Sense & Sensibility (1971)

What's different

This 1971 four-part BBC miniseries is fairly faithful to the book, but it does take some liberties. It does away with almost all of the children, for one thing, and the only child who survives (a son of Lady Middleton) never appears on screen. However, I didn't even notice that the youngest Dashwood, Margaret, was missing until halfway through the movie, which just goes to show how useless she is. They also invented a character, a Barton Cottage servant named Mary, who serves tea, bustles about, and keeps the ladies up to date on all the hot goss. She has several lines, including informing the Dashwoods that Mr. Ferrars is married, which is the only line spoken by any servant in the book.

The most altered main character is Edward, who comes across as a true romantic hero in this adaptation. I observed in my review of the book that there was room for improvement by making Edward and Elinor's feelings for each other more obvious, and this miniseries accomplished that by hugely altering the scene in which Elinor informs Edward of Colonel Brandon's offering him the living of Delaford. Instead of Edward turning up while Elinor is writing him a letter, she seeks him out at his new lodgings, which are comically dirty and depressing.

Nothing screams "I'M POOR NOW" like black mold in the stairwell.

When Elinor arrives, Edward is busy practicing his sexy professor look — round spectacles, book in hand, and shirt open to reveal his smooth, hairless chest.

All this will soon be yours, Elinor.

After giving him the news and fulfilling her obligation, Elinor turns to leave, but Edward, overcome with emotion, tries to stop her. Elinor is not having any of it:

"Wait, Elinor! When will I see you again?"

"Oh, probably never. Good day, Edward."

 "But Elinor, I must tell you that I love —"

"I said good day!"

"Unhand me, can't you see I'm trying to repress my feelings?!"

To sum up: this adaptation leaves no doubt at all that Edward would much rather get with Elinor than have to marry Lucy.

The Marianne and Brandon relationship was also altered in the way I expected. Brandon gets some quality facetime, and Marianne is obviously starting to warm up to him in the final scenes. The book trails off into the distant future in its final pages, tying up all the loose ends with some quick exposition, but film adaptations generally end once the real action is over. That's the case with this miniseries, which ends immediately after Edward and Elinor become engaged and long (though maybe not too long) before Brandon and Marianne marry.

For the sake of time, all adaptations have to constrict the timeline and cut scenes, but this minseries cut some seemingly small things that I feel are important to retain. First, the rumors and conjecture surrounding Marianne and Willoughby's potential engagement are considerably downplayed. Elinor and her mother never discuss it, so when Brandon starts congratulating Elinor on gaining a brother, the lack of buildup makes it quite a shock. Also gone is the first half of Brandon's sob story — falling in love with his sort-of-sister, watching her marry his brother, learning of her depression and infidelity, and discovering her in a poorhouse on the brink of death. These missing details are what explain the strength and constancy of his affection for Marianne, so without them, his interest has no compelling impetus. Cutting out these details does not make him seem any less pathetic, though. Lastly, all the juicy details of Edward's falling out with his mother are ignored. The news comes that he refused to break off his engagement and was disinherited as a result, but there is apparently no battle of wills with Mrs. Ferrars. There's no hint of her trying to bribe him with wealth and independence to leave Lucy, and Edward's moral respectability comes across as just slightly less sterling as a result.

What I liked

Marianne's abrupt change of character was considerably softened in this adaptation and made more believable by being made pettier. In the book, the change is attributed to her illness and having so much time to reflect on her actions, but in this miniseries, the change comes more slowly and seems more like a response to external events. Elinor tells her that Willoughby visited while she's still in her sickbed, and Marianne responds by stating her resolve to be more self-reliant so that she can't be hurt again. And when she decides to devote her days to study, it's framed as a response to spending more time with Colonel Brandon; to me, it comes across as a mix of being more open-minded and receptive (both to Brandon and to classic literature) and of wanting to impress Brandon. For better or for worse, her actions are more believable when driven by her relationships with the men in her life than by serious personal reflection.

On a less serious note, Mrs. Jennings is the highlight of this series. Patricia Routledge's performance is stellar, and she adds considerable depth to the character. At the end of the series, we see Mrs. Jennings left alone for a few moments, and she has a short soliloquy that shines a light on her goodness. In the book, Elinor insists that Mrs. Jennings is a good, kind woman, but in this adaptation, you really get to see and understand that for yourself.

On an even less serious note, Mrs. Jennings's London servant, Rodgers, is maybe the best character of all. He shows many guests into the sitting room, and he undertakes his duty with the utmost respect and delicacy:

What I disliked

I want more of Mr. Palmer, that droll charmer! He barely appears and has just one or two lines. Mrs. Palmer's part is also significantly reduced, so it makes sense that we don't see much of her husband, but that doesn't stop me from missing his sardonic commentary.

Also missing is my favorite scene of the book, when Mrs. Jennings and Elinor have an entire conversation while talking about completely different things. A similar misunderstanding arises in the series, but the actual conversation and all its comic potential are cut. Too bad.

Right at the end of this adaptation, there's an added bit of comedy that I find infuriating. Edward is about to go down on one knee when Elinor shouts at him to stop, but it turns out she's just worried about his pants getting damp. As she crouches to place her handkerchief on the ground for him, he laughs and says in the most condescending way, "Oh prudent, practical Elinor. How could anyone fail to love you?" Lucky Edward to get such an accommodating wife! How easy his life will be with her to take care of everything!

Adaptation wish list

1. Is it funny? — Yes, though maybe not intentionally.
2. Is it bitchy? — Yes, but I want more!
3. Is Brandon less pathetic? — Nope.
4. Is Marianne more believable? — A bit more believable but not any more likeable.

Overall, this adaptation is... fine. For the BBC's first attempt at adapting Sense and Sensibility, it's not bad, especially since it plays it safe by sticking close to the novel. There are two more BBC adaptations, and I'm hoping they improve.