Sense and Sensibility (film) could capture Mr. Palmer's disenchantment and redemption so perfectly, and make it funny." Thompson wrote the part of Edward Ferrars with Grant in mind, and he agreed to receive a lower salary in line with the film's budget. Grant called her screenplay "genius", explaining "I've always been a philistine about Jane Austen herself, and I think Emma's script is miles better than the book and much more amusing." Grant's casting was criticised by the Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA), whose representatives said that he was too handsome for the part. Actress Kate Winslet initially intended to audition for
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.