Emma Thompson With a background in comedy, Thompson's performances are typically delivered with an ironic touch. Ang Lee, director of "Sense and Sensibility" stated that Thompson's comedic approach may be her greatest asset as an actress, remarking, "Emma is an extremely funny lady. Like Austen, she's laughing at her own culture while she's a part of it." Thompson has stated that the "most moving things are often also funny, in life and in art" which is present in her film work. She often brings her real personality to her roles, and Kellaway believes that her lack of conventional beauty contributes to her
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"