Sense and Sensibility (film) Austen adaptation of all time, opining that Lee "offered an acute outsider's insight into Austen in this compelling 1995 interpretation of the book [and] Emma Thompson delivered a charming turn as the older, wiser, Dashwood sister, Elinor." Journalist Zoe Williams credits Thompson as the person most responsible for Austen's popularity, explaining in 2007 that "Sense and Sensibility" "is the definitive Austen film and that's largely down to her." In 2011, "The Guardian" film critic Paul Laity named it his favourite film of all time, partly because of its "exceptional screenplay, crisply and skilfully done.". Devoney Looser reflected on the film
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"