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) membership increased by fifty percent. The popularity of both "Sense and Sensibility" and "Pride and Prejudice" led to the BBC and ITV releasing their Austen adaptations from the 1970s and 1980s onto DVD. As the mid-1990s included adaptations of four Austen novels, there were few of her works to adapt. Andrew Higson argues that this resulted in a "variety of successors" in the genres of romantic comedy and costume drama, as well as with films featuring strong female characters. Cited examples include "Mrs Dalloway" (1997), "Mrs. Brown" (1997), "Shakespeare in Love" (1998), and "Bridget Jones's Diary" (2001). In 2008, Andrew