago
I know he's been described as 'wooden' but I rather liked his very quiet, restrained way of behaving.
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u/badgerthenerd 2d ago
Me too! It makes him such a great foil for Willoughby’s showy exuberance. It also lends credence to the Marianne/Brandon romance for me because you can see how a naive Marianne would be attracted to the showy man at first before realizing that true value lies with Brandon’s quiet steadiness.
All this being said, my taste in period men definitely runs toward the quiet, yearning, suffering in silence types, and I think he captured that very well.
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u/embroidery627 2d ago
All these weeks I've been waiting to see Elinor and Edward yearning but their story was changed and it has been the Colonel who yearned most.
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u/embroidery627 3d ago
I am in the UK so I have been able to see it - more than once, but not more than some films I've seen - and I can see that many people will like it for lots of reasons, especially if they've never read the book. I have mixed feelings about it.
In the book we are told that Edward asks Mrs. Dashwood for permission to marry her daughter ( he had secured his lady, engaged her mother's consent, and was....) so I was very pleased to see about two seconds of film taking care of that little fact.
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u/CrepuscularMantaRays 3d ago
It's always fun when adaptations take the time to include the little details that are usually just passed over.
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u/BarracudaOk8635 of Hartfield 3d ago
It hasn't been released in NZ yet. I will go on the weekend. I have high hopes, which I do expect to be dashed in some way. BUT I hope they get the main scenes right, and the casting works. I am going to be very lenient and kind to this adaption. 95 is so very good. It's a very hard act to follow. But I give them some grace here to do their own thing. What I do hope is that it doesnt follow the old adaptions ( which so many adaptions do) and it follows the book.
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u/CrepuscularMantaRays 3d ago
The filmmakers have been very open about not wanting to imitate previous adaptations, and I think that's laudable.
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u/BarracudaOk8635 of Hartfield 3d ago
Yes. Agree. It seems to lean into a more serious tone. But I do hope it has the humour. S&S has some of the funniest bits in any of the books. Robert Ferrars is hilarious. And she skewers so many other characters so well. John Dashwood for instance. And Mr Palmer is an amazing creation. So modern. I do hope it's ok. and I do hope it doesnt copy stuff from other adaptions. That will score points from me.
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u/TheGreatestSandwich of Maple Grove 1d ago
Just got back from seeing this and I laughed out loud several times in the theatre. One of my friends said she found it funnier than 1995, though I am not sure I would agree. I think they have different styles of humor.
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u/Odd-Quail01 3d ago
Beardy Norwegian Brandon was a bit jarring. As were some of the hairdos. I liked it overall.
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u/TheGreatestSandwich of Maple Grove 1d ago
I adore 1995 S&S, but I really enjoyed this one, too! They have different pros / cons and tick different boxes for me. I hope you enjoy it.
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u/BarracudaOk8635 of Hartfield 1d ago
fantastic. Great news. I fell in love with Daisy Edgar Jones watching Normal People so there's than on its side. I would go today but I have given a friend the book and told her to read it and come to the movie. I hope she likes it. But, she found Emma hard, and S&S is probably harder to read, more old fashioned prose. Maybe I go today anyway and then I can go again. I am determined to put my love of 95 aside.
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u/TheGreatestSandwich of Maple Grove 1d ago
I think that's a great idea. I tried to go with an open mind and to perhaps hate watch it, so I was pleasantly surprised. I think it's a welcome addition to the adaptations, in spite of its problems.
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u/TheGreatestSandwich of Maple Grove 1d ago edited 21h ago
Just got out of the theatre and have to say I really enjoyed it. I went with rock bottom expectations and while some of them were realized, I really enjoyed the writing, the costumes, the cinematography, the music, etc. The cast was fantastic and I am probably going to go again with my daughter next week.
I will share the things I didn't like in the other thread and share the link here.
Details of what I liked:
- the plot changes made sense. I didn't necessarily love all of them, but they felt thoughtful and overall pretty effective. I didn't love the duel, but I think it really achieved a believable shift in Marianne towards Colonel Brandon.
- I loved that the sisters felt like sisters and looked somewhat related / close in age. That was great.
- The costuming was gorgeous! I don't know much about historical accuracy, but I loved the various bonnets & headgear, the heavy and layered clothing, etc. Just beautiful
- The dogs! So many dogs! They were all so beautiful and a really fun a distinctive feature.
- Mrs. Jennings was just so delightful. She really brought the jollity and generosity of the character from the book. Sir John was more of a cameo, but brought lots of humor with his gifts of birds, etc. and reminded me of Jack Black. Lady Middleton, the Palmers, etc. were also fun comic relief.
- I thought I would dislike the darker lighting of the film, but one of my friends said it well when she said the 1995 S&S seems to have a spring / summer color and this one felt like autumn. Great way to describe the tone. It didn't really bother me, just felt like an artistic choice.
- Loved Edward & Elinor's chemistry. Daisy Edgar-Jones was phenomenal. All of the cast did a great job, though.
- Loved how they centered the romance on Elinor, since the book is so centered on her.
I'm sure I'll think of more, but I am glad I saw it in the theatre, I'm glad I had really low expectations, and I will definitely watch it again!
Link to full review on the nay thread (including less favorable impressions).
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u/carolineblueskies 3d ago
I was able to see it on Monday night at an Alamo Drafthouse special screening. I have many thoughts, but for the sake of THIS thread I will say, it is a gorgeously shot film - beautiful lighting, scenery, shots of animals throughout, some of it really felt like a painting. I enjoyed most of the performances. Fiona Shaw brings much needed humor as Mrs. Jennings (overall, this film doesn't capture as much of the humor of the book as the 1995 movie, imo). I liked that they added more interactions between Colonel Brandon and Marianne. George MacKay's Edward is very likeable and he brings a little more warmth to the character (as for certain plot points related to his character/Lucy, that will need to go in the other thread). I think my favorite scene was when Willoughby shows up when Marianne is sick and Elinor lets him have it. They also added the duel (alluded to in the books, but happens off page) and the Dashwoods/Mrs. Jennings watching it probably got the biggest laughs at my theater.
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u/dbrennan0616 2d ago
Went to a viewing last night. I think I will have to watch it a few more times to see where it ranks for me on my list.
I loved the chemistry Daisy and George had. I def agree out of all the adaptations this one did the best on demonstrating their feelings.
I loved how Lucy is portrayed as more cunning here.
I loved Fiona Shaw as Mrs Jennings. She stole the movie for me.
I feel like I have more but that is what stands out. I went with a friend who didn’t read the book or see any adaptation and it was so refreshing seeing it with someone with fresh eyes.
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u/amyness_88 of Longbourn 2d ago
I just returned home from watching this in the cinema with my husband. Though this isn’t one of my favourites, I enjoyed it for its modern take not unlike the way I enjoyed P&P 2005 as my entry to Jane Austen film and television. My husband enjoyed it immensely and loved all the characters, especially Elinor and Edward. He is now interested in reading the novel and I am pleased by this because I really hope this encourages people who haven’t experienced Jane Austen’s writing to give it at go and hopefully find enjoyment in it.
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u/chartingyou 3d ago
I haven’t seen it yet but I’m hoping they include the scene where Willoughby shows up when Marianne is sick. I’ve always thought it was a very crucial scene and I was surprised when I watched 1995 and I found that they didn’t have it.
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u/embroidery627 3d ago
Hold on in there.
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u/SmooshyHamster 1d ago
This version of Willowby showing up when Marianne has the flu is my favourite version. The most dramatic terrifying version.
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u/ElectronicTangerine6 2d ago edited 2d ago
Came back from the cinema hall an hour earlier! The YAYS! for me:
● Elinor and Edward have great chemistry. George McKay and Daisy Edgar Jones probably have the most on screen chemistry out of all the Elinors and Edwards of the previous 1995 and 2008 adaptations.
Also unlike previous adaptations, their romance takes more centre stage. It helps that the strongest scenes are between these two as well in the film.
There's a great scene with them meeting at the art gallery and speaking to one another - the tension, the repressed passion is soo delicious to watch. Never thought of George McKay as handsome, but he's quite hot here lol
● Lucy steele: a genuinely great departure from the frivolous annoying gel of the novel and previous adaptations.
While Austen wrote Lucy as menacing in her own way (like the way she hisses her happy lovey dovey future with Edward into Elinor's ear), she's also been a bit pathetic which makes us take her a bit lightly.
Her patheticness is taken up a notch or two in the 1995 and 2008 adaptations, and she's portrayed as homely and unsophisticated. In this adaptation, she's genuinely menacing and the film takes pain to make her a both a match and a real threat to Elinor. She's beautiful, smooth and clever, rather than too comedic and annoying.
● The duel was funny, especially the ladies who had to pretend they disapproved afterwards. Its obviously a massive change from the book, but even I feel like its not the worst thing ever - it sort of jolted everyone in the theater into laughter and amusement. It also brought back tension and excitement into the film at a point it was beginning to lag.
● In 1995 and 2008, when Marianne looks at Allenham while it's raining, both of them cry and it's quite an emotional scene. Here, Marianne screams in anguish, but then anger too. I quite like that! Willoughby played with her feelings, of course she would be mad too!
● In 1995 and the 2008 miniseries, Marianne has blonde curls, is overtly romantic, silly and melodramatic in a sweet kind of way. She would be a theatre kid with baby pink ballet flats today. This Marianne with her straight jet black hair is a renegade of sorts. Today, she would be a grungey alt type who vapes, screams at protests and scribbles poetry.
All three Mariannes are rebellious, but this one is also more witty when she speaks, never missing a beat and tongue tying Colonel Brandon at times. The Brandons of previous adaptations seemed paternal in comparison to their respective Mariannes. However, because the screenwriter added lines and scenes where Marianne interacts and shows her mettle to Brandon, they seem like they are better matched here.
● And speaking of Brandon: I won't go into my dislikes on this thread, but I did like how he's not so old in this adaptation and not a lot older than the Marianne actress. (In the 1995 adaptation, Winslet was 30 years younger than Alan Rickman and honestly, I got a bit of ick when I saw them together!).
Brandon's age and maturity is ofc, part and parcel of his character, but I am glad they kept closer to his novel age here.
Also, they made Brandon a bit awkward as opposed to the controlled and suave Brandons of 1995 and 2008 - a good change! It helped with making him and Marianne seem at a more even footing; as well as showing why he might be attracted to this Marianne's more self possessed and witty nature.
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u/Holiday-Hustle 1d ago
Casting an age appropriate Brandon I think was a super positive change. I loved the other Brandons but they did always look a bit like they could be Marianne’s father. As someone in their mid-30s, it’s nice to see that Brandon isn’t THAT old.
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u/Nervous-Reaction4393 2d ago
I loved the scramble to show disapproval post-duel, too, I think it was completely necessary to stop the scene tipping into being too melodramatic and too far out of Austen's wheelhouse. It was also just really funny. Got a laugh in my screening too!
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u/ElectronicTangerine6 2d ago
Yes! I am not against changes when they are in the spirit of what Austen has written!
The issue is, the film was too melodramatic, over-wrought with crying and dramatic piano scores. So, I was pleasantly surprised when the film snapped out of the mopish tone they had set, and had this scene.
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u/Minimalgoth 3d ago
Can't wait! Me & my husband have a date night set Friday to see it 😍
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u/cake-bite 3d ago
Ah same here! Making a date night out of seeing it with my husband as well! Hoping it’s as good as it looks to be 🤩
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u/vladina_ of Barton Cottage 3d ago
I was supposed to watch it with my husband on Friday but went to the premiere all by myself last week because instead he's taking me across the channel to Chawton tomorrow 😱
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u/AgedP of Blaise Castle 1d ago
It's an emphatic yay from me. For Diana Reid's screenplay most of all. It caught plenty of the spirit of the novel, and the plot adjustments tended to be smart ways of abridging the more meandering parts to fit comfortably into the length of one movie.
I liked how they went for quality rather than quantity in their nods to previous adaptations. Such as:
- The line "Oh Mama, how shall we manage without her?" is pretty much identical in wording and cadence to 2007/08, but this time it's spoken by Elinor instead of Marianne.
- There's quite a distinctive piece of hand positioning near the end of Marianne's illness, when Elinor presses the back of Marianne's hand to her (Elinor's) face. That's also straight out of 2007/08.
I won't try to articulate all the other reasons for "yay" just now. I'll save my time and energy for going and seeing it again. Once it's sunk in properly, I'll decide whether it's a top-tier favourite (alongside S&S 1980/81, Persuasion 1995, and S&S 2007/08) or a second-tier favourite (alongside S&S 1971, Emma 1972, P&P 1995, S&S 1995, and MP 1999). Either way, S&S has continued its freakishly great record for adaptations.
Just my opinion, of course!
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u/TheGreatestSandwich of Maple Grove 1d ago
I really liked it, too, and am definitely going to go see it again!
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u/Wooden-Anybody6807 15h ago
I wanted to hate it but I LOVED it! (I did hate the dancing and the costumes). But the natural indoor lighting, the golden sunlight in Daisy’s hair, the lingering, quiet shots of nature… I loved how the camera lingered on Marianne when Elinor left to see Edward calling on her, because Marianne felt so lonely that Willoughby had not called on her. I loved how the camera lingered on Edward’s sad face in the gallery scene when Elinor leaves. Gosh- the longing on Edward’s face in the gallery scene, when he says “just one word from you would end this” and Elinor denies her own desire to keep him true to both of their convictions. I loved how Elinor said “I will be my own mistress” to steel herself to keep her composure when Edward called. I loved how she needed to make the decision to run after Edward, after a misunderstanding caused by her own over-fastidiousness, which she chose actively to correct. I loved the final scene where the sisters walked away and we were left watching the swing, and I liked how there was no weddings at the end. I liked how Marianne and Brandon were positioned at the end, how they didn’t rush into an engagement just yet but were going to grow together slowly and strongly over time. I loved so many things about this movie! Now, if they could just re-shoot every scene in period-appropriate clothing and re-choreograph that dreadful writhing faux-dancing, my heart could rest content!
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u/ElectronicTangerine6 2d ago
Before I forget: Mr Palmer, Sir John and Lady Middleton.
I thought it was a female actress that played Mr Palmer, but I have since found out the actor identifies as non-binary.
I'm honestly not mad about it. Firstly, they're barely in the movie enough to make a real difference to my overall immersion. But having someone who doesnt look or sound overly masculine then act like a gentleman of the manor with a "real hatred of Allenham" was quite amusing - he definitely has more of a temper than the other male characters. It also sort of gave me a realisation that perhaps "manly" indignation he expresses does not belong to one gender. The women in this film, like when Marianne screams in anger when seeing Allenham in the rain, also have intense feelings of rage too.
Sir John and his wife was another good example of minor characters adding texture to the film rather than being just another few characters.
The film having him be relatively younger than previous Sir Johns, and then a big blundering stomper always shoving geese at Elinor showed his over hospitality and over involvement rather than telling! (A sin which the film often made otherwise, but i wont get into that in this thread).
His wife, the awkward Lady Middleton, being mousy and obsessed with the weather was not someone I really thought about until she got defensive of the fact her husband couldn't shoot for 12 days because of bad weather.
In previous readings of S&S and watching 1995 and 2008, I actually did think about how Sir John and Lady Middleton even got together, but then that line alone actually made them a couple. Idk its a micro part of the film, but considering how Austen's novels all have a central theme of getting married, it actually was a good to show (very briefly, in a very micro way such as this), how couples can be well matched despite their differences.
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u/ibmiller 3d ago
Here we go!
I got to see it at an early Alamo Drafthouse screening with a Q&A with Daisy Edgar-Jones and Esme Creed-Miles, which was really insightful and great! Had a great time with the cast. Still pondering on the structural changes, but overall I quite liked the film.
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u/PinkRasberryFish 2d ago
I adored this film! Our theatre didn’t have many people but we were all laughing and engrossed. I loved every minute. Mr. Willhouby’s actor was particularly fresh in my opinion and I loved Daisy in this. Marianne didn’t feel beautiful enough to be Marianne, but in some scenes when her hair was smoother I could kind of see it. In general, 4.5, and I only deduct not for hair down, but for greasy stringy hair that really was so terrible to look at lol.
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u/StrawberryJinx 22h ago
The blue dress Eleanor wears in London when Edward calls on her was GORGEOUS.
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u/HenriEttaTheVoid 3d ago
I haven’t seen it yet (hopefully this weekend), but I got the score last week and have been enjoying it immensely…so beautiful!
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u/cperez197 14h ago
I loved the movie!! It was my own personal date night for myself lol Colonel Brandon was my favorite ❤️
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u/LegitimateCherry8760 8h ago
As much as their acting was effective and well-done, I wasn’t crying for Elinor and Edward the way I’d hoped to. For some reason their story fell flat - maybe it’s because the revelation of his mistaken-identity marriage was so short compared to ‘96? And then it’s almost immediately resolved? Just wanted to watch her heart break more, that’s all.
But overall, I did enjoy it, and I believe it’s the most accurate to Austens experience of losing her father.
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u/janeausten-ModTeam 3d ago
This thread is intended to be a more positive discussion of the movie, but you are welcome to air your grievances at our Nay thread:
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u/janeausten-ModTeam 1d ago
Removing this discussion as it is not on topic for the thread. Thank you!
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u/janeausten-ModTeam 1d ago
Removing this discussion as it is not on topic for the thread. Thank you!
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u/janeausten-ModTeam 1d ago
We have created these separate spaces for everyone to have their yay or nay say—not to put the others down. Thank you!
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u/janeausten-ModTeam 1d ago
We have created these separate spaces for everyone to have their yay or nay say—not to put the others down. Thank you!
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u/glorycock 4h ago
Yes, one realises that - ironically - it's hard to discuss that unpleasant pre-release campaign that was undertaken against the 1995 film without oneself becoming slightly, er, unpleasant... so fair point!
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u/jizzinmyeyes 3d ago
The 1995 version is one of my favorite movies ever, and I am excited for this horny remake!!!!!!!!!
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u/embroidery627 12h ago
JA doesn't tell us where, or with what words, everything is settled between E and E. She says that about 3 hours after he arrived all was settled and they sat down to table. I liked the fact that they were walking in to eat together.
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u/SeaworthyThis 3d ago
Excuse me, is that a THIGH in the movie poster?!