Cast- Just the 5 main characters
Elinor Dashwood- Emma Thompson
Marianne Dashwood- Kate Winslet
Edward Ferrars- Hugh Grant
John Willoughby-Greg Wise
Colonel Brandon-Alan Rickman
When Mr. Henry Dashwood dies, leaving all his money to his first wife's son John Dashwood, his second wife and her three daughters are left with no permanent home and very little income. Mrs. Dashwood and her daughters (Elinor, Marianne, and Margaret) are invited to stay with their distant relations, the Middletons, at Barton Park.Once at Barton Park, Elinor and Marianne discover many new acquaintances, including the retired officer and bachelor Colonel Brandon, and the gallant and impetuous John Willoughby...(from Sparknotes..) Both sisters are heartbroken when their lovers spurn them..
I watched the movie on tele yesterday. I was supposed to study but i excused myself in the name of research (I am doing Jane Austen for lit) and watched this instead. Hahaha! I missed 5 minutes of the beginning and a few minutes here and there.
It was the 1995 one. I recognized Rose ( Marianne) from Titanic and Snape (Colonel Brandon) from Harry Potter. *grin*
I liked the story. It had an interesting twist to it.It had an irony to it- *spoiler alert* how Elinor and Marianne find their love are conflicting to their character i.e. Marianne finds her love the way Elinor would think appropriate and vice versa!
The society back then seemed so courteous! The bits where there was tension on screen between the lovers frustrated me. Because despite whatever emotion they felt, they had to be so formal with each other!
And i kept mentally comparing it with society and culture now. We are so informal and liberal. Back then so much thought and importance was giving to dressing, greeting, expressing, talking, behavior and every little thing you did. Its insane when you think about the dramatic changes our society has gone through!
I didn't so much find the male characters attractive except Willoughby (who i thought was cute) and Colonel Brandon for his kind and persistent character.Among the ladies..mm..Elinor and Marianne were pretty and Miss Grey (from the little glimpse i got) was too! Other than that not so much the rest. Margaret as very cute too!
For some odd reason i hoped for Maragret to have a big role in the story, and i wish Willoughby had more screen time! I think Colonel Brandon among the three lovers got the most screen time!
But somehow i had an uneasy sense about him throughout the movie.I got a feeling of suspicion towards him, i guess its because of his role in Harry Potter. But i think thats what credits him for his excellent acting skills!
Overall i would give the movie a 4 on 5!
A slightly random piece of information..while watching the movie, at one point i got a feeling of familiarity with one screen shot and realised that in the "Which Jane Austen character are you?" i got Elinor Dashwood! :P...Which one did you get?