Sense and Sensibility (film) in "The Atlantic" on the 20th anniversary of its release, arguing that the film served as "a turning point" for "pro-feminist masculinity" in Austen adaptations. Sense and Sensibility (film) Sense and Sensibility is a 1995 American period drama film directed by Ang Lee and based on Jane Austen's 1811 novel of the same name. Emma Thompson wrote the screenplay and stars as Elinor Dashwood, while Kate Winslet plays Elinor's younger sister Marianne. The story follows the Dashwood sisters, members of a wealthy English family of landed gentry, as they must deal with circumstances of sudden destitution. They are forced to
Sense and Sensibility (film) Rather than focus on period details, he wanted his film to concentrate on telling a good story. He showed the cast a selection of films adapted from classic novels, including "Barry Lyndon" and "The Age of Innocence", which he believed to be "great movies; everybody worships the art work, [but] it's not what we want to do." Lee criticised the latter film for lacking energy, in contrast to the "passionate tale" of "Sense and Sensibility". The cast and crew experienced "slight culture shock" with Lee on a number of occasions. He expected the assistant directors to be the "tough ones"