Daisy Edgar Jones is the sleeve hero we need with a glamorous feel

There's a lot to love in Georgia Oakley's adaptation of Jane Austen's novel

When news broke that a remake of Sense and Sensibility was being made, there were cries of despair from Bath to Brooklyn. How dare anyone top Ang Lee's 1995 adaptation written by Emma Thompson and starring Kate Winslet? But the idea that good adaptations of great books should be a stopping point, not a springboard, is troubling in itself. Why is a new adaptation of any Jane Austen novel a bad thing? There are always new film audiences eager for their fresh take. And just as importantly, why shouldn't another generation of actors have a crack at these roles? Our ability to stream whatever we want, whenever we want, hasn't necessarily made us more adventurous. Sometimes it's just a way of sticking to familiar favorites at the expense of welcoming anything new. Austen herself disagreed with her aversion to emotion.

After reading Georgia Oakley's first novel, published anonymously in 1811, what does he want to read? It's hard to say for sure, but there's nothing offensive about this new Sense and Sensibility, and plenty to like. Daisy Edgar Jones and Esme Creed Miles star as Eleanor and Marian Dashwood, sisters from a close family whose temperamental differences temporarily separate them. As the film begins, Elinor and Marian, along with their mother (Caitriona Balfe) and younger sister Margaret (Bodhi Rae Britnach), are just learning that they will soon be forced to evacuate the cozy and comfortable house they have called home for years. The girls' father has just died. His estate does not go to his daughters, but to his son from a previous marriage, John (Tom Brooke), who nevertheless hopes to do right by making sure his father's second family is well provided for. But his unpleasant wife Fanny (Stacey Martin) feels differently, and in order to preserve their pride, the Dashwood women decide to move to much simpler quarters with the help of a family friend, Mrs. Jennings (Fiona Shaw).

Mrs. Jennings is also an unrepentant interloper, believing that she could easily marry Dashwood's two eldest daughters. The ever-wise Eleanor, who never asks for too much, has already met Edward Ferrars (George McKay), Fanny's kind, humble brother, whom Fanny is proud of. And Marian, a dreamer who lives for music and books, takes a fancy to the fun-loving Mr. Willoughby (Frank Dylan): he loves to laugh, sing and dance, and Marian is sure that he's perfect for her, although another potential suitor is the tough and rather dull Colonel Brandon, also a colonel (Herbert Norderm). If you've never read Austen's lively and insightful novel — or seen Leigh's 1995 version or the 2008 BBC miniseries adaptation — you'll have to guess which men the sisters end up with, which is just one of the joys of the story.

But as always with Austen, there's more to love than romance: the economy of "making a good match" is always, of necessity, somewhere in the minds of these characters. In the case of sisters Marian and Elinor—one too dreamy, the other perhaps not dreamy enough—the difference in what they look for in a partner is almost enough to tear them apart. Oakley, who previously directed the 2022 drama Blue Jean, has a deft relationship with the material and a deep respect for the setting of the English countryside. There are sleepy close-ups of wildflowers, and shots of deer grazing quietly. A country dance looks lively and lively, unlike the one later held in London, where the steps are more formal and orderly - Oakley leaves no doubt as to which is more fun. Shot by Arnaud Pothier, the film has a beautiful and gentle look. And if the film feels a bit stiff at times, the actors, especially Edgar-Jones and Creed-Miles, do their best to keep things going. Creed-Miles shows that there's a slightly self-centered quality to Marian's romantic preoccupations – she prides herself on wearing her heart on her sleeve, though she's also a means to an end. And yet, as Creed Miles plays him, it's impossible not to like him. When Marianne is truly hurt, we ache for her because of the bruised pain in Creed Miles' eyes.

And Edgar Jones plays Eleanor, the practical sister infused with just the right amount of fire. Eleanor is someone who always matches her expectations with reality, and as much as she loves Edward Ferrars, she doesn't put up much of a fight when she realizes she might have to let him go. Edgar Jones gives us hints of Eleanor's simmering passion, but only in sparks. And in a pivotal scene, where Marian angrily accuses Elinor of "always telling the truth," we can see how wounded she is even as she recognizes that Marian is up to something: Elinor would rather be right than look foolish. Edgar Jones plays Elinor as reserved without overpowering her. We can see the ways in which he wants to want more. In an age of lower expectations—for movies, for romance, for just about everything—perhaps she's the Austen hero we need, ready to break out of the box she's drawn around herself. Austen knew what she was talking about, and time has not lost her sense.