call me picky, but...

[prosodic]

as much as I love Emma Thompson, I just had a difficult time accepting her in the role of Elinor Dashwood in 1995's Sense & Sensibility. Elinor is supposed to be in her early 20's or something like that, yes?

And yet, when that movie was filmed, Emma Thompson was in her mid-30's. That was all I could think about as I watched it. She did a brilliant job writing the screenplay, and she is a fantastic actress. But I really think Elinor would've been more convincing played by someone more age-appropriate.

(I guess it's obvious that I just watched the movie this weekend, or I wouldn't be mentioning this. I picked up the DVD for $5, and I had never seen this version before.)

I think I actually prefer the version that was shown on PBS last year.

Comments

[prosodic.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's the BBC version. I thought it was very well done.

[emtqueen85.livejournal.com]

I hated that book when we read it in 12th grade English. We watched the movie with Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet and as much as I loved those actresses even then, I was raging against that book and couldn't stand to watch it.

[prosodic.livejournal.com]

Believe it or not, but I didn't even read Jane Austen until I was in college. But I'm glad of that, because I don't think I would've appreciated it until then. I was only interested in her novels after I studied abroad in Bath.

[noramay.livejournal.com]

Elinor's supposed to be fairly young (I almost feel even as young as 19?). But I love the entire cast in the Ang Lee Sense and Sensibility, probably helped by what I think is a super strong script; I think they're all pitch perfect in their lines. And Elinor is supposed to be so mature and steady that the stretch seems appropriate.

[tully-monster.livejournal.com]

You should probably keep in mind that although Elinor Dashwood seemed young to us, in Austen's era, she was at the stage of life when her prospects were seriously beginning to dim. These days, a woman getting married in her mid-twenties seems normal, and a woman in her mid-thirties who still hasn't found a husband is considered to be verging on spinsterhood. (Even that is trending upwards, of course.) Women also didn't age quite as well as they do now--disease and nutritional deficiency and environmental problems would have taken their toll. Had Austen been writing today, Elinor and Marianne would both have been at least ten years older. Had Elinor been played by a much younger actress, that sense that she was getting close to her sell-by date (in societal terms) wouldn't have been as plausible to a modern audience.

That's the challenge in filming classic literature: balance authenticity with universality.

[prosodic.livejournal.com]

Good point. Maybe this just shows that I have old fashioned sensibilities that I gave this any thought at all. ;)