Sense and Sensibility (film) acute social observation and tangy satire," and viewed Thompson and Winslet's age discrepancy as a positive element that helped feed the dichotomy of sense and sensibility. The "Radio Times" David Parkinson was equally appreciative of Lee's direction, writing that he "avoid[s] the chocolate-box visuals that cheapen so many British costume dramas" and "brings a refreshing period realism to the tale of two sisters that allows Emma Thompson's respectful Oscar-winning script to flourish." Out of the 1990s Austen adaptations, "Sense and Sensibility" received the most recognition from Hollywood. It garnered seven nominations at the 68th Academy Awards ceremony, where Thompson received
Sense and Sensibility (soundtrack) the film, and is suitably romantic, but it's a shame that it's a score like this that got him a nomination and not a truly original one like his debut". Similarly, AllMusic writer Darryl Cater did not feel the film represented Doyle's best work, explaining that "most of it simply recycles melodic phrases from his previous stuff. Nonetheless, "Sense and Sensibility" has a pleasant romanticism in its orchestrations, and the vocal solos by renowned soprano Jane Eaglen are quite good". Writing for "The Daily Telegraph", Alan Titchmarsh called the score a "delicious masterpiece" and recommended it to film music fans.