I highly recommend that you pick up the book instead.
I adore Jane Austen and I found this to be my least favorite of the four Austen inspired Hallmark 2024 Love-uary offerings. I went in with an open mind and while I appreciated a more true to the story telling of Sense and Sensibility, I feel like they didn't have the time to do it justice. I continually found myself thinking of the 1995 Ang Lee version and comparing actors. The other thoughts I had were around the casting choices made by Hallmark's Mahogany and how in the time of Bridgerton this seemed really unnecessary and at times inappropriate.
When the casting takes you away from the story, I think you have let your audience down. Especially if the goal is to introduce a wonderful story to a new audience.
The Jane Austen story that this attempts to tell is that of the Dashwood sisters (two in particular) who are displaced from their family estate when their father passes away leaving their half brother to inherit everything. Left destitute thanks to their brother not fulfilling his promise of seeing to his step-mother and three step-sisters, in part thanks to his greedy social climbing wife who has his ear, the Dashwood women end up in a modest dwelling on a distant cousin's property.
Elinore , the eldest Dashwood sister, falls hard for her sister-in-law's half brother, who is believed to be quite above her station in her current position. While Marianne, the younger and more romantic sister, is dreaming of the dashing and Devil may care Willoughby, all while a certain Colonel Brandon is watching from the sideline.
It is a lovely story that I encourage you to pick up and read...I am just not sure I can endorse this film, through no real fault of the actors. And while I appreciate the attempt to breathe new life into a classic story, I think this falls short of doing said story justice. Not a recommendation to my fellow romantics.
When the casting takes you away from the story, I think you have let your audience down. Especially if the goal is to introduce a wonderful story to a new audience.
The Jane Austen story that this attempts to tell is that of the Dashwood sisters (two in particular) who are displaced from their family estate when their father passes away leaving their half brother to inherit everything. Left destitute thanks to their brother not fulfilling his promise of seeing to his step-mother and three step-sisters, in part thanks to his greedy social climbing wife who has his ear, the Dashwood women end up in a modest dwelling on a distant cousin's property.
Elinore , the eldest Dashwood sister, falls hard for her sister-in-law's half brother, who is believed to be quite above her station in her current position. While Marianne, the younger and more romantic sister, is dreaming of the dashing and Devil may care Willoughby, all while a certain Colonel Brandon is watching from the sideline.
It is a lovely story that I encourage you to pick up and read...I am just not sure I can endorse this film, through no real fault of the actors. And while I appreciate the attempt to breathe new life into a classic story, I think this falls short of doing said story justice. Not a recommendation to my fellow romantics.
- cgvsluis
- Feb 28, 2024