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 (film) a dromedary." However, many other major critics such as LaSalle, Roger Ebert, James Berardinelli and Janet Maslin praised Grant's performance. Maslin wrote, Grant "rises touchingly to the film's most straightforward and meaningful encounters." In "The Mail on Sunday", William Leith found "Sense and Sensibility" to be "an extremely sharp, subtle, clever, lovely looking film" that was superior to the serial "Pride and Prejudice". Leith especially saved praise for the cast, writing that Grant plays his role "masterfully" and Harriet Walter "conveys sour bitchiness like you never thought she could." Jarr Carr of "The Boston Globe" thought that Lee "nail[ed] Austen's