Sense and Sensibility (film) Emma Thompson had written. Doran believed the humour and style of writing was "exactly what [she'd] been searching for." Thompson and Doran were already working together on Mirage's 1991 film "Dead Again." A week after its completion, the producer selected Thompson to adapt "Sense and Sensibility", although she knew that Thompson had never written a screenplay. Also a fan of Austen, Thompson first suggested they adapt "Persuasion" or "Emma" before agreeing to Doran's proposal. The actress found that "Sense and Sensibility" contained more action than she had remembered, and decided it would translate well to drama. Thompson spent five years
Sense and Sensibility which features one sister full of rational sense and another sister of romantic, emotive sensibility, is considered to have been an inspiration as well. West’s romantic sister-heroine also shares her first name, Marianne, with Austen’s. There are further textual similarities, described in a modern edition of West's novel. "Sense" means good judgment, wisdom, or prudence, and "sensibility" means sensitivity, sympathy, or emotionality. Elinor is described as a character with great "sense" (although Marianne, too, is described as having sense), and Marianne is identified as having a great deal of "sensibility" (although Elinor, too, feels deeply, without expressing it as openly).